In the report he submitted to the 20th National Congress of the
Communist Party of China on Oct 16, CPC Central Committee General
Secretary Xi Jinping said the world has once again reached a crossroad,
and its future course will be decided by all the people of the world. It
means the global political and economic situation today is the most
turbulent since the end of World War II.
First, severe global challenges including the COVID-19 pandemic and
climate change continue to disrupt economic, political and social
development. More people across the world have slipped into poverty
since 2020 and at least 31 countries face domestic political, economic
and/or livelihood crises. The secondary disasters caused by the pandemic
and climate change are also spreading across the world.
Second, the Russia-Ukraine conflict has triggered another
confrontation between major countries, perhaps the most serious since
the end of the Cold War, giving rise to new global energy, price, food
and financial crises, which could further aggravate.
Third, the United States has built barriers against China in sectors
such as science and technology, market entry, and industry and supply
chains, which goes against the principle of free competition. Worse, the
US has been exploiting the Taiwan question to stir up trouble in the
region, dealing a severe blow to peace and prosperity in Asia. Indeed,
the world is standing at a crossroad again.
President Xi Jinping has urged the world to strengthen cooperation
and promote unity by transcending conservative ideologies and pursuing
the right path to global development, in order to build a community with
a shared future for mankind. This is not only the purpose and principle
of major-country diplomacy with Chinese characteristics, but also the
outcome of Chinese wisdom which a rising China uses to address global
challenges.
Xi also stressed that China will uphold multilateralism and help
improve global governance while adopting a more proactive strategy of
opening-up. The Belt and Road Initiative is an apt example of China's
endeavors to promote common development, as it has been welcomed by the
international community both as a public good and a cooperation
platform.
Also, China is a major trading partner of more than 140 countries and
regions and leads the world in goods trade. China is also a major
destination for foreign investment and a leading country in outbound
investment. This is the result of diplomacy with Chinese
characteristics.
Xi's report to the 20th CPC National Congress also emphasized that
China pursues an independent foreign policy of peace, promotes the
establishment of a new type of international relations, and helps
safeguard the common interests of developing countries. These are part
of China's contribution to world peace and development, and it has done
so by adhering to the path of socialist modernization with Chinese
characteristics and people-centered development philosophy.
These basic diplomacy principles, developed since the era of Deng
Xiaoping, are aimed at continuously contributing to world peace,
prosperity and cooperation. And they will continue to be the core
elements of China's diplomacy in the new era. For example, independent,
peaceful diplomacy means China will never seek hegemony, and has no
interest in joining any camps in international relations, let alone
forming alliances like other countries.
Promoting a new type of major-country diplomacy means China wants to
avoid falling into the Thucydides trap, and instead change the zero-sum
game that is often unavoidable in competitions between major powers and
put major-power relations on a stable and constructive track. This is
the goal of China's diplomacy in the new era.
Safeguarding the common interests of developing countries is a
priority of China's diplomacy. In recent years, with the rise of new
economies represented by China, the global structure of power and wealth
is shifting from the West to the East, with the effects of such great
changes reflected in many fields.
As the world's largest developing country, China needs to not only
strengthen cooperation and solidarity with other developing countries
but also represent their interests and continue creating more
opportunities for them in order to promote equitable development. This
will be a vivid demonstration of the people-centered philosophy of
China's governance mechanism.
Xi's report also said China takes an active part in the reform of the
global governance system, and upholds genuine multilateralism, which is
part of diplomacy with Chinese characteristics. China has always
opposed any country that uses its hegemony or economic and military
power to interfere in the internal affairs of other countries, or impose
its demands on smaller countries. As a result, China supports the
United Nations-centered global governance system.
Upholding the principles of multilateralism including openness,
equality and fairness, China has called on all countries to collectively
address international issues. The Global Development Initiative and
Global Security Initiative China has proposed advocate comprehensive,
balanced, cooperative and sustainable development and security concepts
and programs, and have been warmly received by the international
community, because it knows that forming exclusive groups and small
ideological circles will only worsen the already complex international
situation.
Although the content on diplomacy in the report is concise, it
conveys the importance of China's major-country diplomacy with Chinese
characteristics to the international community.
The author is dean of the School of International Studies,
Nanjing University. The views don't necessarily represent those of China
Daily.
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