Preface

The world is experiencing changes unseen in a century, and human society is going through a new cycle of major developments, transformation and adjustment. In this transitional period, an international order is evolving rapidly, and various elements of uncertainty and instability are also mounting, especially with the outbreak of Covid-19, which has worsened an already gloomy atmosphere for global development and governance. Further challenges include deficits in world peace, development, governance and trust. What is happening to the world? And what’s to be done? There is only one answer: to take the right path forward, toward building a global community of shared future.

Why would this be the best way forward? China’s proposal to build a global community of shared future strives to advance global governance. This proposal is also a blueprint for humanity, based on historical lessons, current conditions, and development trends. This, in the 21st century, is the only choice embracing the destiny of all of humanity. History has taught us that complex international relations and conflicts may escalate wars, which only create disasters, not solutions. Rivalry for hegemony only creates antagonisms between peoples and countries, not solutions. Hegemonism only creates wider resistance and broader confrontation, not solutions. Only through political dialogue, cooperation based on mutual trust, mutual development, and peaceful coexistence, could we ensure prosperity for all countries along with world peace. Current realities also reveal that no one can reverse the general trends towards multipolarity, economic globalization, diversity of civilizations, and information society. The various challenges of governance faced by all humanity can only be resolved through cooperation between all countries. Modern civilization has never come easily, and deserves to be cherished by all. With the global situation in mind, we may see clearly that only by looking for more common interests among countries and regions to build a global community of shared future, which values mutual respect and highlights our common destiny, could we resolve the vast range of challenges that humanity faces, deal with the disasters that threaten us all, improve our current conditions, and create a brighter future.

What is the “right path forward”? To build a global community of shared future – It is right in the sense that such plans are not for one country’s benefit, but for all humanity. It does not aim for short-term profit, but for the wellbeing of future generations. Looking back through history and with eyes on the current situation, it is clear that war, hegemonism and seeking hegemony have wasted vast valuable resources, sacrificed countless lives, especially young lives, and brought a great many disasters to humanity. The global community of shared future that we promote paints a brighter picture of international relationships and international order, including six core ideas concerning national strength, security, development, civilization, ecology, and life. This is a just proposal for promoting the development of the whole world, refining global governance, deepening trust between countries, maintaining world peace, and rejuvenating the big picture of world cultures. While exploring better options for social systems and offering a model of values for resolving challenges faced by all humanity, China makes its own contribution towards a better world. At the same time, the idea of building a global community of shared future is innovative in terms of global governance. It also unveils a grand vista for a world order, marks the direction of China’s future diplomacy, and inaugurates a new form of human civilization.

The global community of shared future is not to be equated with the future social community (i.e., the union of free people). The former refers to certain conditions of society, while the latter represents an ideal form of society. The fundamental characteristics of a global community of shared future is harmony in diversity, while the foremost feature of a community of the future society is universal unity. In other words, a global community of shared future highlights cosmopolitanism, while a community of the future society reflects internationalism. A global community of shared future deals directly with essential matters at the national level, aiming to realize peaceful development and fruitful cooperation of different countries; while a community of the future society strives to support every member to develop freely and comprehensively. To build a global community of shared future is only an objective for a certain period, as the most basic guide for all humanity. In contrast, a community of the future society represents the final destination for world history, as well as the highest guide for all humanity.

The building of a global community of shared future is a grand systematic project which could last for centuries. It calls for unrelenting effort. The key question is how to turn the idea of a global community of shared future into a reality in this world, step by step. We need to seek the fundamental paths forward to promote the building of a shared global community. From a global perspective, there are four paths to achieve this goal: with international organizations as the driving force, inter-government cooperation as the main line, international exchanges between political parties as the impetus, and transnational cooperation among social organizations as the basis. For China, there are four major stages of building a global community of shared future: from a global community of health for all to a global community of life for people and nature, from a bilateral and regional community to a global community of shared future, from national governance to global governance, and from a shared future community in the physical world to a shared future community in the digital world.

China is promulgating and implementing the idea of a human community of shared future. The constructive role played by China is reflected in two aspects: setting a positive example, and focusing on practice. For China, the most important step is to take care of domestic issues. Only by doing so, with the country growing stronger and the people’s sense of happiness, fulfilment, engagement, as well as pride rising, could proposals from China gain moral suasion and operability in practice on the international stage. Based on these two aspects, two types of well-designed public goods could be offered to the world: shared opportunities for development; and common values of humanity, which reflect the laws of social development. Furthermore, at the level of practice, China will comprehensively promote major-country diplomacy with distinctive Chinese features, actively seek global partnerships, and play a responsible role in global governance.

A rising power will be the concern of its neighbors first. Therefore, they should be the best venue from which to launch the building of a global community of shared future. In order to do this, China must try to better understand the reasonable needs of nearby countries from their perspectives, while effectively responding to their concerns over security issues. China will also keep implementing the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), to widen common interests with neighboring countries, and consolidate its position as a coordinating country in regional multilateral cooperation, so as to gain recognition and support from such countries. As developed countries have their differences and disagreements, while trying to effectively deal with and moderate the escalating strategic competition with the US, China must also distinguish between concerns of the US, Europe and Japan, and design policies accordingly so as to attract potential cooperation partners. For China there are two principles of global governance. The first is not try to act the leader or take on responsibilities beyond our abilities. The second is to take part in global development and governance actively and selectively to shape the external environment to meet our own development needs and help to build a better world. China’s involvement in global governance will focus on building consensus and establishing rules and agendas by exercising its influence. At the same time, we will also do what we can within our capacity, striving for a balance between rights and responsibilities, and maximizing efficiency and benefits.