Chinese Dream for the World

By LIN MINWANG

Chinese Dream for the World

By LIN MINWANG

FROM September 22 to 29，Chinese President Xi Jinping paid a state visit to the U.S. and attended a series of summit meetings in celebration of the UN's 70th anniversary in New York. On September 28，he addressed the high-level general debate of the 70th session of the General Assembly. In a speech titled “Working Together to Forge a New Partnership of Win-Win Cooperation and Create a Community of Shared Future for Mankind，” Xi offered his reflections on the new international order，styled the “Chinese dream for the world.”

A Community of Shared Future for Humankind

Xi stressed in his speech that，at a new historical starting point，the UN must address the central issue of how to better promote world peace and development in the 21st century. The solution Xi proposed was to renew our commitment to the purposes and principles of the UN Charter，build a new model of international relations with win-win cooperation at its core，and create a community of shared future for humankind.

A primary principle of the UN Charter that China most cherishes is that of sovereign equality. This means not only that the sovereignty and territorial integrity ofall countries are inviolable and their internal affairs not subject to interference，but also that the right of each country to independently choose its own social system and development path must be upheld，and that all countries' efforts to promote socio-economic development and improve their people's lives must be respected. In affirmation of the equality principle among countries，China deems all nations equal. The large，strong and rich must not bully the small，weak and poor. Observance of the equality principle entails a commitment to multilateralism rather than unilateralism，and a new vision seeking win-win outcomes for all，as opposed to the outdated mindset where one's gain means the other's loss，or that the winner shall take all in a zero-sum game. Furthermore，China holds that consultation is a critical constituent of democracy，and must form an important means of exercising contemporary international governance. China accordingly advocates the resolution of disputes and differences through dialogue and consultation. Only if the principles of sovereignty and equality are underscored will the new international order and system develop in a fairer and more just direction.

China is engaged in building a new style of international relations featuring win-win cooperation. It advocates that countries align their interests with those of other nations，expand areas of convergent interests and pursue peace，development and win-win outcomes for all through cooperation. The Belt and Road Initiative recently launched by China，in essence，seeks to coordinate with neighboring countries' development strategies under a new round of economic opening-up in China，and thereby realize regional peace by increasing the convergence of economic interests and the strengthening of economic bonds.

We must build partnerships in which countries treat each other as equals，engage in mutual consultation，and show mutual understanding. This is one of the key ways to build a community of shared future. China pledges to forge global partnerships at both international and regional levels，and embrace a new approach to stateto-state relations，one that features dialogue rather than confrontation，and seeks partnership，not alliance. Thus，the new leadership of China，while continuing to construct various types of partnerships，has upgraded its levels of partnership with most countries.

Moreover，China proposes in particular distinctions when dealing with both large and small countries： relations with major countries must adhere to the principles of no confict，no confrontation，mutual respect and winwin cooperation，while large countries must treat small countries as equals，and adopt the correct approach to justice and interests by placing justice before interests. In other words，in the relationship with major countries，the principles of no confict and no confrontation express China's stance. We respect each other's reasonable expectations and roles and cooperate with each other to realize win-win outcomes. In the relationship with small countries，the primary principle is to treat them as equals and assume the responsibility for providing the public goods necessary for regional development.

China is engaged in building a new style of international relations featuring win-win cooperation.

Promote an Open，Innovative and Inclusive International Economic Order

Recent years have witnessed several economic trends：the U.S.，following its gradual economic recovery，has promoted the Trans-Pacific Partnership （TPP） and Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership （TTIP）；Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe put forward his Abenomics revival strategy； EU countries，meanwhile，remain mired in the fnancial crisis. Thus，a unifed and open international economic order confronts serious challenges.

China does not advocate absolutely free and unrestrained globalization. President Xi，therefore，emphasized in his speech that the 2008 global financial crisis has taught us that allowing capital to blindly pursue proft can only create chaos，and that global prosperity cannot be built on the shaky foundations of a market without moral constraints. The growing gap between rich and poor is both unsustainable and unfair. It is important for us to use both the “invisible hand” and the “visible hand”to generate synergy between market forces and government functions，and to strive to achieve both efficiency and fairness，he said.

China actively protests against the growing economic tendency towards protectionism and nationalism. Xi stressed in his UN speech that development is meaningful only when it is inclusive and sustainable. Achieving such development demands openness，mutual assistance，and win-win cooperation. To realize the Post-2015 Development Agenda adopted at the UN Sustainable Development Summit，China pledges to translate its commitments into actions，and to work together with other countries to ensure that everyone is free from want，has access to development，and lives with dignity.

At the same time，China highlights the necessity of working together to build a sound global eco-environment and steadfastly pursue green，low-carbon，circular and sustainable development. In this regard，China will shoulder its share of the responsibility and continue to play its part in this common endeavor. It will urge developed countries to fulfll their historical responsibilities，honor their emissions reduction commitments，and also help developing countries mitigate and adapt to climate change.

Create a Security Architecture Featuring Fairness，Justice，and Joint Contributions with Shared Benefits

Since the close of the Cold War，China has devised its own “new security concept.” The country is well aware that，in the age of economic globalization，the security of all countries is interlinked and mutually-impacting. No country can maintain absolute security with its own efforts alone，and no country can achieve stability at theexpense of other countries' instability. Therefore，China calls for abandoning the Cold War mentality in all of its manifestations，and urges the cultivation of a new vision of common，comprehensive，cooperative and sustainable security. President Xi called on all to respect and guarantee the security of each country，and to construct an open，transparent and equal framework for international security cooperation，so as to create a new security architecture featuring joint contribution and shared benefits in a win-win situation，and to jointly safeguard the peace and stability of regions and the world.

China is a proponent of fully deferring to the central role of the UN and Security Council in ending conflicts and in peacekeeping，while adopting the dual approach of seeking peaceful solutions to disputes and taking mandatory actions，so as to turn hostility into amity. As regards reform of the Security Council，China favors a prudent and gradual attitude here in order to maintain the authority of the UN on the one hand，while affording it full play in its function in peacekeeping on the other.

President Xi Jinping presents the “Zun of Peace” as a gift to the UN on the commemoration of its 70th anniversary. The gift is modeled after Chinese ancient bronze “Zun” artifacts in the cloisonné technique.

China is ready to share development experience and opportunities with other countries and welcome them aboard China's express train of development so that all of us will achieve common development.

Increase Inter-Cultural Exchanges to Promote Harmony，Inclusiveness and Respect for Differences

New maritime routes discovered in the 15th century inaugurated the era of globalization. The successive development of colonialism，imperialism，and capitalism gradually increased the world's homogeneity. Many civilizations perished in the course of the capitalist powers' military conquests. With the advent of the 20th century，however，people's self-awareness awoke among the currents of globalization，and they began to become more self-aware of and recognize their own identities.

China holds that the world is simply more colorful as a result of its diversity. Diversity breeds exchanges，exchanges create integration，and integration makes progress possible. We must adopt the spirit of inclusiveness and respect for differences with the world's various civilizations. Each civilization represents the unique vision and contribution of its people，and no civilization is superior to others. Different cultures must hold dialogues and exchanges instead of trying to exclude or supplant each other. We must respect all civilizations and treat each other as equals. We must draw inspirations from each other to boost the creative development of human civilization.

In short，the “Chinese dream for the world” pursues an international economic order featuring openness，innovation and inclusive development，an international security order featuring fairness，justice，joint contribution and shared benefits，an international civilization featuring inter-cultural exchanges to promote harmony，inclusiveness and respect for differences，so as to eventually arrive at the ideal of a community of shared future for humankind.

To this end，President Xi uttered his solemn commitments that China will continue to earnestly participate in building world peace and peaceful development. No matter how the international landscape may evolve and how strong China may become，he stated，China will never pursue hegemony，expansion or spheres of influence. It will continue to contribute to global development，pursue common development，and the win-win strategy of opening-up. President Xi said China is ready to share development experience and opportunities with other countries and welcome them aboard China's express train of development so that all of us will achieve common development.

President Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan at the welcome ceremony hosted at the White House on September 25，2015 by President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle Obama.

LIN MINWANG is an associate professor at the Institute of International Relations of China Foreign Affairs University，and a guest research fellow with the Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies at Renmin University of China.