Xi Jinping Thought on Diplomacy and China’s Global Governance Practice

Zhao Lei

The world today is undergoing major changes unseen in a century. These changes， not limited to a particular moment， event， country or region， represent the profound and sweeping changes of our times. From June 22 to 23， 2018， the Central Conference on Work Relating to Foreign Affairs was held and established the guiding position of Xi Jinping Thought on Diplomacy. It has ten core principles， one of which emphasizes reforming the global governance system according to the principles of fairness and justice.

PROBLEM-ORIENTED GLOBAL GOVERNANCE TO PROVIDE PUBLIC GOODS IN RESPONSE TO MULTIPLE DEFICITS

Global problems call for global governance at the very beginning. The key to governance is to build consensus at global level and to provide public goods in a multilateralistic way in order to solve global problems. Global governance wants public goods. History tells us that if major countries fail to provide sufficient public goods， the international community would go out of order and fall into either economic crisis or war. This is the Kindleberger Trap as Professor Joseph Nye， a political scientist at Harvard University called it. The four years of Trump adminstration had a disastrous effect on global governance， with U.S. Government bringing major international institutions to the brink of legal or political crisis.

China has proposed a raft of new mechanisms and initiatives in recent years. They are not to reinvent the wheel， still less to pinpoint anyone， but rather， useful supplements and improvements to the existing international mechanisms， aiming at win-win cooperation and common development. In his speech at the closing ceremony of the China-France Global Governance Forum on March 26， 2019， Chinese President Xi Jinping with the vision for the development of human society proposed to address the governance deficit by upholding justice and fairness， to reduce the trust deficit by engaging in consultation and dialogue， to reduce the peace deficit by pulling together in times of trouble， and to reduce the development deficit by persisting in win-win cooperation.

To address the governance deficit it is necessary to uphold justice and fairness and embrace a global governance vision featuring consultation， joint construction and shared benefit， to go by the spirit that global affairs should be handled by countries across the globe through consultation， to acdemocratize the rule making of global governance. It is necessary to continue to hold high the banner of multilateralism represented by the UN， give full play to global and regional multilateral mechanisms， and work together to build a community with a shared future for mankind. On October 12， 2015， the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee held its 27th study session on global governance pattern and system， whose highlight it is to put forward for the first time the global governance concept of consultation， joint construction and shared benefit.

To reduce the trust deficit， it is necessary to engage in consultation and dialogue， put mutual respect and trust first and foremost， make good use of communication， seek common ground while shelving and narrowing differences， and enhance strategic mutual trust and reduce mutual suspicion. It is necessary to adhere to the correct concept of justice and interests， put righteousness first and uphold justice while pursuing shared interests. It is necessary to strengthen exchanges and dialogues among different civilizations to deepen mutual understanding and recognition. China held the CPC in Dialogue with World Political Parties High-Level Meeting in Beijing on December 1， 2017， the Conference on Dialogue of Asian Civilizations in Beijing on May 15， 2019， and the CPC and World Political Parties Summit via video link on July 6， 2021 respectively. These multilateral events fully demonstrate China's sincere willingness to enhance mutual trust through dialogue.

To reduce the peace deficit， it is necessary to pull together in times of trouble and uphold the new concept of common， comprehensive， cooperative and sustainable security， discarding the Cold War mentality and zero-sum mindset， and rejecting the Law of the Jungle. It is necessary to resolve disputes through peaceful means， and oppose beggar-thy-neighbor practices. All countries need to take the path of peaceful development together. On April 21， 2022， President Xi Jinping proposed the Global Security Initiative for the first time in his keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2022， during which he stressed that security is the precondition for development and that we humanity are living in an indivisible security community. He further called on the international community to jointly uphold world peace and stability by making commitments on six fronts.

To reduce the development deficit， it is necessary to pursue mutual benefit， unleash the power of innovation， and seek coordinated， interconnected， fair and inclusive approach for development. It is necessry to build a dynamic growth model， an open and win-win cooperation model， and a balanced development model that benefits all， so that people around the world can share in the fruits of economic globalization. On September 21， 2021， President Xi Jinping put forward the Global Development Initiative for the first time while attending the 76th UN General Assembly via video link in Beijing. According to the Initiative， it is necessary to stay committed to development as a priority， a people-centered approach， inclusiveness， innovation-driven development， harmony between man and nature， and results-oriented actions.

In general， China has not only provided high-quality material public goods but also conceptual and institutional ones since the 18th CPC National Congress. In addition to holding the China International Import Expo and founding the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank， more and more Chinese have taken high-level positions in international organizations， participated in the formulation of international rules， and thus contributed Chinese wisdom for guiding the reform on global governance system.

THE WAY FORWARD： JOINT CONSTRUCTION OF A COMMUNITY WITH A SHARED FUTURE FOR MANKIND

To meet common challenges and move towards a better future， it requires not only economic， scientific and technological power， but also strength of culture and civilization. China sets store by improving global governance from the one world and human perspective， rather than the West centrality and capital perspective as advocated by Western countries. This represents an ontological shift.

As in the process of global governance， the international community is increasingly fed up with and disgusted by the hegemonism and arrogance of the U.S.， China as a major country should display deconstruction capacity by laying bare its position of opposing the practices of hegemonism， power politics， interference in the internal affairs of other countries， and ideological export， and such logics as the long arm jurisdiction and might being right. More important， China needs to display construction capacity by showing to the international community that it always takes the side of justice. To this end， President Xi Jinping proposed for the first time the concept of a community with a shared future for mankind during his speech at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations on March 23， 2013.

Human society should avert from erring in direction. For long the U.S.-led Western world has led the efforts in establishing the center-periphery order， basing “universal values” on such ideological and philosophical theories as Western centralism， hegemonic stability and American exceptionalism. Universalism in essence is to equate the West with the world. As it only recognizes the oneness rather than the diversity of civilizations， diversity of civilizations ceases to exist and the clash of civilizations becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. At present， global governance at the hands of the West has the following traits： economically it still emphasizes the role of G7 in setting game rules and establishes exclusive economic and trade arrangements such as the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework; in security field it relies on alliance system such as the NATO and the U.S.-UK-Australia security partnership to provide inner group security guarantees; in terms of values it builds up the so-called Summit for Democracy and International Coalition for Religious Freedom which have artificially torn the world apart.

The America First policy poses the biggest threat to global governance. Joseph Nye has repeatedly pointed out that， since 2017 Americas soft power has been weakening and that America first means to put the international community in the second place， thus foretelling that America will be no longer great.

In contrast， the global governance depicted by China is to build a community with a shared future for mankind based on mutual learning among civilizations， which is a process of building an open， inclusive， clean and beautiful world with lasting peace， universal security and common prosperity. In such a process， it is up to the people of all countries， rather than one given country or a small number of people to deliberate what kind of international order and global governance system is good for the world and for the people of all countries. On September 28， 2015， President Xi Jinping gave his solumn rendition of the common values of humanity in his speech at the General Debate of the 70th Session of the UN General Assembly， among which for mankind peace and development are the common cause， fairness and justice are the common ideal， and democracy and freedom are the common pursuit.

The common values of humanity form the ideological and philosophical basis for a community with a shared future for mankind. In the path to realizing such values， China does not “import” foreign models， nor does it attempt to export the Chinese own to others， and even less to request other countries to “copy” the Chinese practices.

Be it a community with a shared future for mankind or the common values for humanity， the function is to enhance international solidarity and cooperation and make clear a better direction for global governance. Should one err in direction， any amount of efforts would be futile， and even counterproductive.

PRACTICAL SUPPORT： PRACTICING TRUE MULTILATERALISM

In practice， While putting into action， some developed countries tend to instrumentalize global governance， insisting on unilateralism or “selective multilateralism”， which impedes the deepening of global governance and solidarity and cooperation of the international community. China has actively participated in the reform and development of global governance system， safeguarding the international system with the UN as its core， the， international order based on international law， and the basic norms governing international relations based on the purposes and principles of the UN Charter. It upholds and put into practice true multilateralism， firmly opposes unilateralism， protectionism， hegemonism and power politics， actively promoting economic globalization in the direction of being more open， inclusive， balanced and beneficial to all.

The Belt and Road Initiative （BRI） is Chinas concrete practice of multilateralism in its active participation in global governance. The BRIs drivers rest with connectivity， with hard connectivity of infrastructure as an important orientation， soft connectivity of integrating rules and standards as an important support， and people-to-people bond as an important foundation. So far， China has signed more than 200 BRI cooperation documents with 149 countries and 32 international organizations， the circle of friends for joint BRI construction continuing to expand. According to Belt and Road Economics report released by the World Bank in June 2019， BRI transport projects could help lift 7.6 million people from extreme poverty and 32 million people from moderate poverty by 2030.

The BRI has obviously become a popular international public good and a popular platform for international cooperation. Its charm comes from “we-go-together”. To solve global problems， it will not do to rely on going it alone or beggar-thy-neighbor efforts. But rather， it is necessary that we go together and were for each other， which is the essence of true multilateralism.

In the security field， China is a builder of world peace. Since 1990 when China sent five military observers to the UN Truce Supervision Organization for the first time， China has become the second largest financial contributor to UN peacekeeping operations as well as the largest troop provider among the permanent members of the UN Security Council， and taken part in nearly 30 UN peacekeeping operations， sending cumulatively more than 50，000 peacekeepers and thus being hailed as a key force in UN peacekeeping operations. At present， it has established a standby force of 8，000 troops and a permanent police squad of 300 troops for peacekeeping， being the country with the biggest standby force and most varieties of contingents among UN member states.

In the field of economy and trade， China is a contributor to global development . On November 15， 2020， the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership （RCEP） was formally signed after eight years of negotiations， by which China joined the worlds largest free trade area. The RCEP， which came into force on January 1， 2022， marks a major milestone in East Asias regional economic integration， and also an important institutional achievement in promoting global trade liberalization and investment facilitation. On September 16， 2021， China officially applied to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership （CPTPP）. And on November 1st of the same year， China applied to join the Digital Economy Partnership Agreement （DEPA）.

In the field of health， China is an advocate of building a global health community for all. In the course of fighting against COVID-19， President Xi Jinping has repeatedly called on the international community to build a global community of health for all. By May 2022， China had cumulatively provided anti-pandemic supplies such as 4.6 billion protective suits， 18 billion testing kits， over 430 billion masks and 2.2 billion doses of vaccines to 153 countries and 15 international organizations.

When it comes to global governance participants， Chinese enterprises， think tanks， social organizations and foundations， and individual citizens have become increasingly active besides Chinese government. On September 29， 2021， the Ministry of Commerce together with other departments issued the 2020 Annual Statistical Communiqué of Chinas Outward Foreign Direct Investment （OFDI）， according to which， by the end of 2020， Chinas 28，000 domestic investors had set up 45，000 OFDI enterprises in 189 countries and regions worldwide. Chinese enterprises have become increasingly better positioned to participate in global governance in such areas as the rule of law and good governance， rules and standards， and social responsibility.

At present， the reform of global governance system is at a historical turning point， and global affairs increasingly need to be handled by all countries through consultation， such as establishing international institutions， abiding by international rules and pursuing international justice， which has become an international consensus and the trend of our times. In this context， to actively participate and promote global governance has become a distinctive feature of Chinas major country diplomacy， which fully illustrates the the base color of global perspective and the style of major country responsibility inherent in Xi Jinping Thought on Diplomacy. Through true multilateralistic vision and practice of building a community with a shared future for mankind， and joint BRI construction among others， Chinas institutional say in participating in global governance is on the rise and so also is the capacity of Chinese diplomacy to shape international agenda.