An aerial photo taken on Nov. 25 shows a floral pattern of Chinese characters meaning “human community with a shared future” on a terraced field of flowers in Nantong, Jiangsu Province. Photo: CFP

The report to the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) stated that “China has always been committed to its foreign policy goals of upholding world peace and promoting common development, and it is dedicated to promoting a human community with a shared future.” 

Creating opportunities for world

Openness is a key driving force behind the progress of human civilizations and an intrinsic path toward global prosperity and development. 

From Nov. 5 to 10, the 5th China International Import Expo (CIIE) was held in Shanghai. This year’s CIIE is the first prominent international exhibition following the 20th CPC National Congress. Enterprises from 127 countries and regions participated in the enterprise exhibition, and 66 countries and three international organizations joined the country exhibition. The numbers exceeded those of the 4th CIIE.

Han Wenlong, deputy dean of the School of Economics at Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, said that the CIIE is a key measure China adopts to promote the construction of a human community with a shared future. It demonstrates not only the world’s confidence in China’s economy, but also the country’s confidence in its development and its sense of responsibility to share the market with the world. China will deepen and expand global partnerships based on equality, openness, and cooperation, allow friendly nations to access China’s super-large market and economic growth dividends, and help promote the building of a human community with a shared future, Han said. 

China has proposed the Global Development Initiative and Global Security Initiative as steps towards contributing to building a human community with a shared future and promoting mutual understanding among people of all countries, said Feng Weijiang, deputy director of the Institute of World Economics and Politics at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS). “No country in the world, especially the major countries, should operate purely in their own best interests; instead, they need to have a broad mind. Only in this way can human beings find effective solutions to global governance,” Feng said.

Fostering global harmony

As its name suggests, a human community with a shared future means that the future and destiny of every nation and every country are closely linked. As Chinese President Xi Jinping said on many occasions, “no country alone can address the many challenges facing mankind; no country can afford to retreat into self-isolation.”

Liu Tongfang, dean of the School of Marxism at Zhejiang University, said that building a human community with a shared future is consistent with safeguarding the common interests of all mankind; the two are interrelated and represent practical construction and the ultimate goal, respectively. 

“Building a human community with a shared future is a ‘constructive plan’ that deeply considers the common interests of all mankind from the perspective of history, the times, and humanity. It is of great significance to achieving a global consensus and maintaining common human interests,” Liu said. 

According to He Jian, a professor from the Belt and Road Research Institute at Yunnan University, the high-quality joint construction of the Belt and Road Initiative can and should become an important focus for promoting the building of a human community with a shared future. The initiative has deepened civilizational exchanges among countries along the route and formed a set of value guidance and practical methods that highly align with the concept of a human community with a shared future. 

Deep exchanges and mutual learning between civilizations are crucial factors for promoting world peace and development, and also form the value basis for promoting global governance and building a human community with a shared future, He Jian said. 

Zhang Jijiao, a research fellow from the Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology at CASS, believes that the concept of a human community with a shared future showcases China’s global vision of integrating its own development with the world’s. The ultimate goal of the mutually beneficial development model advocated by China is to build a human community with a shared future that facilitates global peace and development.

China has always been a builder of world peace, a contributor to global development, and a defender of international order. Scholars agree that these attributes are manifestations of the Chinese style in building a human community with a shared future.  

Edited by CHEN MIRONG