"Let us join hands, stand on the right side of history, stand on the side of human progress, and make unremitting efforts to achieve sustainable and peaceful development of the world and promote the building of a community of human destiny!"
Raise the flag in the storm, and steer in the cross-flow of the sea. Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, in the face of the unprecedented changes in the world in the past century, the Supreme Leader General Secretary, standing at the height of the future and destiny of mankind, has profoundly analyzed the historical trend, clearly declared China’s unswerving determination to take the road of peaceful development and modernization, condensed the forge ahead for the cause of peaceful development of mankind, and guided the way forward for the world to move towards a better tomorrow.
Peace is the common value of all mankind; Peaceful development is the most basic element and the most distinctive background of the Chinese dream; Always being a builder of world peace is an inevitable conclusion drawn from the objective judgment of history, reality and future, and it is also China’s solemn commitment and action. It is not only a great contribution of an ancient nation, but also a great victory of human civilization to join hands with other countries to create a peaceful world of shared development and prosperity and let the torch of the community of human destiny light up the future.
A new road to rejuvenation that is strong but not hegemonic.
Turning over the long history, the process of western modernization is almost accompanied by the process of capitalist global expansion. From the opening of new trade routes to the formation of the capitalist world market, the first-developing countries relied on brutal aggression, bloody plunder and colonial oppression against other countries and nations to obtain funds, raw materials, labor and markets and complete the original accumulation of capital. Throughout today’s developed capitalist countries, almost all have had brutal colonial and aggressive history.
In 1840, the western powers opened the door to China, and the country was humiliated, the people were in trouble, and the civilization was dusty. It was invaded, humiliated and plundered by the powers for more than a hundred years, until the founding of People’s Republic of China (PRC), and the historical turning point of "China people stood up from now on" was realized. The Communist Party of China (CPC) led the people of all ethnic groups to unite and struggle, and the Chinese nation ushered in a great leap from standing up, becoming rich and becoming strong. China is increasingly approaching the center of the world stage, becoming the mainstay of maintaining world peace and stability and the backbone of promoting global development and prosperity.
The fate of ancient China reflects the robber logic of western powers’ expansion and predatory modernization, shows the broad road for the late-developing countries to seek national liberation and independent development, and shows the determination of peace-loving nations to unswervingly follow the path of peaceful development. Since the founding of New China, China has not provoked any wars and conflicts on its own initiative, and has never invaded an inch of other countries’ land, precisely because we have an unforgettable memory of the sufferings caused by the war and a tireless pursuit of peace. No matter how developed it is, China will never seek hegemony, never expand, and never impose its own tragic experience on other nations.
On this road of rejuvenation, China, which accounts for one fifth of the world’s population, has made great strides towards modernization in a peaceful way. For the world, this is of great and far-reaching significance. The modernization pursued by China is peaceful development rather than predatory colonization, win-win cooperation rather than zero-sum game, and sharing destiny rather than beggar-thy-neighbor. Taking the road of peaceful development is an abandonment and transcendence of expansionary predatory modernization, an important contribution to the cause of world peace and development and the only way to build a community of human destiny.
— — Abandoning and surpassing the expansion and predatory modernization. Western powers pursue external expansion and compete for world hegemony. The global pattern and international order are constantly changing and reconstructing in confrontation, conflict and war. The concepts of "clash of civilizations", "national power must dominate" and "zero-sum game" are deeply rooted. However, world multipolarization, economic globalization, social informatization and cultural diversity are irresistible, and the historical experience of some countries cannot be the only "golden law" to solve practical problems. The great achievements of Chinese modernization depend on the struggle, hard work and innovation of more than one billion people, and have created "two miracles" of rapid economic development and long-term social stability with their own hands. China has gone through hundreds of years of industrialization in developed countries for decades, becoming a model of peaceful rise, and taking the right path of strengthening the country, being kind and harmonious. In this regard, former US President Carter commented: "China did not waste a penny on the war." Martin jacques, a British scholar, praised that China has provided a "new possibility" for the world, that is, abandoning the law of the jungle, refraining from monopolizing power, transcending the zero-sum game and opening up a new path of civilized development with win-win cooperation.
— — An important contribution to the cause of world peace and development. China is the largest developing country in the world. It is a contribution to world peace and development to concentrate on running its own affairs and make the country richer and its people happier. In recent years, the contribution of China’s economy to world economic growth has remained at about 30% on the whole, which is the biggest engine to stimulate world economic growth. As a responsible big country, China actively and comprehensively participated in and promoted economic globalization, combined the peace gene in its own culture with the development needs of modern international relations, and contributed valuable ideas and wisdom to the international community. From the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, an independent and non-aligned foreign policy of peace, to building a harmonious world of lasting peace and common prosperity, to building a community of human destiny, building a new type of international relations, and building the "Belt and Road" and other important ideas and initiatives, the Communist Party of China (CPC) has actively contributed to the maintenance of world peace. For this reason, UN Secretary-General Guterres believes that "China is a major participant in the UN cause, a pillar of international cooperation and multilateralism, and plays a central role".
— — The only way to build a community of human destiny. With the development of the "global village" today, no country can be immune to it, and no country can conquer the world. Building a new type of international relations with win-win cooperation as the core and building a community of human destiny is a Chinese program with unique oriental wisdom that contributes to the world on the basis of profoundly grasping the historical trend and general trend. The Chairman of the Supreme Leader expounded the main connotation of the community of human destiny as follows: to establish a partnership of equal treatment, mutual business and mutual understanding, to create a fair and just security pattern, to seek open, innovative, inclusive and mutually beneficial development prospects, to promote harmonious but diverse and eclectic civilized exchanges, and to build an ecological system that respects nature and green development. Rich connotations and innovative ideas show a responsible big country’s profound thinking and mission consciousness on its own development, the world order and the future and destiny of mankind, and reflect the global view, civilization view and development view that transcend the nation-state and ideology. To build a community of human destiny, countries can realize political mutual trust, economic integration and cultural tolerance, and a world with lasting peace, universal security, common prosperity, openness, tolerance, cleanliness and beauty can be expected in the future.
The inevitable choice of rooting in national conditions
Taking the road of peaceful development is the confidence and consciousness of the people of China in realizing their own development goals. This self-confidence and self-awareness comes from the deep roots of Chinese civilization, from the understanding of the conditions for achieving China’s development goals, and from the grasp of the general trend of world development.
— — Pursuing peace is integrated into the cultural genes of the Chinese nation. The pursuit of peace, harmony and harmony is deeply rooted in the spiritual world of the Chinese nation and integrated into the blood of the people of China. The 5,000-year-old Chinese civilization has cultivated the traditional thought of upholding faith, repairing friendship and being kind to others, created an all-inclusive philosophy of life, and gave birth to the cultural ideal of harmony between man and nature and harmony in the world, leaving behind the spiritual heritage of being strong and not bullying the weak, being rich and not bullying the poor, and being harmonious with all nations. China doesn’t agree that "a strong country will dominate", and China people don’t have the gene of hegemony and belligerence in their blood.
— — A peaceful environment is necessary to promote Chinese modernization. The Communist Party of China (CPC) is a faithful inheritor of China’s excellent traditional culture. In order to strive for national independence, people’s liberation, achieve national prosperity and people’s happiness, he has gone through all kinds of hardships, knowing that peace is hard to come by, and knowing that building the country and improving people’s lives need a lasting and peaceful environment. The primary stage of socialism is the biggest national condition and reality to be firmly grasped; Peace in the world, peace in the country and peace in the people are the most basic and universal aspirations of hundreds of millions of people, which determines that China must concentrate on promoting modernization and solving problems of development and people’s livelihood. A harmonious and stable domestic environment and a peaceful and peaceful international environment are extremely precious. It is a glorious mission of a big developing country and a necessary prerequisite for the great rejuvenation of the nation for China to fulfill its national responsibilities and boost the historical trend of peaceful development.
— — Peaceful development conforms to the historical trend and the general trend of the world. Peace, development, cooperation and win-win are the trends of today’s world; Peace without war, development without poverty, stability without chaos are the true and simple common aspirations of people of all countries. Whether the influence of the BRICS mechanism continues to expand, attracting more countries to apply for membership, or the Millennium ancient city of Samarkand witnessed the largest expansion of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in a new round; Whether the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (RCEP) came into effect, the world’s largest free trade area set sail, or the "Belt and Road" circle of friends was constantly consolidated, and the meticulous and delicate "meticulous painting" was slowly spread, which proved that the concept of open development and mutual benefit and win-win was deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. Building a community of human destiny is not only written into the report of the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, which is included in party constitution and the Constitution, but also written into important documents of multilateral mechanisms such as the United Nations and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization for many times, which reflects the common aspiration of people of all countries and embodies the broad consensus of the international community.
China’s peaceful development not only conforms to the historical trend of the Chinese nation’s rejuvenation, but also conforms to the development trend of the present era. Faced with the severe challenges faced by all mankind, such as the peace deficit and the development deficit, China adheres to mutual benefit and win-win results, and does not engage in beggar-thy-neighbor practices. The international community has more and more profound understanding of China’s goodwill and sincerity in promoting win-win cooperation. "China is good, and the world is better" has become an increasingly broad consensus of the international community.
China Action for Peaceful Development
At the forum of the United Nations General Assembly, the Chairman of the Supreme Leader made a solemn commitment: China will always be a builder of world peace, a contributor to global development and a defender of the international order. This commitment clearly shows that China will always follow the path of peaceful development, and China will never beggar its neighbors and bully the small by the big. China will further connect with the "circle of friends" all over the world, pursue an open strategy of mutual benefit and win-win, and inject new impetus into the practice of global governance of "discussing, building and sharing".
— — Adhere to the road of multilateralism and always be the defender of the international order. Multilateralism is an effective way to maintain peace and promote development. China upholds and practices true multilateralism, emphasizes adhering to "everyone’s affairs should be handled by everyone", advocates multilateral cooperation, supports multilateral mechanisms, explores multilateral models, alleviates contradictions, builds consensus and seeks common development through multilateralism, vigorously opposes zero-sum games and unilateral bullying, and sends a strong voice and provides solutions for maintaining peaceful development.
Cooperation or confrontation? China holds high the banner of peace, development, cooperation and win-win in a series of international occasions, firmly upholds the international system with the United Nations at the core and the international order based on international law, and resolutely opposes engaging in "small circles" and drawing ideological lines to provoke confrontation.
Development or stagnation? In order to create a new platform for multilateral cooperation and practice the responsibility of a big country, China has put forward the Belt and Road Initiative and the Global Development Initiative, promoted the signing of regional comprehensive economic partnership agreements, and boosted the development of regional multilateral mechanisms such as the SCO. Adhere to inclusiveness and provide solid support for global development on an economic basis.
Peace or war? China put forward the global security initiative, and put forward specific principles such as opposing unilateralism, not engaging in group politics and camp confrontation, aiming at the crux of global security, so as to contribute wisdom and strength to promoting political solutions to international and regional hot issues.
Open or closed? China called for upholding true multilateralism, leading the reform of existing multilateral mechanisms, supporting the reform of the United Nations, the World Trade Organization and the World Health Organization in a direction more conducive to promoting multilateralism, and actively participating in the global development agenda within the existing framework. Insist on tearing down the wall without building it, opening without isolation, and integrating without decoupling, and promote the construction of an open world economy.
— — Adhere to the road of peaceful development and always be a builder of world peace. China takes a clear-cut stand against hegemonism and power politics, actively participates in the construction of a lasting peace mechanism, and provides a feasible solution to the global security dilemma. The Chairman of the Supreme Leader explained the idea of peace on many important international occasions and advocated opposing the Cold War mentality, group politics and camp confrontation. Advocate mutual respect and equal consultation; Advocating the settlement of disputes through dialogue and resolving differences through consultation; Advocate helping each other in the same boat and promote the liberalization and facilitation of trade and investment; Advocating respect for the diversity of world civilization; Advocate environmental friendliness and strengthen cooperation in tackling climate change and biodiversity protection.
China set an example, implemented the maintenance of peace, and powerfully interpreted the responsibilities of big countries: insisting on handling territorial issues and maritime delimitation disputes through negotiations and consultations; Actively participate in the international arms control, disarmament and non-proliferation process that is crucial to global strategic balance and stability; Support UN peacekeeping, actively participate in solving major international and regional hotspot issues, persuade peace and promote talks, and maintain stability and prevent chaos.
— — Adhere to the road of reform and opening up and always be a contributor to global development. Development is an important foundation for solving all problems, and openness is a distinctive symbol of contemporary China. The Chairman of the Supreme Leader has repeatedly stressed that the door to China’s opening will never be closed, but will only grow wider and wider. Against the background of counter-current economic globalization, complicated and changeable international political and economic situation, and the haze of the century epidemic, China has always adhered to the basic national policy of opening to the outside world, and has continuously contributed positive energy to the world economy and created more development opportunities for all countries in the world with its sustained and steady economic development and all-round high-level opening up.
Promoting peace through development is an important connotation of China’s concept and practice of peaceful development. From 2013 to 2021, China’s average contribution rate to world economic growth exceeded 30%, ranking first in the world, creating huge economic benefits and providing a huge market for multinational enterprises to invest. As an important participant in the world economy, an advocate of international development cooperation and a reformer and builder of the global governance system, under the new situation, China has withstood the pressure of anti-globalization, unswervingly expanded its opening up in an all-round way, continued to share opportunities and benefits in opening up, and promoted the development of economic globalization in a more open, inclusive, inclusive, balanced and win-win direction; Comply with the requirements of the times, complement the shortcomings and strengths of the world, transform and upgrade from providing development assistance to international development cooperation, and focus on enhancing the endogenous development momentum of developing countries; Promote the establishment of a more just and rational new international political and economic order, actively participate in the formulation of governance rules in emerging fields, and get rid of unfair and unreasonable arrangements in the global governance system.
The Communist Party of China (CPC) is a political party with great ambition, which is not to dominate the world, but to benefit the world. "The path of peaceful development is beneficial to China and the world. We can’t think of any reason not to adhere to this path that has been proved to be feasible by practice." Peace, not war, cooperation, not hegemony, dialogue, not confrontation, and openness, not closure, are the right path in the world and can win the future. We have confidence, courage, ability and wisdom to write a new chapter in the history of national rejuvenation and contribute to the sustainable and peaceful development of the world!
(Research team member: Economic Daily reporter Qi Dongxiang Cao Hongyan, Luan Xiaoxiao, Niu Jin, Ouyang You, Xu Xu Qiu Lina)
