•On relations with the United States, President Xi Jinping Wang proposed three principles – mutual respect, peaceful coexistence, and win-win cooperation
•The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has become the most popular global public good and the largest platform for international cooperation.
Image: XINHUA
The second session of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), China's top political advisory body, concluded on Sunday morning. Foreign Affairs Minister of the People’s Republic of China Wang Yi held a press conference on March 7 where he shared the government’s vision emanating from the so called two sessions – the meetings of the National People’s Congress (NPC) and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.
Wang noted that building a community with a shared future for mankind demonstrates President Xi Jinping’s broad historical vision and deep passion for the world as the leader of a major country. It goes beyond the obsolete zero-sum game mentality, assumes the moral high ground of civilization, and captures the shared aspirations of all nations. It points the right direction for humanity at a historical inflection point where accelerated transformation unseen in a century is unfolding across the world.
The number-one reality in today’s world is that all countries rise and fall together, and that the sure path to meeting the challenges is mutual assistance and win-win cooperation. The future of humanity should be decided by all countries together, and that the future of the world should be built by all peoples together.
On relations with the United States, Wang noted that the three principles proposed by President Xi Jinping – mutual respect, peaceful coexistence, and win-win cooperation – are a statement of the experiences and lessons of the 50-plus years of China-US relations, and represent the right way for interactions between major countries.
Mutual respect is the precondition, because interaction sustains only when differences in social and political systems are respected and acknowledged. Peaceful coexistence is the baseline, because conflict and confrontation between two major countries like China and the US have unimaginable consequences. Win-win cooperation is the goal, because when working together, China and the US can do great things conducive to the two countries and the world.
An equal multipolar world means equal rights, equal opportunities, and equal rules for every nation. An orderly multipolar world means all should observe the purposes and principles of the UN Charter. Universally beneficial globalisation means growing the economic pie and sharing it more fairly. Inclusive globalisation means supporting countries in pursuing a development path suited to their own national conditions.
China remains strong as an engine for growth. The next China is still China. China’s development is driven not only by a reasonable growth in quantity, but also an effective upgrade in quality. Further, Wang said that China believes that there should be equal emphasis on development and security. New things and new opportunities should be embraced; and at the same time, brakes should be checked before setting off. Concerted efforts are needed to advance global governance on Artificial Intelligence (AI).
In the field of AI, cooperation between major countries is vital, so is capacity-building for developing countries. China will submit in due course to the UN General Assembly a draft resolution on enhancing international cooperation on capacity-building of AI in order to encourage technology sharing among parties, bridge the AI divide, and leave no one behind.
China and Africa are brothers treating each other with sincerity and sharing a common future. “We have fought shoulder to shoulder against imperialism and colonialism. We have supported each other in pursuit of development. We have always stood for justice in a changing international landscape,” stated Wang.
Image: XINHUA
The next meeting of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation will be held in China this autumn. Chinese and African leaders will gather in Beijing again after six years. Through this summit, China and Africa will enhance their long-standing friendship and deepen unity and collaboration to open up new vistas for faster common development and start a new chapter for a China-Africa community with a shared future.
China will work with the international community to support the continuous development and improvement of the UN. Taking international rule of law as the basis, fairness and justice as a principle, win-win cooperation as the goal and effective action as an orientation, China will practice true multilateralism and promote greater democracy and rule of law in international relations.
Since President Xi Jinping put forward the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) more than 10 years ago, Belt and Road cooperation has produced fruitful outcomes. The BRI has become the most popular global public good and the largest platform for international cooperation. It has also become a pathway to cooperation, opportunity and prosperity for partner countries seeking joint development.
China will work with all parties to uphold the Silk Road spirit, deliver on the outcomes of the Third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation, and usher in a second golden decade of Belt and Road cooperation. China will promote the upgrading of physical connectivity, the strengthening of institutional connectivity and the deepening of people-to-people connectivity.
China’s stories speak to a truth: when countries proceed from their own national conditions to explore modernisation paths, they will together make up a new, colorful vista of world modernisation.
Stephen Ndegwa is the Executive Director of South-South Dialogues, a Nairobi-based communications development think tank, and a PhD student at the United States International University-Africa