The Xi Jinping Thought on Diplomacy Studies Center: Pursuing a Global Community of Shared Future and Advancing Toward a Brighter Future

The vision of building a global community of shared future is a core tenet of Xi Jinping thought on diplomacy. Since it was first proposed in 2013, this concept has exhibited tremendous vitality, evolving from a conceptual proposition to a well-conceived system, from a promising vision to practical outcomes, and from a Chinese initiative to a point of international consensus. Furthermore, China has engaged with dozens of countries and international and regional organizations in building communities of shared future in various forms. In a sign of its growing global recognition, the concept of a global community of shared future has also been included in numerous UN General Assembly resolutions, as well as resolutions and declarations of multilateral mechanisms like the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and BRICS.

I

Today is a time of great development, change, and adjustment for our world. On the one hand, the historical tide of peace, development, cooperation, and mutual benefit has become unstoppable, and the trends of multipolarity and economic globalization are irreversible. Yet, on the other hand, great harm is being done by the hegemonic, high-handed, and bullying acts of those who use strength to intimidate the weak, take from others through force and subterfuge, and play zero-sum games. The deficits in peace, development, security, and governance are growing. As a society, humanity is thus facing challenges like never before. With humanity’s advance in mind, along with the shared and fundamental interests of the people of China and the rest of the world, President Xi Jinping has profoundly contemplated the major questions concerning our collective future, such as the kind of world to build and the way to build it. Demonstrating great foresight, he has put forward the important vision of building a global community of shared future. Taking a morally righteous perspective, this vision brings together the common aspirations of the peoples of all countries to chart the right course for humanity at a critical historical juncture when our world is going through momentous once-in-a-century changes at an accelerated pace.

Members of the 27th Chinese peacekeeping contingent to the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) participate in a ceremony to receive the UN Peace Medal at the contingent’s “China Peninsula” camp in Bukavu, South Kivu, April 9, 2024. As a pillar for maintaining world peace, China is the second largest contributor to the UN regular budget and peacekeeping assessments as well as the largest provider of peacekeeping troops among the permanent members of the Security Council. XINHUA / PHOTO PROVIDED BY THE 27TH CHINESE PEACEKEEPING CONTINGENT TO MONUSCO

Since the start of the new era in 2012, President Xi has expounded on the vision of building a global community of shared future on various international occasions, such as state visits and multilateral summits. As a result, this major concept has been continuously enriched and developed. In March 2013, during a speech at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations, he declared that we live in a world “where countries are linked with and dependent on one another at a level never seen before. Humanity, by living in the same global village in the same era where history and reality meet, has increasingly emerged as a community of shared future in which everyone has in himself a little bit of others.” In the latter half of the same year, President Xi put forward two major initiatives, proposing the Silk Road Economic Belt in Kazakhstan and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road in Indonesia, which have collectively become known as the Belt and Road Initiative. This initiative has served as an international cooperation platform for applying the concept of a global community of shared future in practice and has been warmly welcomed by the international community as a public good.

In June 2014, on the 60th anniversary of the introduction of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, President Xi called on all countries to uphold and carry forward these principles in order to build a new type of international relations under changing circumstances. Establishing a new type of international relations is both the prerequisite and path for building a global community of shared future, which serves as our goal and direction of effort. As such, in addition to promoting a global community of shared future, President Xi has also creatively proposed the development of a new type of international relations characterized by mutual respect, fairness, justice, and win-win cooperation. In reality, this means developing a new way for nations to interact with each other so as to create the path and conditions needed to build a global community of shared future.

In September 2015, President Xi delivered a major speech at UN Headquarters in New York, in which he stated that peace, development, equity, justice, democracy, and freedom are values shared by all humanity. In this speech, he also systematically laid out the main elements of a global community of shared future from five aspects: partnerships, security, development, intercultural exchanges, and ecological systems. In October of the same year, during the 27th group study session of the Political Bureau of the 18th CPC Central Committee, President Xi pointed out that “With the rise in global challenges, strengthening global governance and promoting reform of global governance has become a prevailing trend.” He emphasized the need to “advocate for global governance featuring shared growth through discussion and collaboration” and “promote a more just and equitable global governance system,” making it clear that China would actively work for the improvement and reform of global governance based on the principle of achieving shared growth through discussion and collaboration.

In early 2017, in a historic speech at the UN Office in Geneva, President Xi comprehensively outlined the vision for building a global community of shared future, covering five key aspects: building a world of enduring peace through dialogue and consultation, building and sharing together a world of common security, building a world of common prosperity through mutually beneficial cooperation, building an open and inclusive world through exchanges and mutual learning, and building a clean and beautiful world by pursuing green and low-carbon development. In his speech, President Xi addressed the questions of what is happening to the world and how we should respond from a historical and philosophical perspective. He also systematically set out pathways for building a global community of shared future from a practical standpoint and declared China’s commitment to making unremitting efforts toward forging this community. 

In recent years, amid a sluggish global economic recovery, intensifying geopolitical conflicts, and escalating major power competition, it has become more urgent than ever for the world to take concrete and resolute steps to address the defining question of our times: Where should humanity be heading? In response, President Xi took the steps of introducing the Global Development Initiative in 2021, the Global Security Initiative in 2022, and the Global Civilizations Initiative in 2023, in order to go further in addressing the universal desire among all peoples for peace, development, and cooperation. These initiatives have provided feasible approaches for safeguarding world peace and development and improving global governance. At the same time, they have provided a fresh boost of powerful momentum for building a global community of shared future. 

At the Central Conference on Work Relating to Foreign Affairs held at the end of 2023, President Xi presented a comprehensive review of the rich practices involved in building a global community of shared future. On this basis, he put forward a further series of new viewpoints and important conclusions to enhance the theoretical depth and practical scope of this vision, while also strengthening its strategic guidance and practical relevance. At the conference, building a global community of shared future was defined as a core tenet of Xi Jinping thought on diplomacy. It was stated that this concept reflects the worldview, sense of order, and values of Chinese Communists; it aligns with the common aspirations of people around the world, points to the direction of progress for world civilization, and represents a noble goal pursued by China in conducting major-country diplomacy in the new era. President Xi put forward a well-conceived system for building a global community of shared future, comprising the following elements: The goal is to build an open, inclusive, clean, and beautiful world of lasting peace, common security, and shared prosperity; the pathway is promoting global governance that features shared growth through discussion and collaboration; the guiding principle is to apply the common values of humanity; the basic underpinning lies in building a new type of international relations; the strategic guidance comes from the implementation of the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative, and the Global Civilizations Initiative; and the platform for action is high-quality Belt and Road cooperation. On this basis, China hopes to work with all countries to meet challenges, achieve prosperity for all, and see the world moving toward a brighter future of peace, security, prosperity, and progress. President Xi noted that in response to the major problems and challenges facing the world today, China has issued the call for an equal and orderly multipolar world and universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalization. By addressing the core and most urgent concerns and demands of the majority of countries, especially developing nations, this call has helped enhance the international community’s understanding and recognition of a global community of shared future and created a more solid foundation for its development. Bearing in mind the close link between a country’s foreign policy and its domestic agenda and the interplay between external and internal imperatives, President Xi pointed out that in the current and upcoming periods, China should champion building a global community of shared future to steer momentous world changes in the right direction, pursue development within the broader global development context, and advance the interests of the people of China and the rest of the world, so as to create a more favorable international environment and provide more solid strategic support for turning China into a great modern socialist country and advancing national rejuvenation through Chinese modernization.

A smart electric container truck at Chancay Port, north of Lima, capital of Peru. As a flagship project for Belt and Road cooperation between China and Peru, the port, which officially opened on November 14, 2024, is expected to cut shipping time to China to just 23 days and slash logistics costs by at least 20 percent. It also directly adds over 8,000 jobs to the local economy each year. PHOTO BY XINHUA REPORTER LI MENGXIN

In June 2024, when addressing guests at a conference marking the 70th anniversary of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, President Xi once again elaborated on the vision of building a global community of shared future. He explained that this vision captures the reality that all countries have a shared future and intertwined interests and sets a new model of equality and coexistence for international relations. It responds to the world’s prevailing trends of peace, development, and mutually beneficial cooperation, and opens up new prospects for peace and progress. It also keeps pace with the historic trend toward multipolarity and economic globalization and inspires new ways to achieve development and security.

II

At present, as momentous once-in-a-century changes unfold at an accelerated pace, the world has entered a new period of turbulence and transformation. Yet the overall direction of human development and progress has not changed, the underlying dynamic of world history moving forward amid twists and turns has not changed, and the overall trend toward a shared future for the international community has not changed. Against this backdrop, building a global community of shared future appears all the more sound, timely, progressive, and practically imperative. It has demonstrated growing intellectual appeal for steering human society in the right direction and promoting global peace and development. Under the personal planning and direction of President Xi, China’s great endeavor to build a global community of shared future continues to march forward, providing a world marked by turbulence and transformation with a force for peace, stability, and progress. Notably, building such a community enables our world to achieve the following.

Pursue lasting peace through dialogue and consultation in the face of conflict and turmoil

As President Xi has stated, “Differences and problems among countries, hardly avoidable, need to be handled through dialogue and cooperation on the basis of equality and mutual respect.” The vision of a global community of shared future is firmly opposed to hegemonism and power politics of all forms, as well as blocs and exclusive groups created to target particular countries. What it affirms is the notion that all countries, regardless of size or strength, deserve to have their sovereignty and territorial integrity protected, have the right to independently choose their development paths and social systems, and have the right to participate in international affairs on an equal basis. At the same time, all countries should abide by the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, operate within the UN-centered international system, practice multilateralism in the true sense, and jointly safeguard world peace and stability in an equal and orderly multipolar world.

Major countries shoulder special and important responsibilities for maintaining international peace, and China has fully demonstrated its commitment to fulfilling these responsibilities. When the People’s Republic of China was first established in 1949, it put forward the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence. China is the only country in the world that has enshrined peaceful development in its national Constitution and the only one of the five nuclear-weapon states that has publicly pledged that it will not be the first to use nuclear weapons. No matter what stage of development it reaches, China will never seek hegemony, engage in expansionism, or pursue a sphere of influence. At the same time, it will firmly safeguard its national sovereignty, security, and development interests, as well as international fairness and justice. Relations between major powers are crucial to overall global strategic stability. China is committed to enhancing coordination and positive interactions with other major countries, so as to foster major-country dynamics featuring peaceful coexistence, overall stability, and balanced development. As a developing country and member of the Global South, China firmly promotes greater unity and strength among emerging markets and developing countries and works to expand the ranks of those who seek global justice and strengthen the forces for safeguarding peace. China actively participates in UN peacekeeping operations and escort missions in the Gulf of Aden. As the second largest contributor to the UN regular budget and peacekeeping assessments, China has dispatched over 50,000 peacekeepers to participate in UN peacekeeping operations in more than 20 countries and regions, serving as a pillar for long-term global peace and stability.

Together build and share a world of common security in the face of multiple risks

Humanity is an indivisible security community. In today’s world, regional hotspot issues are emerging one after another, and non-conventional security threats are increasing rapidly. With the global security governance system lagging seriously behind, humans are facing myriad, unprecedented risks and challenges as a society. The vision of building a global community of shared future calls for implementing the Global Security Initiative and practicing a vision of common, comprehensive, cooperative, and sustainable security. It opposes the unlimited expansion of military alliances, the squeezing of other nations’ security space, and a return to the old path of the Cold War. It advocates for the active participation of all countries in international security cooperation, calls for the advancement of global security governance through multi-pronged approaches, comprehensive measures, and improved rules, and aims to provide more public goods that will ensure the security and stability of the international community. In responding to non-conventional security threats and global challenges, it is increasingly necessary to act on the principle of creating shared benefits through collaboration. This is important for drawing on our collective energies to address issues such as terrorism, climate change, cybersecurity, biosafety and biosecurity, and artificial intelligence.

The Global Security Initiative has so far gained the support of over 100 countries and international and regional organizations, with a series of cooperative measures taking effect and bearing fruit. With the strong support of China, Saudi Arabia and Iran have chosen to let go of past grievances and restore diplomatic relations. China has helped facilitate a de-escalation of conflict in northern Myanmar and ensured peace and stability in the China-Myanmar border region. China’s positive role in seeking to end the Ukraine crisis and the Israel-Palestine conflict has also vividly illustrated the core principles of the Global Security Initiative. Since the Ukraine crisis began, President Xi has engaged in in-depth communications with leaders of various countries and multilateral institutions, including the UN, making it clear that China is determined to facilitate peace talks while opposing all actions that seek to escalate tensions for one’s own benefit. China has repeatedly articulated its principles and proposals for resolving the crisis and has continuously worked toward easing tensions and realizing the resumption of peace talks. In responding to the latest round of violence between Israel and Palestine, China has maintained an objective and impartial position. It has issued a strong call to make an immediate ceasefire the overriding priority and regard humanitarian aid as an urgent moral responsibility. It has stressed that the only viable way to break the cycle of conflict lies in the two-state solution and in working toward a solution to the Palestine issue that is comprehensive, just, and sustainable as quickly as possible. Meanwhile, China has also increased humanitarian aid to extend a helping hand to the people of Gaza who are in dire straits.

Jointly seek common prosperity through mutually beneficial cooperation in the face of development challenges

Development is humanity’s eternal pursuit. As President Xi has noted, “‘Cooperation brings strength; isolation brings weakness.’ Win-win cooperation should become every country’s basic policy preference in handling international affairs.” China advocates for actively implementing the Global Development Initiative and promoting universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalization. It calls on all countries to jointly work to make the economic cake bigger and share its benefits more fairly, so as to narrow the divide between North and South and address development imbalances, thereby enabling different countries, social strata, and populations to participate in and benefit from economic and social development. In this way, we can achieve common prosperity and development. At the same time, China supports all countries in pursuing development paths suited to their own national conditions. It rejects protectionism and unilateral sanctions, which are both self-defeating and harmful to others. It opposes “decoupling and delinking,” the building of “small yards and high fences,” the excessive stretching of national security concerns, and attempts to politicize and weaponize economic and technological issues. Instead, it seeks to preserve the vitality and momentum of global economic growth by ensuring the stable and smooth operation of global industrial and supply chains. China has also actively promoted the reform of multilateral economic and financial institutions such as the International Monetary Fund and the World Trade Organization (WTO), worked to give full play to the role of new global economic governance platforms, such as the G20 and the BRICS cooperation mechanism, and advanced the development of a fair, reasonable, and transparent international trade and economic rules system, as well as global modernization defined by peaceful development, mutually beneficial cooperation, and shared prosperity. 

As a major world economy, China is firmly committed to a mutually beneficial strategy of opening up. It will continue to expand high-standard opening up and create new opportunities for the world through its own development. China’s contribution to global growth has held steady at around 30% for many years now, and it has become a major trading partner for more than 150 countries and regions. It has reduced its overall tariff level to a rate on par with the developed members of the WTO, further shortened its negative list for foreign investment access, and offers one of the highest rates of return for foreign investment in the world. China has also established a range of international cooperation platforms, including the China International Import Expo, the China International Fair for Trade in Services, the China International Consumer Goods Fair, and the China International Supply Chain Expo. All this has helped maintain realistic expectations among foreign investors and cooperation partners and create long-term benefits for them. In the more than 10 years since its inception, the Belt and Road Initiative has borne considerable fruits and developed into a pathway of cooperation, opportunity, and prosperity.

Promote openness and inclusiveness through exchanges and mutual learning in the face of cultural estrangement

All civilizations are unique in their own way, and no civilization is superior or inferior to any other. China has proposed the Global Civilizations Initiative with the aim of promoting exchanges and mutual learning between civilizations and the progress of humanity as a whole.

It is vital that we respect the diversity of civilizations; we must let cultural exchanges transcend estrangement, let mutual learning transcend clashes, and let coexistence transcend feelings of superiority. To this end, China has initiated and hosted various international conferences and forums, including the Conference on Dialogue of Asian Civilizations, the CPC in Dialogue with World Political Parties High-level Meeting, the Dialogue on Exchanges and Mutual Learning Among Civilizations, the Ancient Civilizations Forum, and the Liangzhu Forum. It has also promoted the establishment of the International Day for Dialogue Among Civilizations at the UN General Assembly. These efforts have encouraged different civilizations to learn from and inspire each other. 

The common values of humanity that China advocates go beyond the narrow historical limitations of the so-called universal values touted by the West. In putting forward and promoting these values, China has helped foster mutual understanding, respect, and trust among different countries and created a stronger philosophical and values-based consensus for promoting the progress and development of humanity. 

To foster mutual understanding and friendship between people from all countries, China has boosted people-to-people exchanges and cooperation with a focus on the inheritance and innovation of civilizations. With an open mindset, China draws inspiration from all of human civilization’s outstanding achievements and strives to better present Chinese culture to the world. China has helped initiate and establish the Alliance for Cultural Heritage in Asia, the first international cooperation mechanism for the preservation of Asia’s cultural heritage. By the end of 2023, China had established 48 overseas Chinese cultural centers and opened Confucius Institutes and Confucius Classrooms in most countries around the world. China has recently introduced a series of measures, including visa-free policies and simplified entry procedures, to promote people-to-people exchanges between China and other countries. As of November 2024, local governments have established 3,054 sister city (province/state) relationships with partners in 147 countries across five continents. These efforts have opened a new phase in promoting people-to-people exchanges, cultural integration, and mutual understanding between countries, paving the way for the diverse cultures of the world to flourish in tandem. 

Build a clean and beautiful world through green and low-carbon development in the face of an ecological crisis

While industrial civilization has created enormous material wealth, it has also spawned an ecological crisis epitomized by biodiversity loss, environmental degradation, and climate change. The vision of a global community of shared future calls for respecting nature, adapting to its ways, and protecting it. It emphasizes the need to actively respond to climate change, accelerate the transition to green modes of development and ways of life, and build a community of life for humanity and nature. The international community must come together to engage in global action, response, and cooperation based on its commitment to the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities. We must make concerted efforts to heal the wounds inflicted on our environment and find a balance between economic development and environmental protection in order to safeguard our blue planet.

Chinese and French artists perform at a ceremony to mark the opening of an exhibition titled The Forbidden City and the Palace of Versailles: Exchanges Between China and France in the 17th and 18th Centuries at the Palace Museum, Beijing, April 1, 2024. For more than a year since the launch of the Global Civilizations Initiative, China has been endeavoring to foster mutual understanding, respect, and trust among different countries and promote exchanges and mutual learning between the world’s civilizations to see them flourishing in tandem. PHOTO BY CNS REPORTER TIAN YUHAO

China has incorporated climate action into every aspect of its overall strategy for economic and social development and is actively yet prudently moving toward peak carbon emissions and carbon neutrality. Close to half of the world’s installed photovoltaic capacity is found in China, over half of the world’s new energy vehicles run on roads in China, and one-quarter of the world’s newly created green spaces are located in China. China accomplished, ahead of schedule, its targets for 2020 for tackling climate change and establishing protected areas. It is home to the world’s largest area of planted forests and has become the world’s largest contributor to the protection of the ozone layer. China has always played an active role in global climate negotiations and international rule-making, while also providing as much financial and technical support as possible to help developing countries improve their environmental governance. China is also working to implement the Belt and Road South-South Cooperation Initiative on Climate Change. By October 2024, it had signed 53 South-South cooperation memorandums of understanding with 42 developing countries to address climate change, rolled out almost 100 climate mitigation and adaptation projects, carried out over 300 capacity-building projects in climate-related fields, and provided more than 10,000 training opportunities to people from over 120 developing countries.

III

The vision of a global community of shared future reflects the tide of progress, responds to the urgent needs of the international community, and marks a break with traditional Western paradigms of international relations. It indicates the correct direction for improving global governance and, as a result, has generated a positive and enthusiastic response worldwide. 

For over 10 years, the vision of building a global community of shared future—along with its rich contents, including common human values, a new type of international relations, genuine multilateralism, and a global governance approach featuring shared growth through discussion and collaboration—has been written into numerous multilateral resolutions and declarations. In February 2017, the 55th session of the UN Commission for Social Development included the concept in a UN resolution for the very first time when it unanimously adopted the resolution on “Social Dimensions of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development.” In March of the same year, it was incorporated into both a UN Security Council resolution and a Human Rights Council resolution. That November, it was also included in two security resolutions adopted by the UN General Assembly. To date, it has appeared in UN General Assembly resolutions for seven consecutive years. UN Secretary-General António Guterres has stated that the purpose of practicing multilateralism is to build a global community of shared future. UN Under-Secretary-General and High Representative for Disarmament Affairs Izumi Nakamitsu has noted that the concept of building a global community of shared future is highly consistent with the UN concept of common security and peace, offers a Chinese proposal for a world full of uncertainties, and serves the common interests of the international community.

Furthermore, China has also proposed a series of initiatives to build communities of shared future at both the regional and bilateral levels. Working together with relevant parties to build consensus and expand cooperation, it has thus played a constructive role in promoting regional peace and development. The China-Africa community of shared future was the first regional community of its kind to be proposed. During the Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) in Beijing in September 2024, China and Africa elevated their relations to an all-weather China-Africa community of shared future for the new era. This move opened a new chapter in the China-Africa friendship and presented China-Africa relations as a model for building communities of shared future between China and other regions and countries. Swift and steady progress has since been made in the development of communities of shared future between China and Arab states, China and Latin American countries, and China and Pacific Island countries. These communities serve as a vivid example of solidarity, cooperation, and shared progress among developing countries. The idea of building such communities between China and its neighboring countries has also taken root. Continued progress is being made in building a China-ASEAN community of shared future. Fresh headway has been made in building a community of shared future for countries along the Lancang-Mekong River. The Shanghai Cooperation Organization community of shared future has yielded substantial outcomes, and the building of the China-Central Asia community of shared future has made solid strides. These efforts have contributed to enduring peace and shared prosperity in the region and the wider world.

At the bilateral level, China is also working with a growing number of partners to build communities of shared future. China and countries including Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Pakistan, Mongolia, Cuba, South Africa, Vietnam, Serbia, and Brazil have published action plans, released joint statements, or reached important agreements on building bilateral communities of shared future. China has also implemented the vision of building a global community of shared future on a bilateral level with all five Central Asian countries. All this has helped deliver substantial outcomes, significantly boosting local development and improving people’s lives.

Building a global community of shared future is a dynamic, open, and inclusive endeavor with bright prospects. This vision is not aimed at replacing one system or civilization with another. Instead, it revolves around the idea of sharing among nations with diverse social systems, ideologies, history and cultures, and levels of development. It calls for the sharing of benefits, as well as rights and responsibilities in international affairs, so as to create as much synergy as possible for building a better world. Aligning with the core idea of a global community of shared future enables different countries to seek common ground while shelving differences, achieve harmony in diversity, reinforce cooperation, and pursue mutually beneficial outcomes. China will work with more and more countries and regions to build a global community of shared future and contribute to the development of all countries and the progress of human civilization.

(Originally appeared in Qiushi Journal, Chinese edition, No. 23, 2024)