The Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence

The basic principles of the CPC and the People's Republic of China in dealing with relations between states.

These five principles are: mutual respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, mutual non-aggression, non-interference in each other's internal affairs, equality and mutual benefit, and peaceful coexistence.

China, India and Myanmar jointly advocated the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence. It is also called "Pancasila" because of the Hindi translation of Pancasila.

This principle was first put forward by Premier Zhou Enlai on behalf of the Chinese Government on December 31, 1953, during the negotiations between the Chinese and Indian governments on the local relations in Xizang areas.

Zhou Enlai pointed out: “The principle of handling the relations between China and India was established right after the founding of New China, and that is the principle of mutual respect for territorial sovereignty, non-aggression, non-interference in each other's internal affairs, equality and reciprocity and peaceful coexistence.” Indian representatives agreed with Premier Zhou Enlai's proposition.

On April 29, 1954, the delegations of the two governments, in accordance with the above-mentioned principles and after thorough consultations, concluded the “Agreement between the People's Republic of China and the Republic of India on Commerce and Communications between the Xizang Areas of China and India”, declaring unequivocally: “The two sides agree to conclude this Agreement on the basis of (1) mutual respect for territorial sovereignty, (2) non-aggression, (3) non-interference in each other's internal affairs, (4) equality and reciprocity, (5) peaceful coexistence.” In this way, for the first time, the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence were included in an official document signed between countries and served as a guideline for the relations between the two countries.

In June 1954, Premier Zhou Enlai was invited to visit India and Myanmar. In a joint declaration, the Chinese and Burmese premiers advocated the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence as a norm in international relations. It was said in the joint statement of the Chinese and Indian premiers on June 28: "In their relations with other countries in Asia and the world, these principles should also be applied.”

On June 29, the Prime Ministers of China and Myanmar issued a joint statement, pointing out: "If these principles are observed by all countries, peaceful coexistence between countries with different social systems will be guaranteed, and the threat of and fear of aggression and interference in internal affairs will be replaced by a sense of security and mutual trust.”

Mao Zedong said: "Our foreign policy is based on the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence.” "We believe that the Five Principles are a long-term policy and are not intended to be a temporary response.” “These Five Principles are appropriate to our situation, and our country needs a long-term peaceful environment.” At the same time, he also stressed that “the Five Principles should be extended to the relations of all countries.” In order to achieve peaceful coexistence, work must be carried out, including strengthening communication, increasing mutual understanding between countries, conducting peaceful consultations on certain issues and seeking reasonable solutions, and carrying out necessary struggles against big-power doctrine, and so on.

The Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence were based on the theory that all sovereign states are equal and that revolutions cannot be exported. The Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence have been recognized by more and more countries in the world today and have become a powerful weapon to properly deal with relations among countries, maintain world peace and promote the progress of human society.