Independent Foreign Policy of Peace

It is the fundamental guiding principle of New China’s diplomacy, which includes two basic aspects of independence and peaceful coexistence. Unswervingly pursuing an independent and peaceful foreign policy is determined by the socialist nature of our country and its international status. The independent and peaceful foreign policy is the core of Mao Zedong's diplomatic thought. Also, since the Reform and Opening-up, all the core of leading collectives of the Party Central Committee have adhered to this basic principle and standpoint, and given this diplomatic principle new era connotations and expressions according to the development of the international and domestic situation. Mao Zedong always insisted that New China should completely destroy all the privileges and aggressive forces of imperialism in China, so that the Chinese people can stand up truly and forever. In June 1949, Mao Zedong solemnly declared at the preparatory meeting of the New Political Consultative Conference: “China must be independent, China must be liberated, China's affairs must be decided and run by the Chinese people themselves, and no further interference, not even the slightest, will be tolerated from any imperialist country.”

Maintaining the hard-won national independence, not allowing any foreign interference politically, and not relying on foreign aid economically, this is the starting point for our decision on foreign policy and handling diplomatic issues, and also the fundamental difference from the humiliating diplomacy of old China. From the founding of New China to the mid-1950s, the central task of China’s diplomacy was to consolidate the nascent people’s regime and strive for a favorable international environment for peace building. To this end, we should first destroy the imperialist privileges in China, safeguard national independence and sovereignty, refuse to recognize the diplomatic relations established by old China with any foreign countries, and establish new diplomatic relations through negotiation on the basis of mutual respect for sovereignty, territorial integrity, equality and mutual benefits. In the mid-1950s, China advocated the “Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence”, namely mutual respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, non-aggression, non-interference in each other’s internal affairs, equality and mutual benefit, and peaceful coexistence, as the basic principles for guiding and handling international relations. In 1956, in response to the great power chauvinism implemented in the foreign policy of the Soviet government, the Chinese government issued a statement stating: “The ‘Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence’ should become the guidelines for the establishment and development of mutual relations among countries in the world, and the mutual relations of socialist countries should be based on ‘Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence’.” “The ‘Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence’ stipulate mutually equal constraints. The essence of the first four principles is independence and mutual equality. Only by adhering to the first four principles can we achieve peaceful coexistence.”

In order to achieve peaceful coexistence, Premier Zhou Enlai put forward the policy of “seeking common ground while reserving differences” at the 1955 Asian-African Conference, that is, when dealing with relations between countries, respecting the differences in social systems, ideologies and development models of various countries and not imposing on others, seeking common ground on the basis of the “Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence”. The policy of “seeking common ground while reserving differences” has enriched the concept of independent and peaceful foreign policy. In order to maintain independence and sovereignty, New China fought diametrically against hegemonism and power politics imposed by the two superpowers of the United States and the Soviet Union. In the 1950s and 1960s, New China first fought diametrically against the hegemonism and imperialist policies of the United States, and effectively countered US attempts and acts to besiege, contain, and threaten New China from the three directions of DPRK, Vietnam, and Taiwan. After entering the 1960s, according to the major changes in the international situation, especially in the internal relations of the socialist camp, China adjusted its foreign policy focus to simultaneously fight against the hegemony of the two superpowers of the United States and the Soviet Union, and countered the Soviet leader’s desire for China to obey its diplomatic strategic needs which undermined China's sovereignty.

At the same time, China actively supported the national liberation movements, strengthened solidarity with developing countries, and upheld good-neighborly and friendly relations, safeguarding China's sovereignty and territorial integrity, as well as world progress and peace. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, in response to the new international strategic situation in which the Soviet Union’s threats to China increased, the United States implemented strategic retrenchment, the Sino-Soviet and the US-Soviet tensions became more acute, and the Sino-US tensions eased relatively, Mao Zedong made timely strategic decisions to open the door to normalize Sino-US relations, opening up a new situation in China’s diplomacy. This major adjustment in diplomatic strategy has played an important role in safeguarding our country’s security and world peace. After the Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh CPC Central Committee in 1978, China entered a new historical period of Reform and Opening-up and socialist modernization. In response to the new changes in the international situation, Deng Xiaoping sized up the situation, made major adjustments to the foreign policy, and determined the “true non-alignment” strategy. In his opening speech at the 12th CPC National Congress in 1982, Deng Xiaoping announced: “Independence and self-reliance, regardless of past, present and future, are our footholds”. The Chinese people cherish the friendship and cooperation with other countries and peoples, and more cherish their independent rights obtained through long-term struggles. Any foreign country should not expect China to be their vassal, nor expect China to swallow the bitter fruit that harms our interests. At the enlarged meeting of the Central Military Commission in 1985, he clearly put forward the non-alignment policy: “China will not align with any major power nor support any one of them against the other.”

In the 1980s, Deng Xiaoping repeatedly stressed in diplomatic work that we should oppose hegemonism and maintain world peace; insist on developing friendly and cooperative relations with all countries on the basis of the “Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence”; strengthen solidarity and cooperation with Third World countries; actively promote the establishment of a peaceful, stable, fair and reasonable new international political and economic order; emphasized the need to unswervingly implement the policy of opening to the outside world; established the policy of making a difference, being good at being clumsy, and never taking the lead; established the four principles of inter-Party relations of independence, complete equality, mutual respect and non-interference with each other’s internal affairs; and emphasized that China is a force that safeguards world peace and stability and must make greater contributions to the cause of human progress. All of these are the inheritance and development of the independent and peaceful foreign policy. After the end of the Cold War, in the face of a complex and ever-changing international situation, China continued to create a new situation in diplomatic work, constantly enriching and improving the independent and peaceful foreign policy. Jiang Zemin pointed out that peace and development are still the themes of today’s era. It is necessary to firmly seize the period of important strategic opportunities, correctly grasp the development trend of world multipolarization and economic globalization, maintain world peace, and promote common development.

The fundamental goal of diplomatic work is to further consolidate and develop a peaceful international environment, especially surrounding environment, to as to serve China’s Reform and Opening-up and economic construction, and the great cause of the motherland’s reunification. Since the 16th CPC National Congress, Hu Jintao emphasized that adhering to the path of peaceful development means not only developing itself through the pursuit of a peaceful international environment, but also promoting world peace through its own development, and always being a firm force for maintaining world peace and promoting common development. China continues to adhere to the basic national policy of non-alignment, further strengthens solidarity and cooperation with developing countries, effectively safeguards national sovereignty and territorial integrity, and safeguards and enhances China's status as a great power. China has always advocated the democratization of international relations and the diversification of development models, actively promoted the development of economic globalization towards the direction of achieving common prosperity, and promoted the development of the international order in a fair and reasonable direction.

Since the 18th CPC National Congress, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has held high the banner of peace, development, cooperation, and win-win, and is unswervingly committed to maintaining world peace, promoting common development, and promoting the establishment of new-type international relations with cooperation for win-win results as its core, and successively proposed and implemented strategic concepts such as overall national security concept, the diplomacy of securing an amicable, tranquil and prosperous neighborhood, establishment of new-type relations between major powers, comprehensive opening up, building a community of shared future for mankind, and the “Belt and Road”, which further enriched and developed the independent and peaceful foreign policy. Adhering to the independent and peaceful foreign policy means putting national sovereignty and security first, firmly safeguarding our national interests, and opposing any country that undermines our independence, sovereignty, security and dignity; starting from the fundamental interests of the Chinese people and the people of the world, for all international affairs, deciding its own position and policy, upholding justice and refusing to succumb to any external pressure based on the merits of the matter itself, and everything shall measure against the criterion whether it is conducive to developing friendly relations among countries, maintaining world peace and promoting common development; insisting that the affairs of each country should be decided by the its government and people, and that the world ’s affairs should be negotiated by the governments and people of all countries on an equal footing, opposing hegemonism and power politics; advocating peaceful settlement of international disputes and hot issues, opposing resorting to force or threat of force at all times, opposing subversion of other countries’ legitimate regimes, and opposing all forms of terrorism; refusing to determine the intimacy of international relations based on the similarities and differences of social systems and ideologies, but insisting on establishing and developing friendly relations with all countries on the basis of the “Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence”; and insisting on not allying with any big power and group of countries, nor aligning with any big power and group of countries, refusing to engage in military blocs, participate in arms races and conduct military expansion, and never seeking hegemony.