The Harmonious World

The main content of the strategic diplomatic concept put forward by Chinese leaders in the new century and new era: abide by the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations, abide by international law and universally recognized norms of international relations, carry forward the spirit of democracy, harmony, cooperation and win-win results in international relations, and the people of all countries work together to promote the building of a harmonious world of lasting peace and common prosperity.

On April 22, 2005, at the Asia-Africa Summit held in Jakarta, Hu Jintao put forward the concept of “harmonious world” for the first time, emphasizing the joint construction of a “harmonious world”.

The Sino-Russian joint statement on the international order in the 21st century issued on July 1 of the same year stated that the two countries are willing to make unremitting efforts with other countries to build a “developing and harmonious world”. In his speech at the summit on the 60th anniversary of the founding of the United Nations on September 15 of the same year, Hu Jintao once again systematically discussed the concept of a harmonious world, emphasizing: “Only when all countries in the world unite closely to seize opportunities and meet challenges, can we create a bright future for the development of human society and truly build a harmonious world of lasting peace and common prosperity.” After that, China successively put forward the propositions of harmonious neighborhood periphery, harmonious Asia, harmonious region and so forth, which further enriched the concept of harmonious world.

The reports of the 17th and 18th CPC National Congress continued the formulation of “harmonious world”. The report of the 18th CPC National Congress pointed out: “It is the common aspiration of the people of all countries to promote the construction of a harmonious world of lasting peace and common prosperity.” There is only one home for mankind, and it is the common aspiration of all mankind to build this home well. China advocates and is committed to building a harmonious world with all countries in the world, not “achieve universal peace”, but the lasting peace and common prosperity that the people of all countries look forward to. This is not only a long-term goal, but also a realistic task. In order to promote the construction of a harmonious world, China advocates carrying forward the spirit of equality and mutual trust, inclusiveness and mutual learning, and cooperation and mutual benefit in international relations, and jointly safeguard international fairness and justice.

Equality and mutual trust means to abide by the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations, adhere to the equality of all countries, big or small, strong or weak, rich or poor, politically respect each other, equal consultation, respect sovereignty and share security, jointly promote the democratization of international relations, and safeguard world peace and stability. Inclusive and mutual learning means to respect the diversity of world civilizations and the diversity of development paths, respect and safeguard the right of all countries to independently choose social systems and development paths; learn from each other culturally, seek common ground while reserving differences, to draw on others’ merits to offset its own weakness , and promote the progress of human civilization; trust each other in security, strengthen cooperation, and persist in resolving international disputes by peaceful means rather than war means. Help each other in environmental protection, work together, and jointly protect the earth home on which human beings depend for survival.

Cooperation and mutual benefit means mutual cooperation and complementary advantages in economy, jointly promoting the development of economic globalization in a balanced, inclusive and win-win direction, advocating the sense of a community with a shared future for mankind, taking into account the reasonable concerns of other countries in the pursuit of their own interests, promoting the common development of all countries in the pursuit of their own development, establishing a new global development partnership that is more equal and balanced, helping each other in the same boat, sharing powers and responsibilities, and promoting the common interests of mankind. In order to promote the construction of a harmonious world, China has, since the beginning of the new century, been committed to improving and developing relations with developed countries, expanding areas of cooperation, properly handling differences, and promoting the establishment of a new type of great power relations with long-term, stable and healthy development, in the field of great power diplomacy.

In neighboring diplomacy, China adheres to friendship and partnership with its neighbors, to foster an amicable; secure and prosperous neighborhood, highlights the concept of amity; sincerity; mutual benefit and inclusiveness, deepens mutually beneficial cooperation, and strives to make its own development better benefit neighboring countries. With regard to the vast number of developing countries, China has continuously strengthened its unity and cooperation with them, jointly safeguarded the legitimate rights and interests of developing countries, supported the expansion of the representation and voice of developing countries in international affairs, and promised to always be a reliable friend and sincere partner of developing countries.

In the field of multilateral diplomacy, China sincerely participates in multilateral affairs and supports the United Nations, the G20, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and the BRICS countries to play an active role in promoting the development of the international order and system in a fair and reasonable direction. In addition, China’s diplomacy in the new century attaches great importance to promoting public diplomacy and people-to-people exchanges, safeguarding China's legitimate rights and interests overseas, and attaching great importance to carrying out friendly exchanges with political parties and political organizations of various countries. strengthen external exchanges between people's congresses, CPPCC, local and non-governmental organizations, so as to consolidate the social foundation for the development of international relations. At the same time, the Chinese government is also soberly aware that there are still many unstable and uncertain factors in the world, and mankind still faces many severe challenges. Imperialism and hegemonism are the biggest obstacles to building a harmonious world. However, the opportunities outweigh the challenges.As long as all countries in the world make joint efforts, they can gradually achieve the goal of building a harmonious world of lasting peace and common prosperity.