TheFive Principles of Peaceful Coexistence (Chinese:和平共处五项原则;pinyin:Hépíng gòngchǔ wǔ xiàng yuánzé) are the official foreign relations principles of thePeople's Republic of China (PRC).
The principles were first mentioned in the1954 Sino-Indian Agreement. Also known asPanchsheel (Hindi:पंचशील,lit. 'five principles'),[1] these principles were subsequently adopted in a number of resolutions and statements, including in the preamble to thecountry's constitution in 1978.[2]
The Five Principles, as stated in the1954 Sino-Indian Agreement, are:[2]
These principles are a strict interpretation of theWestphalian norms of state sovereignty.[3]: 59 Since its inclusion in the Five Principles, China has emphasizednon-interventionism as major principle ofits foreign policy.[4]: 86
According to theMinistry of Foreign Affairs,CCP ChairmanMao Zedong first articulated the concept behind the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence at theproclamation of the People's Republic of China on 1 October 1949, where he said the new Chinese government would engage with anyone that agreed to "the principles of equality, mutual benefit, and mutual respect for territorial sovereignty".[2]
According toV. V. Paranjpe, an Indian diplomat and expert on China, the principles of Panchsheel were first publicly formulated byZhou Enlai — "While receiving the Indian delegation to the Tibetan trade talks on Dec. 31, 1953 [...] he enunciated them as "five principles governing China's relations with foreign countries."[5] Then in a joint statement in Delhi on 18 June 1954,[5] the principles were emphasized by the Prime Minister of India,Jawaharlal Nehru, and PremierZhou Enlai in a broadcast speech made at the time of the Asian Prime Ministers Conference inColombo,Sri Lanka just a few days after the signing of the Sino-Indian treaty in Beijing. Nehru went so far as to say: "If these principles were recognized in the mutual relations of all countries, then indeed there would hardly be any conflict and certainly no war."[6] It has been suggested that the five principles had partly originated as the five principles of the Indonesian state. In June 1945Sukarno, the Indonesian nationalist leader, had proclaimed five general principles, orpancasila, on which future institutions were to be founded. Indonesia became independent in 1949.[7]
In 1954, after engaging in similar talks with the Burmese government, the three countries agreed to change the fourth point from "mutual gain" to "mutual benefit". The first point was changed from "mutual respect for territorial sovereignty" to "mutual respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity" in 1955.[2] The five principles were incorporated in modified form in a statement ofTen Principles of Peaceful Coexistence[8] (known asDasasila Bandung) issued in April 1955 at the historicAsian-African Conference inBandung,Indonesia, which did more than any other meeting to form the idea that post-colonial states had something special to offer the world. "A resolution on peaceful co-existence jointly presented by India, Yugoslavia and Sweden was unanimously adopted in 1957 by theUnited Nations General Assembly".[9] The Five Principles as they had been adopted in Colombo and elsewhere formed the basis of theNon-Aligned Movement, established in Belgrade,Yugoslavia in 1961.[10]
China has often emphasized its close association with the Five Principles.[11] It had put them forward, as the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, at the start of negotiations that took place inDelhi from December 1953 to April 1954 between the Delegation of the PRC Government and the Delegation of the Indian Government on the relations between the two countries with respect to the disputed territories ofAksai Chin and what China callsSouth Tibet and IndiaArunachal Pradesh. The 28 April 1954 agreement mentioned above was set to last for eight years.[12] When it lapsed, relations were already souring, the provision for renewal of the agreement was not taken up, and theSino-Indian War broke out between the two sides.
In 1979, whenAtal Bihari Vajpayee, then India's Foreign Minister and future Prime Minister, went to China, the wordPanchsheel, found its way into the conversation during talks with the Chinese.[1] On the 50th anniversary of the treaty, theMinistry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China, said that "a new international order on the basis of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence" should be built.[13] Also in 2004, PremierWen Jiabao said,[14]
It is on the basis of the Five Principles that China has established and developed diplomatic relations with 165 countries and carried out trade, economic, scientific, technological and cultural exchanges and cooperation with over 200 countries and regions. It is on the basis of the Five Principles that China has, through peace negotiations, resolved the boundary issues with most neighbors and maintained peace and stability in its surrounding areas. And it is on the basis of the Five Principles that China has provided economic and technical aid with no political strings attached [...]
Deng Xiaoping championed the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence stating that they should be used as the "guiding norms of international relations".[15] He emphasized that China should follow the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence in managing its foreign relations with countries that were organized according to different political beliefs and social systems.[16]: 49
In June 2014, Vice President of IndiaHamid Ansari was welcomed by China into theGreat Hall of the People in Beijing for the commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the signing Panchsheel Treaty.[17] In 2017,CCP General SecretaryXi Jinping said that "China is ready to work with India to seek guidance from the five principles of Panchsheel".[18]
The Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence are Chinese political norms articulated in other contexts as well. In 1982,Hu Yaobang's report to the12th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party stated, "China adheres to an independent foreign policy and develops relationships with other countries under the guidance of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence."[19]: 206 According to the view stated by Hu in this report, "China will never be dependent on any big country or group of countries, nor will it yield to the pressure of any big country [...] The Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence apply to our relations with all countries, including socialist countries."[19]: 207
These principles are also part of the discourse inChina-Pakistan relations.[20]: 133–134 In a speech to Pakistani parliament in 1999, Chairman of the Standing Committee of China'sNational People's CongressLi Peng stated, "China has all along pursued an independent foreign policy of peace and established and developed relations with other countries on the basis of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence."[20]: 133 The principles were codified in the April 2005 Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation, and Good Neighborly Relations signed during a visit by Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao to Pakistan.[20]: 133
The Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence are the fundamental political norms underlying theChina-Arab States Cooperation Forum (CACF) and theForum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC).[3]: 59
Since the2011 NATO intervention in Libya, China has more strongly advocated for the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence.[3]: 60
China's United Nations Security Council voting behavior reflects its commitment to the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence.[3]: 193 From 1991 to 2020, the vast majority of China's abstentions and all of its vetoes have occurred on issues that involve territorial integrity, primarily sanctions and the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court.[3]: 193 In her analysis of China's Security Council voting behavior, Professor Dawn C. Murphy concludes, "These votes directly correspond to China's promotion of the Five Principles, especially the principles of mutual respect for territory and sovereignty and mutual noninterference in the internal affairs of other states."[3]: 193
Bhimrao Ambedkar said of the treaty in theRajya Sabha "I am indeed surprised that our Hon'ble Prime Minister is taking this Panchsheel seriously [...] you must be knowing that Panchsheel is one of the significant parts of the Buddha Dharma. If Shri Mao had even an iota of faith in Panchsheel, he would have treated the Buddhists in his country in a different manner."[21] In 1958,Acharya Kriplani had said the Panchsheel was "born in sin" because it was set forth with the destruction of a nation; India had approved of ancient Tibet's destruction.[21]
In 2014, Zhao Gancheng, a Chinese scholar said that on the surface Panchsheel seemed very superficial; but under thegeneral secretaryship of Xi Jinping, it has become relevant again.[17] In 2014,Ram Madhav wrote a piece in theIndian Express titled, "Moving beyond the Panchsheel deception" and said that if India and China decide to move on from the Panchsheel framework, it will benefit both countries.[22]
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Enshrined in China's Constitution, the Five Principles have long been held as the cornerstone of China's independent foreign policy of peace.
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