| Community of Common Destiny | |||||||
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| Simplified Chinese | 人类命运共同体 | ||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 人類命運共同體 | ||||||
| Literal meaning | mankind shared-destiny community | ||||||
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Community of common destiny for mankind, officially translated ascommunity with a shared future for mankind[1][2] orhuman community with a shared future,[3] is apolitical slogan used by theChinese Communist Party (CCP) to describe a stated foreign-policy goal of thePeople's Republic of China.[4] The phrase was first used by formerCCP General SecretaryHu Jintao and has been frequently cited by current General SecretaryXi Jinping.[5][6] As the term's usage in English has increased, "shared future" has become more frequently used than "common destiny," as the latter arguably implies a predetermined path.[7] The phrase was included in theCCP Constitution in 1997, and the preamble of theConstitution of the People's Republic of China when the Constitution was amended in 2018.[7]
The CCP has used this slogan to express its aim of creating a “new framework” ofinternational relations which would promote and improve global governance.[8][5] Some Chinese analysts have hailed the expression as the first major amendment ofChina's foreign policy in more than four decades, shifting from being nation-oriented to focusing on the whole of humankind.[9] By 2023, the Community of Shared Future for Mankind had become China's most important foreign policy formulation in the Xi Jinping era.[10]: 6 As part of its effort to develop theChinese Dream, China seeks to use to Community of Shared Future for Mankind as a mechanism to expand its network of foreign relationships.[10]: 6
Chinese government officials have sought international recognition for the slogan and have argued that China will adhere to a peaceful development policy and has no intention to change the international order.[4] Government officials, especially diplomats, use the phrase to create a sense of a mission that is beneficial to other countries and not just China itself.[11]
The phrase "community of common destiny" first appeared in a report delivered by former CCP General Secretary Hu Jintao to the17th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party in 2007, referring to shared blood and common destiny of mainland China andTaiwan.[12]: 170 [13] In his 2012 report to the18th National Congress, Hu broadened the expression by adding “for all mankind” to emphasize that "mankind has only one earth to live on, and countries have only one world to share" and called for the building of a “harmonious world of enduring peace and common prosperity.” Hu envisioned a new type of more equitable and balanced global development partnership that would stick together in times of difficulty, both sharing rights and shouldering obligations, and boosting the common interests of mankind.[14][non-primary source needed]
When Xi Jinping met with foreigners for the first time after taking office as General Secretary of the CCP in November 2012, he said that the international community has increasingly become a community with shared future, with each having a stake in others.[15][16]
Xi used the slogan in an international arena at theMoscow State Institute of International Relations in March 2013, and again in a speech to theWorld Economic Forum inDavos, Switzerland in January 2017, which "won him high credits at home and abroad".[6]
International opposition led to the removal of the phrase from most of the draft resolutions, but it survived in two 2017 resolutions authored by the Chinese delegation: one on "no first placement of weapons inouter space", aimed at preventing anarms race in outer space, and a second on "further practical measures for the prevention of an arms race in outer space."[17][18][19] Chinese officials subsequently cited the two UN resolutions in “an attempt to demonstrate that the concept has been broadly accepted by the international community.”[6] However, when similar resolutions were approved in the 2018 session of the General Assembly, the controversial language was removed.[20][21] Delegations from multiple countries subsequently banded together to oppose Chinese efforts to include the phrase in other multilateral documents.[22]
On March 11, 2018, the constitutional amendment adopted at the first meeting of the 13thNational People's Congress of China added a sentence that promoted the building of a community with a shared future while developing diplomatic relations and economic and cultural exchanges with other countries.[23]
In August 2018,Yang Jiechi, wrote that "Building a community of common destiny for mankind is the overall goal of China's foreign affairs work in the new era" and requires a "new type of international relations."[24]
Chinese Foreign MinisterWang Yi used the phrase at the 2020Munich Security Conference.[11]
The term is frequently used in conjunction with diplomatic initiatives and is also associated with theBelt and Road Initiative.[25][26]: 35
In a speech at theUnited Nations in 2017, Xi described that principles underpinning the common destiny for humankind as: (1) bolstering the UN as the highest authority in international affairs, (2) equality of sovereignty among countries, which according to Xi entails non-interference with countries' internal affairs and equal rights and opportunities for all countries to participate in international organizations, and (3) democratization of international relations, which Xi contrasted with "hegemonism of one country" or "joint governance by several parties."[12]: 171
Beginning in 2017, Chinese diplomats at the UN sought to have the phrase inserted into severalUN General Assembly resolutions. Several other countries, including India and the United States, resisted this language, calling it inappropriate for multilateral resolutions to include the political ideology of one country.[22] As a result of sustained Chinese government's efforts, in 2017 the phrase was incorporated by the United Nations into the resolution on theUN Commission for Social Development.[7] It has also been used by theUN Disarmament Commission, theHuman Rights Council, and theUN General Assembly First Commission.[7]
TheChina–Arab States Cooperation Forum action plan following the 2020 meeting called for preserving the sovereignty and stability of the Arab states based on principles of non-interference and the Community of Shared Future for Mankind.[10]: 57
As part of a group of cooperation agreements announced during a December 2023 visit by Xi to Vietnam, China and Vietnam issued a joint statement to support building a community of shared future for humankind.[27]
According to academics Xu Jin and Guo Chu, the concept initially developed because of China's increasing international economic interests and has since broadened to become increasingly based on political and security understandings.[10]: 7
The British journalist Bill Hayton has argued that the CCP's vision of a "community with a shared future" represents "an attack on the multilateral order of international organizations, alliances and shared sovereignty that has attempted to manage the world since 1945."[28] Some have argued that Xi's community of common destiny for mankind would replace the established international order, grounded in free and sovereign nation-states that abide by commonly accepted international laws, with a unity of nations whose economic dependence on China leads them to defer to Chinese political demands.[29][30][31] HistorianSteve Tsang states that the concept presumes a vision oftianxia over and above theliberal international order.[12]
Academic Jeremy Garlick writes that the framing of the concept conveys the idea that China can help develop and lead regional groupings of countries which do not depend on the United States or the West for their funding or organization.[32]: 36 In this view, the concept signals a shift towards a more active role for China in world affairs.[32]: 36
Academic Chuchu Zhang writes that the concept allows other countries and local bodies in those countries to interpret the concept according to their own developmental priorities, such as economic growth generally, infrastructure development, or regional security.[33]: 81
The Party's current preferred rendering in English of "community of common destiny for mankind" is "community of a shared future for mankind." This article uses the former, as it is closer to the original Chinese.
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