Forging a Community of Shared Destiny for Mankind: The “Global Dream” of China

Ruan Zongze



Forging a Community of Shared Destiny for Mankind: The “Global Dream” of China

Ruan Zongze

Ruan Zongze is Senior Research Fellow and Executive Vice President of China Institute of International Studies.

In his New Year Message for 2016, Chinese President Xi Jinping said, “It’s such a big world with so many problems. The international community expects to hear China’s voice and see its proposals. We cannot be absent.”1“Chinese President Xi Jinping’s 2016 New Year Message,” December 31,2015, http://www.fmprc.gov. cn/mfa_eng/zxxx_662805/t1331985.shtml.Recognizing the profound changes taking place in the global landscape and the development trend of human society, President Xi has put forward a new concept of international relations, which is to “build a new type of international relations with win-win cooperation at the core, and forge the community of shared destiny for all humankind.” This is not only a declaration of policy, but also a vision for international relations that transcends the old “zero sum game.”

Core of President Xi Jinping’s Diplomatic Theories and Practice

In the new year message, President Xi expressed the hope that “the international community can join hands to contribute more peace and cooperation to the world, turn confrontation into cooperation, turn conflicts into peace, and work together to build a community of shared destiny possessed and shared by people of all countries.” This is China’s world view; and also its global dream.

The opening ceremony of the AIIB was held on January 16, 2016. The photo snapped the moment that President Xi unveiled the symbol sculpture of the AIIB – “Midas Touch.”

Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China in November 2012, the CPC Central Committee with President Xi Jinping as general secretary has been actively promoting the establishment of a “community of shared destiny for all humankind,” with win-win cooperation as its core value, refuting the idea that “a country will definitely seek hegemony once it becomes strong.” In March 2013, President Xi delivering a speech in Russia in which he said, “In the world today, countries are interconnected and interdependent in an unprecedented way. The human race lives in the same global village, and in the same space where history and reality meet. We are increasingly a community of shared destiny in which we are becoming ever more closely interconnected.”2“Chinese president calls for new-type int’l relations centered on win-win cooperation,” March 24, 2013, http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/china/2013-03/24/c_132257392.htm.In April of the same year, in his speech during the Boao Forum for Asia, Xi stressed that, “Humans have only one planet, and all countries share the same world. Commondevelopment is an important basis for sustainable development, which is in line with the long-term and fundamental interests of people in all countries. As we live in the same global village, we should firmly establish a sense of a community of shared destiny, act in keeping with the times, grasp the correct direction, and make joint efforts to bring the development of Asia and beyond to a new level.”3“Working Together Toward a Better Future for Asia and the World--Keynote Speech by H.E. Xi Jinping President of the People’s Republic of China at the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2013,” April 7, 2013, http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/china/2013-04/07/c_132290684.htm.Xi has said he likes the phrase “community of shared destiny” very much, and in December 2015, he proposed “building a cyberspace community of shared destiny” at the Second World Internet Conference.4“Remarks by H.E. Xi Jinping President of the People’s Republic of China at the Opening Ceremony of the Second World Internet Conference,” December 16, 2015, http://www.fmprc.gov.cn/mfa_eng/ zxxx_662805/t1327570.shtml.

In September 2015, in his speech at the 70th UN General Assembly, Xi said that all countries now depend on each other and share together each other’s weal and woe. He said all countries should inherit and carry forward the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, build a new type of international relations with win-win cooperation at the core, and establish a community of shared destiny for all humankind. He called for partnerships featuring equal treatment, wide consultation and mutual understanding, and the upholding of integrity and justice, and urged the establishment of a security structure shared by all. He said countries’ development paths should be mutually beneficial, inclusive and respect nature, and exchanges between civilizations featuring mutual accommodation and harmony without uniformity should be promoted.5Xi Jinping, “Working Together to Create a New Mutually Beneficial Partnership and Community of Shared Future for Mankind — Speech at the General Debate of the 70th Session of the UN General Assembly,” September 28, 2015, http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/special/2015-11/28/c_134864551.htm.At the 2015 Boao Forum for Asia, Xi outlined four principles to promote the establishment of a community of shared destiny for all humankind: all countries should uphold mutual respect and equal treatment; adhere to win-win cooperation and common development; achieve common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainablesecurity; and stick to inclusiveness, mutual accommodation, mutual learning and borrowing between different civilizations.6“Towards a community of common destiny--keynote speech given by Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2015,” March 28, 2015, http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/ opinion/2015-03/30/content_19946411.htm.From bilateral communities of shared destiny to regional communities of shared destiny, to a community of shared destiny for humankind, Xi has continually broadened the scope of China’s vision of a common community.

In recent years, China has being building communities of shared destiny with Arab states, Latin American countries, African countries and ASEAN countries. It has further proposed to build an “Asian community of shared destiny,” “a community of shared destiny with China’s neighboring countries” and “a community of shared destiny for all humankind.” Xi has explained the concept in different ways. For example: “Once the water rises, the lotus blooms higher”; “You travel faster when you travel alone, but you travel farther when you travel with others”; “One single tree is incapable of blocking the wind”; “When the big river is full of water, the smaller ones will never run dry, and vice versa”; “One will burn one’s hair blowing out another’s candle”; “A single flower does not make a spring, which is defined by all flowers in bloom.” These traditional expressions vividly portray the concept, and show that a community of common destiny for all humankind is now at the heart of China’s diplomatic theory and practice. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has pointed out that the country’s new type of international relations answer the question of what kind of international relations China wants to build. And a community of shared destiny for humankind further answers the question of what kind of a world China seeks to build. “Once this important idea was raised, it was universally recognized and welcomed by the international community, developing countries in particular. It is becoming another important banner of China’s diplomacy on the global stage.”7Wang Yi: “2015: A Year of Flying Colors for Pursuing Major-Country Diplomacy with Distinctive Chinese Feature,” December 12, 2015, http://www.fmprc.gov.cn/mfa_eng/zxxx_662805/t1329609.shtml.

The Chinese Dream and a Community of Shared Destiny Provide Opportunities for Each Other

First of all, the destiny of China is closely related to that of the world. The Chinese dream and the dream of building a community of shared destiny for all humankind depend on each other and reinforce each other. China thus has two dreams: the Chinese dream and a global dream. The realization of the Chinese dream also requires the construction of the community of shared destiny for all humankind. While, at the same time, it is of great significance for the global community that China realize the Chinese dream.

Never before has China been so close to the center of the global stage. Since the 18th CPC National Congress, it has been a common expectation of the Chinese people that the Chinese dream of achieving the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation will be realized. The realization of the Chinese dream and the peaceful development of the world are closely associated and offer opportunities to each other. On December 5, 2012, when he was talking to foreign experts living in China, President Xi mentioned the relationship between China’s development and the shared destiny of the global community, saying, “Our undertaking is an undertaking to achieve win-win cooperation with all countries around the world. The international community is increasingly becoming a community of shared destiny in which every country is dependent on one another.” Countries should be consistent with the trend of the times, grasp the right direction, and achieve mutual benefit and win-win results by firmly establishing the awareness of a community of shared destiny for all mankind.

In the face of the great changes and adjustments taking place in the world, China’s diplomacy in the new era has adopted a broader global vision and sense of responsibility. The CPC Central Committee coordinates domestic and international policies, strengthens top-level design, and combines various diplomatic approaches such as host diplomacy, pointenhancing diplomacy, and multilateral diplomacy. Being both flexible andpragmatic, China’s diplomacy employs both hard and soft approaches and makes greater progress with each passing year. Xi makes the most of various international occasions and forums to explain to the outside world “China’s story” and create a favorable environment for the realization of the Chinese dream. He clarifies what kind of a country China is, China’s commitment to a peaceful path of development, the future prospects for the Chinese economy, and why the Chinese dream is of great significance to the world. Xi has pointed out that we should “focus on the new situation and new tasks, actively promote diplomatic innovation in terms of theory and practice, give priority to explaining how the Chinese dream is relevant to the world, enrich the strategic thinking of peaceful development, establish a new type of international relations featuring win-win cooperation, uphold friendship and use the right way to achieve interests, advocate common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security values, build a new type of relationship between major countries, put forward and implement the philosophy on peripheral diplomacy of amity, sincerity, mutual benefit and inclusiveness, and carry out the guidelines of sincerity, real results, affinity and good faith in our relations with African countries.8“The Central Conference on Work Relating to Foreign Affairs was Held in Beijing,” November 29, 2014, http://www.fmprc.gov.cn/mfa_eng/zxxx_662805/t1215680.shtml.

In 2015, China made sustained efforts to strengthen its diplomacy and this yielded remarkable results. President Xi made eight foreign visits in 2015, covering four continents, 14 countries and nine international conferences. The fruits of these include: the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), which has been officially launched, preliminary achievements of the Belt and Road Initiative, China provided another $60 billion as assistance for Africa, the renminbi was successfully included in the International Monetary Fund’s Special Drawing Rights basket of currencies, and China joined the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). The US Congress approved the reform program of the IMF, which raised China’s share in the institution from 3.996 percent to 6.394 percent, and it now ranks third among all member countries, up from sixth. Thismove has added to China’s weight in the global economy. The free trade agreements China signed with South Korea and Australia came into force on December 20, 2015. All these show, as Xi said, “China will always open its arms to the rest of the world; and we will try our best to help those in need. We will make our circle of friends larger and larger.”9“Chinese President Xi Jinping’s 2016 New Year Message,” December 31, 2015, http://www.fmprc.gov. cn/mfa_eng/zxxx_662805/t1331985.shtml.

Second, the world expects China to play a greater role. By advocating the building a community of shared destiny for all humankind, President Xi is demonstrating China’s willingness to shoulder greater responsibility in world affairs. And, as he has pointed out, that while the Chinese people uphold patriotism, they also have global horizons and think globally. As the country’s national strength grows, China will shoulder more international responsibilities and obligations within its capabilities, so as to make greater contributions to world peace and global development.10“Chinese president says BRICS cooperation benefits world economy,” March 19, 2013, http://news. xinhuanet.com/english/indepth/2013-03/19/c_132246208.htm.Today’s China is a global country. The Chinese people share weal and woe with the rest of the planet. As a builder of and contributor to the international order, China actively participates in global governance, and it is expanding its status and role in world affairs. China played a key role in the making of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the post-2020 climate change arrangement. It has also actively responded to all kinds of global challenges, including terrorism. In September 2015, during the 70th session of the UN General Assembly, President Xi expounded China’s “five-in-one” values on international order, which was the first time that the ecological system was introduced in the context of the international order.

2015 marks the 70th anniversary of the founding of the United Nations. As a founding member of the UN, China has taken concrete actions to support the organization in its efforts to play a larger role. Xi announced that China would join the new UN peacekeeping standby mechanism. China has taken the lead in the formation of a standing peacekeeping force, andestablished a 8,000-people standby peacekeeping force. In the next five years, China will train 2,000 peacekeeping personnel for other countries, and carry out 10 mine clearance assistance projects; provide the African Union with $100 million of free military assistance, so as to support the establishment of Africa’s standing army and emergency response forces; arrange the first helicopter unit for the peacekeeping operations of the UN in Africa; and part of the China-UN Peace and Development Fund will be used to support the peacekeeping operations of the UN.11“China is Here for Peace--Remarks by H.E. Xi Jinping President of the People’s Republic of China at the United Nations Peacekeeping Summit,” September 28, 2015, http://www.fmprc.gov.cn/mfa_eng/ wjdt_665385/zyjh_665391/t1305410.shtml.Xi stressed in the UN Development Summit that we needed to promote fair, open, comprehensive and innovative development. In the future, China will continue to follow the principle of “pursuing both integrity and interests, with priority given to integrity,” and make joint efforts with other countries to realize the post-2015 development agenda. China will establish the South-South cooperation assistance fund, and offer $2 billion as the first period support for developing countries to implement their post-2015 development agenda. It will also intensify its investment in the least developed countries, striving to invest $12 billion by 2030. It will also remit the unpaid intergovernmental interest-free loans and debts due by 2015 of the least developed countries, inland developing countries and small island developing countries.12“Towards a Mutually Beneficial Partnership for Sustainable Development — Speech at the UN Sustainable Development Summit,” September 26, 2015, http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/special/2015-11/28/c_134864540.htm.Though still a developing country, China is willing to do its best to contribute to the economic growth of other developing countries and the improvement of people’s livelihoods in those countries.

From late November to early December 2015, during the opening session of the Paris Conference on Climate Change, President Xi called on the developed countries to share more and take more responsibility to achieve mutual benefits and win-win results. He further said that we should ensure the effective compliance and implementation of international rules, upholddemocracy, equality, justice, and the international rule of law, and follow the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities, and that all countries should be allowed to seek the strategies and responses to climate change most suited to their national conditions. During the critical period of negotiations, President Xi talked to President Obama on the telephone, which played a major role in enabling the conference to achieve concrete results. After the Paris climate change agreement was signed, Xi talked with Obama again, as scheduled, to emphasize that China stands ready to coordinate and cooperate with all relevant parties including the United States, so as to ensure the effective implementation of the agreement, expand bilateral pragmatic cooperation in the field of climate change, and bring more and better benefits to people of China and the United States, as well as the other parts of the world. The UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said that China had demonstrated “strong leadership” to promote and secure an agreement in Paris.

Focusing on the building of a community of common destiny for all humankind, President Xi has spread China’s voice by fully explaining China’s views on the most important issues facing the world today, covering such fields as politics, economy, security, culture, global governance, the environment, development, counterterrorism, nonproliferation of nuclear weapons, peacekeeping, the rights of women, and natural disasters. These efforts have raised the strength of China’s voice in discussing global issues and shaping international rules, enhanced the transparency and predictability of China’s policies, and won the praise of the international community.

The Building of a Community of Shared Destiny for All Humankind Promotes Major-Country Diplomacy with Chinese Characteristics

The concept of a community of common destiny for all humankind has enriched China’s strategic thinking of peaceful development. The report of the 18th CPC National Congress points out that China will continueto hold high the banners of peace, development, cooperation and win-win results, and will unswervingly seek to safeguard world peace and promote common development. It further stresses that China remains committed to the path of peaceful development, adheres to an independent foreign policy of peace, and follows its opening-up strategy for mutual benefit and win-win cooperation. In January 2013, when he was presiding over the group study of the Political Bureau of CPC Central Committee, President Xi pointed out that while pursuing the path of peaceful development, we cannot sacrifice our core national interests. For the first time, the Chinese leader clarified the dialectics of China’s peaceful development as well as its bottom line. He stressed that China should be good at analyzing the general situation to make the right decisions while “grasping the international trend of peace, development and win-win cooperation, and the domestic trend of prosperity, strength, democracy, cultural progress, and harmony.”

The Paris Climate Conference is held from 30 November to 12 December 2015 aimed at reaching an inter'l deal to limit greenhouse gas emissions and curtail climate change.

Faced with rapid changes in the international situation, China’s

diplomatic thinking and practice have been highly innovative, demonstrating distinct Chinese characteristics: In terms of major-country relations, China has proposed a new type of major country relationship featuring “nonconflict, non-confrontation, mutual respect and win-win cooperation”; in terms of country-to-country relations, it follows a path of “upholding dialogue rather than confrontation, and partnership rather than alignment.”China seeks to make friends with as many countries as possible, and forge a network of partnerships covering the whole world and a circle of friends that expands with each passing year (see the chart below). But even as China promotes the establishment of a community of shared destiny for all humankind, it must properly deal with its relations with other major countries, as well as its developing neighbors. In terms of conflicts, China consistently advocates solving disputes through dialogue and disagreements through consultations.

China’s partnerships with 74 countries or organizations at the end of 2015

Note: Resource from mfa.gov.cn, xinhuanet.com and people.com.cn, as of 2015.

China-Russia relations have been managed at a high level. Russia outnumbers all other countries as the host of President Xi’s visits. Both in 2013 and 2014, President Xi paid visits to Russia. In May and July 2015, he went to Russia twice to attend the event commemorating the 70th anniversary of the victory of Russia’s great patriotic war, and the BRICS Summit and SCO Summit in Ufa. President Putin also visited China in early September 2015 to attend the event commemorating the 70th anniversary of victory in the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1937-1945) and the world’s war against fascism. The two leaders have had close communication and frequent meetings. In December, Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang and Russia’s Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev co-chaired the 20th China-Russian regular prime ministerialmeeting in Beijing, with over 30 bilateral cooperation documents signed to enrich the mutually beneficial cooperation between the two countries. China and Russia also cooperate closely within the platforms of United Nations, G20, and BRICS. The coordination and communication on international and regional issues have enriched and deepened the China-Russia strategic partnership of coordination.

China has pioneered a new type of major country relationship with the United States. China-US relations in the 21st century and the future of the world will be determined by whether the two countries, as the world’s largest and second-largest economies, can coexist peacefully. In February 2012, when Xi was visiting the United States as Chinese vice-president, he proposed building a new type of major country relationship. This was unprecedented. In November of the same year, the report of the 18th CPC National Congress pointed out that we should “establish a new type of major country relationship featuring long-term, stable and healthy development.”In September 2015, President Xi paid his first state visit to the United States, during which the two countries further removed doubts, focused on cooperation and looked forward to the future. Against the complex backdrop of the United States’ upcoming presidential election and its rebalancing to the Asia-Pacific, both leaderships have stressed the need to further expand cooperation and effectively manage disagreements. As Foreign Minister Wang Yi said, this visit “will lay a solid foundation for the development of China-US relations over the longer term, create more opportunities for China to realize domestic development goals, and set a good example for building new type of international relations.” To build a new type of major country relationship featuring “non-conflict, non-confrontation, mutual respect, and win-win cooperation” has become the basic guiding principle of China-US relations. Special meetings between the two leaders, such as the “no-ties meeting” in Sunnylands in 2013, the Zhongnanhai talks in 2014 and White House talks in 2105, have helped promote a new type of major country relationship between China and the United States. Despite all the twists and turns on the road towards a new type of major countryrelationship, travelling along this road is an irresistible trend.

The dialogue and cooperation between China and the European Union have been in-depth and extensive. In March 2014, President Xi paid a historic visit to the EU headquarters and proposed establishing a China-EU partnership for peace, growth, reform, and civilization. 2015 marks the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and the European Union. In late September, President Xi paid a successful state visit to the United Kingdom, signing deals worth 40 billion pounds. During his visit, the United Kingdom expressed the desire to be China’s “best partner in the West.” China-UK relations are now believed to have entered a “golden age.” Subsequently, the German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande successively visited China. The intensive meetings and discussions about cooperation among the leaders of China, the United Kingdom, Germany and France have helped to further advance China-EU relations. From late June to early July, Premier Li Keqiang flew to the EU headquarters to attend the 17th China-EU Summit and visited Belgium and France. China and the European Union have made great efforts to align the Belt and Road Initiative with the Europe Development Plan, international production capacity cooperation with the Investment Plan for Europe, and “16+1” cooperation with China-Europe cooperation. For 11 consecutive years, the European Union has been the largest trading partner of China. And for 12 consecutive years, China has been the European Union’s second-largest trading partner. In 2014, bilateral trade exceeded $600 billion. The European Union’s cumulative investment in China has reached nearly $100 billion. In 2014, China’s investment in Europe exceeded Europe’s investment in China for the first time.

The proposal to establish a community of shared destiny for all humankind has made China a shaper of its peripheral diplomacy, which enables it to better safeguard peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region. China’s peripheral areas have been basically stable, with the regional economy growing rapidly. However, recently, some countries both inside and outside of the region have colluded with one another to make trouble in the SouthChina Sea. Some countries outside the region are interfering in the disputes with a view to provoking conflicts between China and its neighbors so that they can benefit from the troubles. In October 2013, the central government held a symposium on peripheral diplomacy, which comprehensively analyzed China’s peripheral diplomacy and strengthened its top-level design. China’s guideline for its peripheral diplomacy is “being a good neighbor and partner”and it adheres to a policy of “building an amicable, prosperous and secure neighborhood” through amity, sincerity, mutual benefit and inclusiveness. In April 2015, when President Xi went to Indonesia to attend events commemorating the 60th anniversary of the Asian-African Summit and the Bandung Conference, he proposed strengthening Asian-African cooperation and promoting the building of a community of common destiny for all humankind to bring greater benefits to people in Asia, Africa and beyond. China and ASEAN are each other’s opportunities. As a community of common interests and destiny, the two sides are committed to building “diamond years” over the next 10 years, promoting the China-ASEAN Free Trade Zone version 2.0, and discussing and concluding a treaty on goodneighborliness, friendship and cooperation, so as to provide an institutional framework and legal guarantee for the long-lasting peaceful coexistence of both sides. China insists on dealing with the South China Sea issues with a dual track approach—direct negotiations between disputing parties and joint efforts to maintain peace and stability—so that the issues will not affect China-ASEAN relations as a whole. In November of the same year, President Xi visited Vietnam and Singapore, two countries along the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road, in order to further expand friendly cooperation between China and ASEAN countries.

In October 2015, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang visited South Korea and attended the sixth China-Japan-ROK Summit. The total GDP of China, Japan and South Korea is more than $16 trillion, accounting for over 20 percent of the world’s total. The foreign trade volume of the three countries is nearly $7 trillion, accounting for over 20 percent of the world’s total. The China-Japan-ROK Summit is an important platform to promote NortheastAsia cooperation. However, after the fifth meeting in May 2012, China-Japan and South Korea-Japan relations deteriorated due to the actions and words of the Japanese government. The resumption of the summit after three year will help improve relations, manage disputes, and promote the peace and stability of Northeast Asia. In November 2014, during the East Asia Summit, Premier Li said China stood ready to join hands with countries in the region to build an Asian community of shared interests, shared responsibilities and shared destiny. In November 2015, Premier Li attended the 18th meeting of China-ASEAN “10+1” Summit, the 18th ASEAN “10+3” Summit with China, Japan and ROK, as well as the 10th East Asia Summit, and visited Malaysia. In short, from Central Asia to Southeast Asia, from Northeast Asia to South Asia, the Chinese leaders have sought to build a community of shared destiny for all humankind starting with neighboring countries.

As the largest developing country in the world, China shares a unique relationship with other developing countries. In 2015, the arrangement and plan of China’s diplomacy have given priority to developing countries. 2015 started with the China-CELAC Forum, and ended with the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation. The China-CELAC Forum, Forum on China-Africa Cooperation and China-Arab States Cooperation Forum have become three major platforms for China to build a community of common destiny with developing countries. Together with the Belt and Road Initiative, the three platforms cover most of the developing countries in the world.

In early December 2015, President Xi Jinping paid state visits to Zimbabwe and South Africa, and co-chaired the summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation with the South African President Jacob Zuma in Johannesburg. He delivered a speech titled Open a New Era of China-Africa Win-Win Cooperation and Common Development, which expressed China’s willingness to join hands with Africa to implement 10 major cooperation plans over the next three years. President Xi presided over the adoption of the Declaration of the Johannesburg Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation and the Johannesburg Action Plan (2016-2018) of theForum on China-Africa Cooperation and gave a closing speech, in which he stressed that China’s policy toward African countries is one of sincerity, real results, affinity and good faith, and it upholds friendship and the right way to achieve interests. Xi said China will continue to join hands with African countries to make even greater progress and realize the common development of China and Africa. Despite all the readjustment and evolution of the international pattern, the brotherhood of equality, mutual trust and mutual support between China and Africa remains unchanged. Despite the ups and downs of the economic situation, the fundamental purpose of win-win cooperation and common development between China and Africa remain unchanged. Despite all the changes of the times and society, the coordination spirit of mutual understanding and common progress between China and Africa remains unchanged. Despite all the possible threats and challenges, the firm will to share weal and woe between China and Africa remains unchanged. In December 2015, the Chinese government issued the second document about China’s Africa policy, which comprehensively explained the new ideas, initiatives and measures of China.13“China’s second Africa policy paper,” December 4, 2015, http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2015-12/04/c_134886545.htm.After 15 years of efforts, the trade volume between China and Africa has jumped from $10 billion to $220 billion, and China’s investment in Africa has soared from $500 million to nearly $30 billion; over 3,000 Chinese enterprises have chosen to invest and run business in the African continent. China has won the trust of African countries through sincere cooperation. The mutually beneficial cooperation between China and African countries has witnessed remarkable achievements, effectively responding to some of the Western media which have tried hard to discredit China’s role in Africa.

Conclusion

Under the strong leadership of the CPC Central Committee with Xi Jinping as general secretary, China is vigorously advancing the strategic deploymentof the Four Comprehensives—to comprehensively build a moderately prosperous society, comprehensively deepen reform, comprehensively govern the nation according to law, and comprehensively govern the Party strictly—and making unremitting efforts to establish a well-off society in an all-round manner and realize the first centenary goal of building of a moderately prosperous society by 2020. The major-country diplomacy with Chinese characteristics embodies the great traditions of China with an innovative and pioneering spirit, and it has made visible and concrete achievements. The community of shared destiny for all humankind advocated by President Xi vividly encapsulates China’s global vision. As another major idea on international relations after the “new type of international relations,” it transcends the zero-sum game mentality which has prevailed in historical hegemony-seeking between big powers. When it comes to international and regional hotspot issues, China actively promotes peace and dialogue, shoulders its due responsibilities, and upholds fairness and justice. To actions that violate rules governing international relations and the spirit of the UN Charter, China dares to say no, which is also a demonstration of its sense of responsibility. Living in the same global village, the human race has witnessed more and more common challenges, and its destiny should be considered with a global view. But the world is very diverse and the future should be built not only upon the idea of “seeking agreement,” but also upon “allowing differences.”

2016 marks the first year of China’s 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-2020). China is moving from being a big country to a strong country. With the globalization of China’s interests, the challenges it faces are also globalized. Therefore, China must be good at creating opportunities in a smart way, uphold trust and good-neighborliness, highlight its priorities, and make steady and concrete progress. Guided by the principle of building a community of common destiny for all humankind, Chinese diplomacy promises to become even more fruitful and outstanding.

Public Diplomacy and the Chinese Dream: Challenges and Opportunities

Shen Yamei

Shen Yamei is Associate Research Fellow at the Department for American Studies, China Institute of International Studies.

Since the 18th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party, the Central Committee of the Party with Xi Jinping as its General Secretary has put forward the goal of realizing the Chinese dream, which is the solemn commitment of the new leadership towards the realization of the dreams of Chinese development, national rejuvenation and people’s well-being. It brings new opportunities and missions for China‘s public diplomacy, which seeks to improve China’s image and upgrade its national soft power.

The international communication of the Chinese dream faces challenges

Currently, the outside world is widely concerned about how China will materialize the Chinese dream, and what implications the Chinese dream has for the rest of the world. There are people who understand and appreciate it. But there are also those who have misunderstandings and skepticism. Some argue that the Chinese dream is equal to the pursuit of hegemony and the establishment of a “regional order based on Sino-centrism.” It will not be an easy task to promote a positive image of the Chinese dream and win the understanding, recognition and endorsement of the international community.

The subject of the realization of the Chinese dream

The Chinese dream is both the national dream of rejuvenation, as well as each Chinese citizen’s dreams for a better future. Fundamentally then, it is the dream of the people. Yet the realization of the Chinese dream will not only benefit the Chinese people, it will also benefit the people of the world. The outside world’s opinion has resonance towards this to some extent, recognizing the Chinese nation as a whole is the subject of the realization of the Chinese dream. Furthermore, the Chinese dream can be shared by the world, which means other countries can benefit from its economic aspects and share the development opportunities it promises. Thus, even though countries pursue different dreams and have different values, beliefs and political cultures, conflicts will not necessarily occur among them.

On the other hand, the outside world is also concerned about the impacts of the Chinese dream on each individual country. For instance, Americans often regard the Chinese dream as a challenge to the American dream. They are afraid of the rise of China, comparing it with the United States’ retreat from overseas and the falling living standards at home. Some of the countries neighboring China are also worried that China’s commitment to peace will change. They want China to resist the temptation of regional hegemony.

In addition, some Western media question the domestic representation of the Chinese dream due to their ideological bias, criticizing its denial of the constitutional dream with individual dignity as its core. They call for political “liberalization” in China. In essence, they regard the Chinese dream as a bid to extend the rule of the Communist Party of China. This type of rhetoric indicates that the West deems its own political system and democratic model as the universal ideal. This is deeply rooted in the West’s mentality, which evaluates and judges the Chinese democratic practice against the standard of Western political systems and practices. Interpreting the Chinese dream in this way, it turns communication of the Chinese dream into a new battle between China and the West. Facing complicated and diversified understandings of the Chinese dream, China’s public diplomacy needs to advance with times andelaborate more explicitly how the Chinese dream can not only benefit the Chinese people but also enable China to assume its responsibilities as a major power and make its own contributions to the world.

The basic meaning of the Chinese dream

The Chinese leadership emphasizes that the Chinese dream is one of peace, development, cooperation and win-win solutions. It is a beautiful ideal aimed at realizing national prosperity, national rejuvenation and improving people’s well-being, in other words the “Two Centenary Goals.” However, according to the outside world, the basic meaning of the Chinese dream is not clear, which results in misinterpretations. What the outside world recognizes most about the Chinese dream are the achievements of China’s economic development, the fairly high living standards of Chinese people, the country’s rich history and culture, and its position as a world power. Nevertheless the outside world is divided on China’s political development, military build-up, social contradictions and foreign policy. For instance, some argue positively that the Chinese dream is making the rule of law and judicial independence the new norm in China, benefiting its modern administration. However, some people express skepticism that the content of the Chinese dream includes realizing the rule of law and promoting political liberalization.

With regards to the problems and difficulties in the process of China’s development, the Western mainstream media on one hand focuses on the internal affairs of China, regarding rampant corruption, the growing income gaps, environmental degradation, legal injustice, backward social security, inadequate public health system and soaring real estate prices as the sources of the biggest problems facing the realization of the Chinese dream. On the other hand, it distorts the Chinese dream as the dream of a “heavenly empire,” “nationalist dream,” “military hegemony dream” and “dominating East Asia dream,” etc. The international media, especially the Western media, still lack a proper understanding of the basic meaning, spirit and values of the Chinese dream. The development achievements of China in the fields of politics, economy and culture are yet to be translated into thecompetitiveness of its voice in reality.

The prospects of the Chinese dream

China stresses what the Chinese dream offers the world is peace rather than instability, and opportunities rather than threats. However, its “rise” is the momentum of a major power that is shaping international politics, and the global economic landscape and international pattern. Some conservatives in the West are extremely sensitive to this, attempting to prove via policies, publicity and academic research that rising countries tend to adopt expansionism to acquire desired resources. It implies that they lack confidence in China’s rise and have profound strategic suspicion. These people suspect that the Chinese dream is synonymous with ambition. For instance, they call the Asian Security Concept and the Belt and Road Initiative put forward by China as Chinese versions of the Monroe Doctrine and the Marshall Plan, and claim it is the beginning of an international order of “Sino-centrism.” They also worry how far and for how long the Chinese dream can advance. For instance, the “China Collapse” paradigm of Professor David Shambaugh of George Washington University argues that “it is possible that China will encounter stagnation or even setback in the future.” Facing such negative expectations, observations and suspicions from the outside world, the Chinese dream must convince people with facts, use sincerity to clear up doubts, and move beyond the tremendous international pressure imposed by the so-called dilemma of a rising major power.

The Chinese dream bestows public diplomacy with its mission

Compared with its development achievements and international importance, China still exists in an international discourse system of a strong West and weak China. The public diplomacy of the Chinese dream should start from the two aspects of its meaning and communication of it, confidently telling good Chinese stories, elaborating Chinese characteristics and communicating Chinese values. It should demonstrate confidence in Chinese theory and theChinese system and confidence in socialism with Chinese characteristics. It is the era mission to carry out such public diplomacy effectively.

From knowing itself to expressing itself

With China’s growing economic clout and political influence, not only will the Chinese factor in major international political and economic issues or regional crises attract the close attention of the outside world, but also the internal development of China will come under the scrutiny of the international community. However, the world’s understanding of China is still incomplete. Of course, the multiple identity of China as a socialist country, developing power, power of oriental civilization and responsible power makes it more difficult for the outside world to understand China. So China, more than ever, needs to introduce its real and comprehensive self to the world.

But conveying self-awareness alone is not sufficient to fill the understanding gap of the Chinese dream between China and the outside world. China’s public diplomacy should first use a way of expression which can be understood by the international community, making the world have a better knowledge of China and trust China more. With regard to the nature of the national system, its public diplomacy should clearly elaborate the core socialist values of China, defining, explaining and communicating the concepts such as rule of law, democracy and human rights contained in the Chinese dream. It should deny the freedom of other countries to place labels on China. With regard to the country’s social and economic nature, China’s public diplomacy should not only exploit its rich resources of traditions and cultures, but also showcase the spirit of contemporary Chinese culture. It should promote integration between the East and West. With regard to the nature of diplomacy and strategy, public diplomacy should actively articulate the Chinese position and voice on international issues such as the global economy, climate change and internet security, enhance the understanding of the outside world of Chinese foreign policy, display China’s constructive stance in participating in regional and international affairs, offset the passive impact of all kinds of alleged “China threats,” and strengthen theattractiveness of China’s image.

From one way absorption to two way interaction

All countries have come to realize that the rise of China can’t be stopped. They hope to take a ride on the train of China’s development and strengthen exchanges and cooperation with China in the fields of governing experience and social and economic development. On China’s part, its attitude towards the international system has changed from resistance to cooperation and it has gradually formed a mature view of its international responsibilities. When China grows to be an authentic world power in the future, it should continue this process of “two way adaption.” China needs to adapt its major power status and the world needs to adapt to the rising power of China at the same time. The process of two way interaction opens a new window of opportunity for the public diplomacy of China.

Since the launch of reform and opening-up, China, in order to integrate into the world, has sincerely abided by the international rules, endeavored to adapt to the international concepts and terms, tried its best to enhance the world’s understanding of its attitudes and deeds, and improved the international public opinion environment surrounding it. China influence in the international system continues to grow, and it now has the power to change some unfair rules and develop and introduce the development concept and paradigms with the Chinese characteristics. Its rise is pushing the world to enter a new era. The West is starting to regard Chinese concepts and thoughts as paradigms for the new era. The fruits of the two way interaction provide valuable enlightenment and thinking for the Chinese public diplomacy to realize and communicate the Chinese dream.

From political communication to value contributions

Historically speaking, gaining an advantage in the world’s discourse takes time. In order to win global respect, China must also contribute appealing values and ideas to the world, which should be different from the “universal” values recognized by the West and represent the imaginationand creativity of the Chinese people when they encounter tests on the road forward. China should constantly review its experiences and lessons, change the discourse of political communication and contribute its values and demonstrate their charms. In fact, international relations nowadays is more balanced because of the integration of different thoughts, which provides enough space for Chinese concepts and values to play a leading role on the international stage. In the process of deepening the external communication of the Chinese dream, Chinese public diplomacy should send forth the Chinese voice and tell good Chinese stories. It should also communicate properly contemporary Chinese values and elaborate the roots and cultural genes behind the successful stories of China, particularly its governance system and development model. It should help domestic and foreign affairs, as well as its core values, to be understood, recognized and accepted by the outside world, making contributions to the diversification of global values and ideas.

Perfecting public diplomacy continuously to promote the communication of the Chinese dream

The Chinese dream raises higher demands for China’s public diplomacy, encouraging intensified efforts to continuously improve the work of top level design, mechanism construction, capacity building and grassroots exchanges. We should promote information delivery and communication of the Chinese dream in an all round way to form a new model of public diplomacy that incorporates state and non-state actors and traditional and non-traditional media and platforms and people-to-people interactions.

Building the framework of multiple subjects of public diplomacy

The leading role of the government is essential. The leadership of the government in public diplomacy can play a guiding and tonesetting role, which is helpful to focus power on big issues and provide authoritative interpretations of domestic and foreign policies. It will make the interpretation and communication of the relevant concepts and ideasof the Chinese dream more accurate and systematic. For instance, since 2010, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China has increased the guidance and coordination of the public diplomacy of the Ministry and overseas missions through the establishment of the Public Diplomacy Office. China has rich public diplomacy resources, such as the China Culture Center of the Ministry of Culture, the Confucius Institutes of Hanban under the Ministry of Education, the foreign aid programs of the Ministry of Commerce, national whitepapers of the State Council Information Office, spokespersons of the governmental ministries and press conferences of the annual sessions of the National People’s Congress and Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference. In addition, head of state diplomacy and first lady diplomacy play unparalleled roles in the communication and public opinion guidance of the Chinese dream because of their unique authority and personal charisma.

Wide social participation is a necessary condition for the success of public diplomacy conveying the Chinese dream.

Public participation should be encouraged. Wide social participation is a necessary condition for the success of public diplomacy conveying the Chinese dream. Under the guidance and support of the government, public diplomacy should fully utilize the role of semi-state or non-state actors such as the enterprises, think tanks, media and general public, encouraging them to enhance people-to-people exchanges and assume the duty of communicating the Chinese dream. Concretely speaking, the “going out”enterprises should try to change the negative image of China only grabbing resources and markets abroad, further upgrade their service quality and public relations capabilities, and strengthen their social responsibility and create harmonious community relations. The think tanks should be encouraged to cooperate with foreign counterparts and media to organize seminars and lectures, conduct joint research and release joint reports. They should continue to send out the Chinese voice. The media has powerful guidance of the public opinion, being the core carrier of public diplomacy. It should be progressive and innovative in its means of communication.Meanwhile it should pay attention to lifting its capability of agenda setting and public opinion shaping. In addition, the large quantity of Chinese outbound tourists, overseas students and netizens as well as each citizen can assist the international communication of the Chinese dream to take root in the hearts of foreigners.

Home ground diplomacy should be promoted. China can utilize the home ground effect and information advantage of favorable climatic, geographical and human conditions to promote the bilateral and multilateral interaction to gain international popularity. More importantly, China can take full advantage of the impact of being the host to promote the development of favorable agendas and rules in order to facilitate the realization of its diplomatic objectives. For instance, at the Summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-building Measures in Asia (CICA) held in Shanghai in May, 2014, China put forward the “common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable” Asian Security Concept and explored establishing a new regional security cooperation architecture different from the United States’ alliance system, which got gained recognition at the Summit and great attention internationally. Also during the APEC conference held in Beijing in November of the same year, President Xi Jinping for the first time elaborated on the “Asia-Pacific dream”in his speech at the APEC Business Summit.

Brand effect should be stressed. As brand communication can make the public diplomacy achieve its best effects, China should employ its national brand resources. China should create some iconic projects and turn them into shining “Chinese name cards,” which can radiate far and have demonstration effects that help the Chinese dream acquire an intuitive imprint. For instance, the Ministry of Culture of China together with other government ministries and agencies organizes the large-scale cultural exchange activity “Happy Spring Festival.” The event has become an important brand showcasing the soft power of Chinese culture since it was launched during the Spring Festival of 2010. Another example is Hanban, which has established Confucius Institutes around the world. These havebecome a global brand promoting the Chinese language and communicating Chinese culture. In addition, as important carriers of the Chinese economy, enterprise brands are also a vital part of the national brand. The Chinese stories told by enterprise brands can eloquently suggest that the growth of China is not dependent on a “free ride,” “copying” or “cyber espionage.”

Enlarging the space of the public diplomacy

With regard to the targets, public diplomacy needs to reasonably divide different regions, countries and audience, communicating the Chinese image in the most acceptable and understandable ways. Traditionally, China has more exchanges and communications with other countries officially, and the effect of these is obvious, as it shapes how the political and public opinion elites in other countries view China and mobilizes the positive factors of their understanding of China. Nevertheless, the ultimate goal of public diplomacy is to transform the public opinion of relevant countries from resisting and preventing China to accepting and welcoming China. This requires China increase its communication with the general public of foreign countries. China’s public diplomacy needs to reach the public deeply, by working hard on the important think tanks, academic institutions, media and NGOs of the target countries and particularly giving more attention and input to the younger generation.

With regard to the layout, the continuous evolution of international relations calls for more adaption of public diplomacy. For instance, Chinese public diplomacy towards neighboring countries should uphold the idea of “amity, sincerity, mutual benefit and inclusiveness”; stick to the policy of building friendships and partnerships with neighboring countries; insist on building a friendly, safe and prosperous neighborhood; and deepen mutual benefit cooperation and interconnection with neighboring countries. The Chinese public diplomacy toward developing countries should uphold righteousness and the correct benefit concept, placing righteousness first and pursuing righteousness and benefits simultaneously. China should talk faithfully, stress friendship, promote justice and cultivate righteousness.China should sincerely help developing countries to pursue the development path suitable to their national conditions. In the Western countries and societies such as the United States and European Union, the Chinese dream is always associated with the increased military power of China. So the communication of public diplomacy encounters obvious resistance. The focus for China’s public diplomacy should be thus the inclusiveness of the Chinese dream. It should try to strengthen trust and dispel suspicions. The key is to make it clear that the comprehensive deepening of Chinese reform will bring tremendous development opportunities for the Western countries, which will enhance the recognition of the Western societies towards the Chinese dream.

China’s public diplomacy should have an independent design in terms of theory support and core information, instead of trying to emulate that of others.

Enriching the strategic meaning of the public diplomacy

Values and ideas should be stressed. One bottleneck which the communication of the Chinese dream will encounter is that the Western democracy is used to imposing its values on others and is always biased against China. Chinese public diplomacy needs to be associated with the commonly shared values that are and widely followed by all the countries in the world. The external discourse system of public diplomacy is aimed at foreign publics with different ideologies, social thinking and interests. Furthermore, the socialist system with the Chinese characteristics has many different concepts and theories that differ from those of the West. Hence, China’s public diplomacy should have an independent design in terms of theory support and core information, instead of trying to emulate that of others. China should talk more about the meaning of peace and cooperation, which are integral to the Chinese dream, expressing its will to shape its peaceful development through strengthening economic, social and cultural connections with other countries. Meanwhile, China should not avoid the existence of some outstanding problems and disputes, remaining patient andseeking to peaceful solutions.

Geopolitics should be downplayed. There is no doubt that Chinese diplomacy functions for geopolitics and strategy. Nevertheless, developing friendly relations with other countries in the world is a more solid, stable and lasting foundation, which reflects the interconnectivity between the Chinese dream and the world dream. Since the Chinese development story is different from that of Western countries China has neither accumulated its wealth through expansion nor achieved its progress at the expense of other countries’interests – it has led to the international community misunderstanding and misinterpreting the Chinese story. China needs to do a good job of enhancing trust and dispelling suspicion in this regard. In its cooperation with other countries, China should take into account both international and domestic strategic demands, take into full consideration the feelings of the target countries, stress the interconnectivity of development strategies and pay attention to consultation, shared benefits and mutual responsibilities. The expression of the public diplomacy needs only face washing instead of a deliberate facelift. Otherwise, people will have doubts about the intentions of China, which will be against the wishes of China. China should not only let the world know its achievements, but also let the world see its positive attitude to facing and solving problems. This will help demonstrate the confidence and sincerity of China.

Cultural exchanges should be promoted. One precondition for the Chinese dream and the world dream to advance jointly and develop together is shared knowledge and mutual understanding between China and other countries. It is necessary to use public diplomacy and culture to facilitate dialogue and cooperation among civilizations, which will increase the cultural recognition of the Chinese dream. China should not only uphold the strengths of its traditional culture, but also venture to innovate to create cultural brands promoting the spirit of the era. Public diplomacy should be employed to help these brands go abroad. Different ways of conducting cultural exchanges should be explored according to the cultures of the target countries. Certainly cultural exchanges should by no means be a gale orstorm-like movement. They should be moderate like a stream or rain that moistens things softly and gently. It is necessary to timely assess the real effects of cultural exchanges and review which segments should be persisted with, developed, adjusted or optimized in order to promote the continuous improvement of cultural exchanges.

Practical cooperation should be carried out. Public diplomacy is a kind of project driven diplomacy, which depends on certain special projects to carry out information communication, educational and cultural exchanges, and governmental public relations among the public of other countries to influence their public opinions. The cultural construction efforts for the Belt and Road Initiative are an example of this. There have been large-scale cross-border interviews as part of the “Silk Road Journey of the Chinese Media,” organized by the State Council Information Office of China, the photography exhibition “Crossing the Silk Road, Sharing Cultures”organized by the Chinese Photographers Association and the Belt and Road Initiative think tank cooperation alliance founded by the International Department of the Chinese Communist Party. These are all practical measures to promote the Belt and Road Initiative, and show it is a tangible proposal rather than a hollow slogan. They provide favorable conditions for the implementation of concrete projects under the Belt and Road Initiative.

Conclusion

With the deepening of the interaction between China and foreign countries frictions have emerged and the international community’s interpretation of the Chinese dream is still being formed. This means the Chinese dream can be easily misinterpreted or distorted, so the public diplomacy to promote the Chinese dream will continue to be a long and strategic discourse between China and the West It remains a difficult task to use public diplomacy to shape a favorable international public opinion environment.

One core issue that should be addressed by China’s public diplomacy is the legitimacy of the growth of Chinese power. China should define andinterpret the issue. Otherwise, the Western media will communicate its false view of China according to its long-standing image of China, which will mislead their publics. Obviously all kinds of “China threat,” “Chinese arrogance” and “China collapse” theories will have a negative impact on China’s image, which has become urgent issues that China’s public diplomacy need to address

China should treat the cultural difference between China and foreign countries dialectically. On the one hand, China should focus on listening. China with empathy can accept the reasonable expectations and demands of the international community on it and expand the exchange of soft power between it and other countries. On the other hand, the cultural factor is instrumental to some extent. With the deepening of cooperation, some cultural differences and contradictions will become more outstanding in terms of strategies and values. These can’t be solved with just public diplomacy. China should be clear-minded about this.

Fundamentally speaking, to communicate the Chinese dream and improve the Chinese image depends on the gradual progress of socialism with Chinese characteristics including the successful advancement of the strategic blueprint of the “Four Comprehensives” put forward by Xi Jinping. China should give priority to its domestic development and use its image tactics to reinforce this. China should continue to adhere to the socialist path with the Chinese characteristics, which will demonstrate the attractiveness of the core values of China. It then needs to improve its strategic capabilities to apply all kinds of resources. This requires China overcome its apparent shortcomings in the discourse system and external publicity methods, reverse its passive reaction situation during the international discourse game to be more proactive, and improve its capabilities in international communication. This also calls for more cross-cultural, international law and international relations talents, who not only have the necessary public diplomacy skills but who can also safeguard the Chinese position firmly. They will assume the mission to succeed, communicate and innovate the Chinese dream.