Community of Common Destiny

Last updated
"Community of Common Destiny" theme exhibition vehicle "Ren Lei Ming Yun Gong Tong Ti "Zhu Ti Cai Che 20191005 121206.jpg
"Community of Common Destiny" theme exhibition vehicle
Community of Common Destiny
Simplified Chinese 人类命运共同体
Traditional Chinese 人類命運共同體
Literal meaningmankind shared-destiny community

Community of common destiny for mankind, officially translated as community with a shared future for mankind [1] [2] or human community with a shared future, [3] is a political slogan used by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to describe a stated foreign-policy goal of the People's Republic of China. [4] The phrase was first used by former CCP General Secretary Hu Jintao and has been frequently cited by current General Secretary Xi 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 the CCP Constitution in 1997, and the preamble of the Constitution of the People's Republic of China when the Constitution was amended in 2018. [7]

Contents

Usage by the CCP

The CCP has used this slogan to express its aim of creating a “new framework” of international relations which would promote and improve global governance. [8] [5] Some Chinese analysts have hailed the expression as the first major amendment of China'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 the Chinese 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]

Development

The phrase "community of common destiny" first appeared in a report delivered by former CCP General Secretary Hu Jintao to the 17th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party in 2007, referring to shared blood and common destiny of mainland China and Taiwan. [12] : 170  [13] In his 2012 report to the 18th 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 the Moscow State Institute of International Relations in March 2013, and again in a speech to the World Economic Forum in Davos, 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 in outer space", aimed at preventing an arms 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 13th National 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, China's top diplomat, 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 Minister Wang Yi used the phrase at the 2020 Munich Security Conference. [11]

Chinese state media has also cited the collective effort across the globe to address the COVID-19 pandemic. [25]

The community of common destiny is also associated with the Belt and Road Initiative. [26] : 35 

International usage

In a speech at the United 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 several UN 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 the UN Commission for Social Development. [7] It has also been used by the UN Disarmament Commission, the Human Rights Council, and the UN General Assembly First Commission. [7]

The China–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]

Interpretations

According to academics Xu Jin and Guo Chu, the Community 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] Historian Steve Tsang states that the concept presumes a vision of tianxia over and above the liberal 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 

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chinese Communist Party</span> Founding and sole ruling party of the Peoples Republic of China

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), officially the Communist Party of China (CPC), is the founding and sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Under the leadership of Mao Zedong, the CCP emerged victorious in the Chinese Civil War against the Kuomintang. In 1949, Mao proclaimed the establishment of the People's Republic of China. Since then, the CCP has governed China and has had sole control over the People's Liberation Army (PLA). Successive leaders of the CCP have added their own theories to the party's constitution, which outlines the party's ideology, collectively referred to as socialism with Chinese characteristics. As of 2023, the CCP has more than 98 million members, making it the second largest political party by membership in the world after India's Bharatiya Janata Party.

In China, politics functions within a communist state framework based on the system of people's congress under the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), with the National People's Congress (NPC) functioning as the highest organ of state power and only branch of government per the principle of unified power. The CCP leads state activities by holding two-thirds of the seats in the NPC, and these party members are, in accordance with democratic centralism, responsible for implementing the policies adopted by the CCP Central Committee and the National Congress. The NPC has unlimited state power bar the limitations it sets on itself. By controlling the NPC, the CCP has complete state power. China's two special administrative regions (SARs), Hong Kong and Macau, are nominally autonomous from this system.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hu Jintao</span> General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party from 2002 to 2012

Hu Jintao is a Chinese retired politician who served as the general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from 2002 to 2012, the president of China from 2003 to 2013, and chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC) from 2004 to 2012. He was a member of the CCP Politburo Standing Committee, China's de facto top decision-making body, from 1992 to 2012. Hu was the fifth paramount leader of China from 2002 to 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United Front Work Department</span> Functional department of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party

The United Front Work Department (UFWD) is a department of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) tasked with "united front work." It gathers intelligence on, manages relations with, and attempts to gain influence over elite individuals and organizations inside and outside mainland China, including in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and in other countries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harmonious Society</span> Chinese Communist Party philosophy

The Harmonious Society is a socioeconomic concept in China that is recognized as a response to the increasing alleged social injustice and inequality emerging in mainland Chinese society as a result of unchecked economic growth, which has led to social conflict. The governing philosophy has therefore shifted around economic growth to overall societal balance and harmony. Along with a moderately prosperous society, it was set to be one of the national goals for the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Xi Jinping</span> General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party since 2012, President of China since 2013

Xi Jinping is a Chinese politician who has been the general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), and thus the paramount leader of China, since 2012. Xi has also been the president of the People's Republic of China (PRC) since 2013. He belongs to the fifth generation of Chinese leadership.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Government of China</span>

The government of the People's Republic of China is based on a system of people's congress within the parameters of a unitary communist state, in which the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) enacts its policies through people's congresses. This system is based on the principle of unified state power, in which the legislature, the National People's Congress (NPC), is constitutionally enshrined as "the highest state organ of power." As China's political system has no separation of powers, there is only one branch of government which is represented by the legislature. The CCP through the NPC enacts unified leadership, which requires that all state organs, from the Supreme People's Court to the President of the People's Republic of China, are elected by, answerable to, and have no separate powers than those granted to them by the NPC. By law, all elections at all levels must adhere to the leadership of the CCP. The CCP controls appointments in all state bodies through a two-thirds majority in the NPC. The remaining seats are held by nominally independent delegates and eight minor political parties, which are non-oppositional and support the CCP. All government bodies and state-owned enterprises have internal CCP committees that lead the decision-making in these institutions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">17th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party</span>

The 17th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party was held in Beijing, China, at the Great Hall of the People from 15 to 21 October 2007. Congress marked a significant shift in the political direction of the country as CCP General Secretary Hu Jintao solidified his position of leadership. Hu's signature policy doctrine, the Scientific Development Concept, which aimed to create a "Socialist Harmonious Society" through egalitarian wealth distribution and concern for the country's less well-off, was enshrined into the Party Constitution. It was succeeded by the 18th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wang Huning</span> Chinese political theorist and politician (born 1955)

Wang Huning is a Chinese political theorist and one of the top leaders of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), who is currently the chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC). He has been a leading ideologist in the country since the 1980s. He has been a member of the CCP's Politburo Standing Committee, China's top decision-making body since 2017, and is its fourth-ranking member since 2022.

<i>Qiushi</i> Leading official theoretical journal of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)

Qiushi is the leading official theoretical journal and news magazine of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), published bi-monthly by the Central Party School and the Central Committee. The journal is headquartered in Beijing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">China–Palestine relations</span> Bilateral relations

China–Palestine relations, also referred to as Sino–Palestinian relations, encompasses the long bilateral relationship between China and Palestine dating back from the early years of the Cold War.

The Chinese economic reform or Chinese economic miracle, also known domestically as reform and opening-up, refers to a variety of economic reforms termed "socialism with Chinese characteristics" and "socialist market economy" in the People's Republic of China (PRC) that began in the late 20th century, after Mao Zedong's death in 1976. Guided by Deng Xiaoping, who is often credited as the "General Architect", the reforms were launched by reformists within the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) on December 18, 1978, during the "Boluan Fanzheng" period. The reforms briefly went into stagnation after the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, but were revived after Deng Xiaoping's southern tour in 1992. The reforms led to significant economic growth for China within the successive decades, considered to be one of the economic miracles in human history. In 2010, China overtook Japan as the world's second-largest economy by nominal GDP, before overtaking the United States in 2016 as the world's largest economy by GDP (PPP). On the other hand, a parallel set of political reforms were launched by Deng and his allies in the 1980s, which also inspired the then Soviet Union's Glasnost and Perestroika, but eventually ended in 1989 due to the crackdown on Tiananmen Square protests, halting further political liberalization.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chinese Dream</span> Chinese policy associated with Xi Jinping

The Chinese Dream, also called the China Dream, is a term closely associated with Xi Jinping, the General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and China's paramount leader. Xi began promoting the phrase as a slogan during a high-profile tour of an exhibit at the National Museum of China in November 2012, shortly after he became leader of the CCP. The exhibit at that time was called the "Road to National Rejuvenation". Xi said that the Chinese Dream is the "great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation".

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) frames its ideology as Marxism adapted to the historical context of China, often expressing it as socialism with Chinese characteristics. Major ideological contributions of the CCP's leadership are viewed as "Thought" or "Theory," with "Thought" carrying greater weight. Influential concepts include Mao Zedong Thought, Deng Xiaoping Theory, and Xi Jinping Thought. Other important concepts include the socialist market economy, Jiang Zemin's idea of the Three Represents, and Hu Jintao's Scientific Outlook on Development.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Xi Jinping Thought</span> Set of policies and ideals from Chinese leader Xi Jinping

Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, commonly abbreviated outside China as Xi Jinping Thought is an ideological doctrine created during General Secretary Xi Jinping's leadership of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) that combines Chinese Marxism and national rejuvenation. According to the CCP, Xi Jinping Thought "builds on and further enriches" previous party ideologies and has also been called as the "Marxism of contemporary China and of the 21st century". The theory's main elements are summarized in the ten affirmations, the fourteen commitments, and the thirteen areas of achievements.

In May 2014, the Government of the People's Republic of China (PRC) launched the "Strike Hard Campaign against Violent Terrorism" in the far west province of Xinjiang. It is an aspect of the Xinjiang conflict, the ongoing struggle by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the Chinese government to manage the ethnically diverse and tumultuous province. According to critics, the CCP and the Chinese government have used the global "war on terrorism" of the 2000s to frame separatist and ethnic unrest as acts of Islamist terrorism to legitimize its counter-insurgency policies in Xinjiang. Chinese officials have maintained that the campaign is essential for national security purposes.

The People's Republic of China emerged as a great power and one of the three big players in the tri-polar geopolitics (PRC-US-USSR) during the Cold War, after the Korean War in 1950-1953 and the Sino-Soviet split in the 1960s, with its status as a recognized nuclear weapons state in 1960s. Currently, China has one of the world's largest populations, second largest GDP (nominal) and the largest economy in the world by PPP.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">China under Xi Jinping</span> Leadership of the Chinese Communist Party

Xi Jinping succeeded Hu Jintao as General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party in 2012, and later in 2016 was proclaimed the CCP's 4th leadership core, following Mao Zedong, Deng Xiaoping, and Jiang Zemin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Foreign policy of Xi Jinping</span> Policy of PRC President (2013-present)

The foreign policy of Xi Jinping concerns the policies of the People's Republic of China's Xi Jinping with respect to other nations. Xi became the General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party in 2012 and became the President of the People's Republic of China in 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">20th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party</span> 2022 Chinese Communist Party conference

The 20th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), commonly referred to as Èrshí Dà, was held in the Great Hall of the People, Beijing from 16 to 22 October 2022. The National Congress is the highest organ of the party, and is stipulated to be held every five years. The conference had 2,296 delegates and 83 specially invited delegates.

References

  1. ↑ "The Elements of the China Challenge" (PDF). United States Department of State (Wikisource). 17 November 2020. Archived (PDF) from the original on 17 November 2020. Retrieved 23 November 2020.
  2. ↑ "Xi urges BRICS countries to advance building of community with shared future for mankind". xinhuanet.com. Xinhua News Agency. Archived from the original on 2022-03-06. Retrieved 2022-03-07.
  3. ↑ Xi, Jinping (16 October 2022). "Hold High the Great Banner of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics and Strive in Unity to Build a Modern Socialist Country in All Respects". Qiushi . Archived from the original on 10 February 2023. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
  4. 1 2 Zhang, Denghua (May 2018). "The Concept of 'Community of Common Destiny' in China's Diplomacy: Meaning, Motives and Implications". Asia & the Pacific Policy Studies. 5 (2): 196–207. doi: 10.1002/app5.231 . hdl: 1885/255057 .
  5. 1 2 Chan, Stella (August 25, 2021). "Community of Common Destiny for Mankind". China Media Project. Archived from the original on 2021-08-26. Retrieved 2021-09-06.
  6. 1 2 3 Gao, Charlotte. "'A Community of Shared Future': One Short Phrase for UN, One Big Victory for China?". The Diplomat . Archived from the original on 2018-12-14. Retrieved 2018-11-26.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Zhao, Suisheng (2023). The Dragon Roars Back: Transformational Leaders and Dynamics of Chinese Foreign Policy. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press. p. 240. doi:10.1515/9781503634152. ISBN   978-1-5036-3088-8. OCLC   1331741429.
  8. ↑ Ding, Jun; Cheng, Hongjin (December 2017). "China's Proposition to Build a Community of Shared Future for Mankind and the Middle East Governance". Asian Journal of Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies. 11 (4): 1–14. doi: 10.1080/25765949.2017.12023314 . ISSN   2576-5949.
  9. ↑ "The Rising Nepal: Community Of Shared Future For Mankind". The Rising Nepal . Archived from the original on 2020-08-06. Retrieved 2018-11-26.
  10. 1 2 3 4 Shinn, David H.; Eisenman, Joshua (2023). China's Relations with Africa: a New Era of Strategic Engagement. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN   978-0-231-21001-0.
  11. 1 2 Mitter, Rana (2020). China's Good War: How World War II is Shaping a New Nationalism. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press. pp. 119–120. ISBN   978-0-674-98426-4. OCLC   1141442704.
  12. 1 2 3 Tsang, Steve; Cheung, Olivia (2024-01-09). The Political Thought of Xi Jinping (1 ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/oso/9780197689363.001.0001. ISBN   978-0-19-768936-3.
  13. ↑ "Full text of Hu Jintao's report at 17th Party Congress". China Daily . October 24, 2007. Archived from the original on June 20, 2020. Retrieved November 23, 2020.
  14. ↑ "十八大报告全文英汉对照 Full text of Hu's report at 18th Party Congress". 2012-12-12. Archived from the original on 2018-10-08.
  15. ↑ 求是理论网. "人类命运共同体的价值观基础". Qiushi . Archived from the original on 2019-09-17. Retrieved 2018-10-08.
  16. ↑ "听，习总书记论改革开放". China Central Television . Archived from the original on 2018-08-01. Retrieved 2018-10-08.
  17. ↑ "Seventy-Second Session of the General Assembly – UNODA". United Nations . Archived from the original on 2018-10-08. Retrieved 2018-10-08.
  18. ↑ "United Nations Official Document". United Nations . Archived from the original on 2018-10-08. Retrieved 2018-10-08.
  19. ↑ "United Nations Official Document". United Nations . Archived from the original on 2018-10-08. Retrieved 2018-10-08.
  20. ↑ "United Nations Official Document". www.un.org. Archived from the original on 2020-11-30. Retrieved 2020-11-23.
  21. ↑ "United Nations Official Document". www.un.org. Archived from the original on 2021-11-26. Retrieved 2020-11-23.
  22. 1 2 Mitra, Devirupa. "Explained: Why India Joined the West to Object to a Phrase in the Final UN75 Declaration". The Wire . Archived from the original on 2020-11-30. Retrieved 2020-11-23.
  23. ↑ "（两会受权发布）中华人民共和国宪法修正案-新华网". Xinhuanet. Xinhua News Agency. Archived from the original on 2018-03-17. Retrieved 2018-10-08.
  24. ↑ Yang, Jiechi (2018-08-01). "求是 ["Seeking truth"]". Qiushi . Archived from the original on 2021-05-15. Retrieved 2020-11-23.
  25. ↑ "Xi charts course for world to meet challenges amid COVID-19". Xinhua News Agency . Archived from the original on 2020-09-23. Retrieved 2020-09-23.
  26. ↑ Curtis, Simon; Klaus, Ian (2024). The Belt and Road City: Geopolitics, Urbanization, and China's Search for a New International Order. New Haven and London: Yale University Press. ISBN   9780300266900.
  27. ↑ Guarascio, Francesco; Vu, Khanh; Nguyen, Phuong (December 12, 2023). "Vietnam Boosts China Ties as 'Bamboo Diplomacy' Follows US Upgrade". Reuters . Archived from the original on December 13, 2023. Retrieved December 15, 2023.
  28. ↑ Hayton, Bill (2 October 2020). The Invention of China. New Haven and London: Yale University Press. p. 37. ISBN   978-0-300-23482-4.
  29. ↑ Rolland, Nadège (March 13, 2020). "A 'China Model?' Beijing's Promotion of Alternative Global Norms and Standards". United States-China Economic and Security Review Commission . Archived from the original on 2020-04-27.
  30. ↑ Tobin, Liza (2018). "Xi's Vision for Transforming Global Governance: A Strategic Challenge for Washington and Its Allies (November 2018)". Texas National Security Review. The University Of Texas At Austin, The University Of Texas At Austin. doi: 10.26153/TSW/863 . Archived from the original on 2022-08-13. Retrieved 2021-09-05.
  31. ↑ Doshi, Rush (2021-06-25). The Long Game: China's Grand Strategy to Displace American Order. Oxford University Press. ISBN   978-0-19-752791-7.
  32. 1 2 Garlick, Jeremy (2024). Advantage China: Agent of Change in an Era of Global Disruption. Bloomsbury Academic. ISBN   978-1-350-25231-8.

Further reading

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.