The Chinese concept of building a «community of shared destiny»
In March 2013, speaking at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations, Chinese President Xi Jinping for the first time deeply outlined China’s position in building the main concept of a «community with a shared future for mankind».
The idea of building a «community with a shared future for mankind» brings together the common denominator of the desire of people of all countries to build a better world, indicating the right course for humanity, directing it towards common development, lasting peace, stability, security and mutual enrichment of civilizations.
During his speech at the 70th session of the UN General Assembly in 2015, Xi Jinping proposed pursuing the concept of «common destiny» to promote global economic prosperity and mutual assistance between regions.
Within the framework of the Boao Asian Forum, five conceptual principles were presented to the world community:
China is convinced that following these principles will build a strong system of friendly relations between countries and regions, and will also have an impact on building a «community of common destiny» within states, and will educate and unite peoples.
The first noticeable results of the ongoing foreign policy course appeared at the meeting of the leaders of the world’s leading political parties in Beijing in 2017. The CCP’s attempt to unite representatives of many different political and ideological trends was crowned with success. Experts call the meeting a «high-level dialogue», which is generally identical to the scale of the event – then leaders of more than two hundred political parties and organizations from more than 120 countries participated. The platform was envisaged to create a global party dialogue and exchanges.
The Communist Party of China emphasizes its commitment to its concept when it expresses its willingness to share its experience with other party leaders and organizations. The Chinese are confident in their own path – by studying the lessons of the past, there is no doubt about creating the future. If China’s initiatives can promise stability in the region and the world, then it is just as effective to offer assistance in ensuring stability in other countries and on other continents.
According to Xi Jinping, the creation of a «community with a common destiny for humanity» is rapidly acquiring a new state, which has moved from an idea into a set of practical actions. The concept is becoming one of the key elements of modern Chinese diplomatic strategy aimed at the full realization of the «Chinese dream», the essence of which is the revival of the Chinese nation.
It is assumed that it is necessary to continue to develop state, cultural and economic relations in a friendly manner. At the same time, the difference in ideologies and other positions should not become a point of resistance. You need to look for commonality while preserving differences and uniqueness.
Joint achievements concept
The ideological basis of the Chinese Communist Party is Marxism. Since the formation of the PRC and the formation of the official ideology, Marxist philosophy has been steadily adapted to the socio-political and cultural characteristics of the country.
According to the philosophical current in China, humanity is united in a global community where everything is interconnected. States must cooperate and support each other in dealing with economic crises for the benefit of sustainable socio-economic development of the world. The Chinese Belt and Road Initiative exists by analogy with the concept of the “common destiny of mankind,” or is one of its vectors.
The initiative is stimulating development in a number of countries in Asia and Europe. China’s partners have the opportunity to implement infrastructure projects and improve foreign trade. A decade of the initiative’s existence has already passed , and during this period China has managed to build strong ties with many countries and establish itself in the political arena.
The Belt and Road has become the world’s largest benefit project, involving a wide range of countries and delivering the greatest benefits. 152 countries and 32 international organizations became participants in the «One Belt and Road» and signed more than two hundred documents on cooperation. The initiative has reached truly respectable and serious heights, as if with one thread encircling and strengthening the economy and good neighborliness in the world.
A key result of the long-term partnership with China is the success of global development in the logistics and transport industry, which has directly impacted international trade. For example, the construction of the port of Piraeus (Greece), the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway (Indonesia), the Mombasa-Nairobi railway (Kenya) and the Belgrade-Budapest railway (Europe) were carried out as part of the initiative.
As of September 2023 (the anniversary of the initiative), the total amount of Belt and Road investments amounted to about a trillion US dollars. The product of joint cooperation was over 3 thousand projects, the creation of 420 thousand jobs, which, in turn, helped lift about 40 million people out of poverty, and increased the GDP of low-income countries by 3.4%.
In addition, the states involved in the Belt and Road are carrying out in-depth humanitarian cooperation in the fields of education, science, culture, medicine and sports. From student exchanges to joint archaeology, from mutual translation of books to joint production of films – friendship between peoples, which has lasted for thousands of years, is growing stronger day by day.
As Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the People’s Republic of China to Kazakhstan Zhang Xiao notes, given a number of serious problems and challenges facing the entire planet today, China calls for the creation of an equal and orderly multipolar world, as well as public and inclusive economic globalization.
The role of Kazakhstan in the «community of common destiny»
When talking about countries that share the principles of a «community with a shared future for mankind», of course, Kazakhstan should be mentioned first. After all, it was Kazakhstan, together with China, that first announced the creation of a Chinese-Kazakh «community of common destiny». It was Kazakhstan that was chosen to proclaim the “One Belt – One Road” initiative. A neighbor and strategic partner occupies a special place in the joint construction of the future.
«Under the strategic leadership of President of the People’s Republic of China Xi Jinping and President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, China-Kazakhstan relations have reached the highest level in history and are confidently moving forward, heading towards a new «golden thirty years». China is ready to closely cooperate with Kazakh partners and make a significant contribution to the development of the future destiny of all humanity», says Jiang Wei, Consul General of the People’s Republic of China in Almaty.
According to her, China and Kazakhstan, united by common natural resources and historical ties, are inextricable neighbors, true friends and reliable partners. The peoples of both countries maintain thousand-year-old friendly relations and together create a real work of art, describing the history of the ancient Silk Road, which connected East and West.
China assists Kazakhstan in political strategies inside and outside the country, supporting an agreement on bilateral mutually beneficial cooperation. State leaders often invite each other to attend large-scale events and initiate meetings as part of new opportunities to expand multi-vector partnerships.
The level of the Chinese-Kazakh economy has long reached high levels and has opened the way for mutually beneficial partnership in all directions. Countries are developing transit and transport links of all types. The Lianyungang Logistics Terminal and the Khorgos-East Gate SEZ have built a new Asia-Europe land-sea transport channel and are called the “steel camel caravan”, playing a significant role in ensuring the continuity of global supply chains and production.
It is worth noting that in terms of trade, China has always been and remains the most important investment partner on the Kazakh market. Collaborations and preference for Chinese participation in heavy and light industry, automotive manufacturing and innovative solutions once again highlight the strong and constantly developing ties between the countries.
A prominent pillar within the concept of a «community of shared destiny» is openness to scientific and educational exchanges. The Kazakh public is showing interest in China and the opportunity to study it, as well as the Chinese are becoming increasingly involved in Kazakh culture, which means great help for the tourism component of both countries.
Bringing the world together and focusing its attention on core human values still seems like a realistic, possible goal. Any people and any state can express support for positive initiatives and the idea of developing the whole world for the sake of peace and harmony. The driving force behind the process of building a «community with a shared future for mankind» is now undoubtedly China. It is important to remember that this force is aimed exclusively at mutually beneficial cooperation and achieving harmony on the planet.
The China studies Centre, Astana.
