Page 3 - ON BUILDING A HUMAN COMMUNITY WITH A SHARED FUTURE

BUILDING A HUMAN COMMUNITY WITH A SHARED FUTURE

Ladies and Gentlemen,
Friends,
To let the torch of peace pass from generation to generation; to let
the forces of development flow eternally; and to let the light of civilization
shine through the ages — this is what the peoples of all nations long
for; thus this is the responsibility all statesmen of our generation must
shoulder. To see this fulfilled, China’s solution is this: to build a human
community with a shared future and to realize mutually beneficial
development.
Vision guides action and direction determines the future. As
modern history shows, to establish a just and equitable international
order is the goal mankind has always striven for. From the principles
of equality and sovereignty established in the Peace of Westphalia over
360 years ago to international humanitarianism affirmed in the Geneva
Convention 150-plus years ago; from the four purposes and seven
principles enshrined in the UN Charter more than 70 years ago to the
Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence championed by the Bandung
Conference over 60 years ago, many principles have emerged in the
evolution of international relations and become widely accepted. These
principles should guide us in building a human community with a
shared future.
Sovereign equality has been the most important norm governing
state-to-state relations over the past several centuries and the cardinal
principle observed by the United Nations and all other international
organizations. The essence of sovereign equality is that the sovereignty
and dignity of all countries, whether big or small, strong or weak,
rich or poor, must be respected, their internal affairs are not subject to
interference, and they have the right to independently choose their social
system and development path. In organizations such as the United
Nations, World Trade Organization, World Health Organization, World
Intellectual Property Organization, World Meteorological Organization,
International Telecommunication Union, Universal Postal Union,
International Organization for Migration, and International Labor
Organization, all countries have been afforded an equal voice in
decision-making, thus they constitute an important force for the
improvement of global governance. Under new circumstances,

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