Page 4 - ON BUILDING A HUMAN COMMUNITY WITH A SHARED FUTURE

ON BUILDING A HUMAN COMMUNITY WITH A SHARED FUTURE

there are eight, eighty, or eight hundred of us at the table, the outcome
will be very different. We are deeply aware that for a long time to come
China will continue to be the world’s largest developing country and that
to improve the living standards and quality of life of over 1.3 billion
people will demand a lot of hard work. There are two things China needs
to enable it to focus on development: one is a harmonious and stable
domestic environment; the other is a peaceful and stable international
environment.
History is our best teacher. It records faithfully each country’s
journey and presents each country with inspiration for its future
development. For over one hundred years, from the Opium War of 1840
to the founding of the PRC in 1949, China was ravaged by war, turmoil,
and foreign aggression, leaving its people with memories too painful
to recall. The war of aggression set in motion by Japanese militarists
resulted in more than 35 million Chinese military and civilian casualties.
This tragic period of history leaves memories engraved in the hearts
of the Chinese people. Our people have long believed that “Do not to
others what you would not have others do to you.” China needs peace
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like humans need air or plants need sunshine. Only by committing to
a peaceful development path, only by working with all other countries
to protect world peace, can our country achieve its goals, and can it
contribute more to the world.
A pioneer of China’s democratic revolution, Dr. Sun Yat-sen,
opined, “The tide of history is mighty. Follow it and prosper; resist it
and perish.” History shows, if a country is to achieve prosperity it must
understand and follow general world trends. Fail to do so, and it will
be cast aside by history. But what are these trends today? There can be
only one answer: peace, development, cooperation, and mutual benefit.
China does not subscribe to the outdated logic that a powerful country
will invariably seek hegemony. In today’s world, is that old path of
colonialism and hegemonism still traversable? The answer can only be
“no.” Not only is it impassable, it will lead anyone who follows it straight
into a brick wall. The only path open is that of peaceful development.
Thus, China is committed to a peaceful path.
Facts speak louder than words. For decades, China has consistently
pursued an independent foreign policy of peace and stressed that the

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