New global dimension for China

By Yury Tavrovsky

“Between the four seas all men are brothers”. This majestic Confucian idea can be found in the “Analects”, chapter “Yan Yuan”. “A Community of Shared-Future for Mankind” idea is equally great though 2500 year younger. It appeared in the CPC documents for the first time in the report of the 18th CPC National Congress in 2012. Chinese President Xi Jinping used it in public for the first time in March 2013 addressing students of the Moscow Foreign Relations University.

We in Russia were a little bit surprised because the new concept somehow differed from Deng Xiaoping’s famous “hide our capacities and bide our time; be good at maintaining a low profile; and never claim leadership.” It was not the first surprise though. The new leader of China started to demonstrate new approaches to almost all spheres of political, economic and spiritual life of his nation. 

Xi Jinping presides over the preparatory meeting for the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC), at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, Oct. 17, 2017.[Photo: Xinhua]

The “China Dream” idea which at first looked like a very general sketch became a long-term plan consisting of several strategies required to realize an aim of historic proportions – rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. These strategies started to appear one after another – “new normal” in economy, “rule of law” in domestic political life, “Belt and Road” in foreign relations, “strict party discipline” in the party affairs. This complex of major strategies and several less important directives then started to intervene and look like as a well-designed and practical master plan. For obvious reasons Chairman Xi Jinping at first paid most attention to the domestic affairs and that explains why the “Belt and Road” initiative with its accent on peripheral diplomacy for several years shadowed the global CSFM concept. I have travelled the entire Chinese section of the New Silk Road last year and later published a book in Russian and Chinese about it. My impression is the BRI so far is as much about domestic development as it is about foreign relations.

The time to think and speak more about the World affairs came about two years ago when it became evident that Xi Jinping”s “China Dream” strategy has passed the point of no return. President Xi started to mention the CSFM in high profile speeches, each time widening the horizon of the concept. Chinese diplomacy and publicity followed suit and this February, the “community of shared future for mankind” was incorporated into a UN resolution for the first time. But the highest point for the concept was reached at the 19th Party Congress this October when a special section of Xi Jumping’s Central Committee Report was dedicated to comments and explanations of the new foreign policy doctrine. It was stressed in the Report that “China Dream” is inseparable from stable international situation and global order. After endorsement by the Congress of the “China Dream” as a further development of the Party ideology under the name of “Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era” the concept becomes the foundation of China’s foreign policy.

This new doctrine is very timely and will be very useful not only for China. The current globalization doctrine with American domination as its foundation doesn’t work anymore. The situation resembles the 1980s of the 20th century when Soviet Union could not support anymore the “Proletarian Internationalism” doctrine and the World socialist system started to crumble. The US nowadays not only can’t contain competitors like China, Russia, Iran, and even North Korea, but openly states its desire to stop shouldering responsibility as the World leader. This is a way to global chaos and the human civilization needs a positive doctrine for future development. Of course, the Chinese “Community of Shared-Future for Mankind” will be changing and incorporating other Chinese concepts like “Relations of major powers”, strategies like “Belt and road” as well as ideas of other stakeholders of the present multipolar world. But it is today the only doctrine of global dimension.

(Yury Tavrovsky is head of Eurasian Programs, Izborsk Club in Russia.)