How should we respond? Some Western scholars advocate for "power transfer", "competition among major powers", and "new Cold War"
Currently, global governance is facing a series of complex challenges, and humanity is once again standing at a crossroads of history. As Marx pointed out, "People create their own history, but they do not create it freely... but rather create it under conditions that are directly encountered, established, and inherited from the past.". Faced with the questions of the world, the times, and history, the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative, and the Global Civilization Initiative largely abandon and surpass traditional Western theories of international relations, and are an answer sheet with Eastern wisdom and great power responsibility.
Development is the ultimate key to solving all problems——
The "Six Insights" proposed by the Global Development Initiative, derived from the historical practice of Chinese path to modernization and human economic and social development, has four connotations: "development priority" is fundamental, "people centered" and "inclusive" are development goals, "innovation driven", "harmonious coexistence between man and nature" is the way of development, and "action oriented" is an important embodiment of development practicality.
Recently, the United Nations Development Programme and the Centre for Poverty and Human Development at the University of Oxford released the Global Multidimensional Poverty Index report. Among the 110 countries covered by the index, 1.1 billion people live in severe multidimensional poverty, accounting for over 18% of the total population. The World Food Security and Nutrition Status jointly released by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the World Food Programme also shows that the median global hunger population in 2022 reached 735 million, an increase of 122 million people from 2019. Food is the paramount necessity of the people. Development remains the main challenge facing human society and is a common need and universal value for all humanity.
Development is the overall key to solving all problems. The purpose of development is to improve people's livelihoods, narrow the gap between North and South, and achieve comprehensive human development. For most latecomer countries, it is neither possible to accumulate wealth through colonial plunder nor to follow the costly old path of "pollution before governance". On the one hand, we must seize the historical opportunities of technological revolution and industrial transformation to achieve leapfrog development; On the other hand, we need to achieve green and healthy development through green and low-carbon transformation.
The Earth is the common home of humanity. The practice of sacrificing one's neighbor for one's own selfish interests will not only provoke retaliation from nature, but also ultimately be despised by history and all humanity.
The development process of New China is a living textbook. As the world's largest developing country, China has implemented the essence of the global development initiative through practical actions and hopes that more countries will benefit from it.
Human beings are an inseparable security community——
The Global Security Initiative regards human society as an indivisible security community, transcending traditional geopolitical competition and power politics. While pursuing its own security, it also considers the security of other countries and the common security. When emphasizing traditional security, it also values non-traditional security, aiming to achieve overall security through common security, cooperative security, and comprehensive security, and resolve the security deficit faced by human society.
Adhering to respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries is a fundamental prerequisite. As a country that has suffered from colonialism and imperialism, China opposes interference in our internal affairs by other countries and does not interfere in their internal affairs. It fully respects the development path chosen independently by people of all countries.
Valuing the legitimate security concerns of all countries is an important cornerstone. No country should prioritize its own security over the security of other countries and pursue so-called "absolute security" in an unrealistic way. Chinese traditional culture believes that "the greatest event of a country lies in the worship and military service.". With the rapid advancement of military technology, not only nuclear war cannot be fought, but even conventional warfare in the traditional sense will bring unpredictable consequences to human society.
Let the Hundred Flowers Garden of World Civilization Colorful and Colorful——
The Global Civilization Initiative has profound historical connotations and strong practical implications. Respecting the diversity of world civilizations is a fundamental element, promoting common human values, valuing the inheritance and innovation of civilizations is a fundamental requirement, and promoting cultural exchanges and dialogue among civilizations is a fundamental approach.
For a period of time, there have been people emphasizing differences in civilization, culture, and ideology, and even attempting to use these differences to create "identity politics" and ideological opposition. From the so-called "clash of civilizations" to the "clash of civilizations" and "crisis of civilizations", and then to the binary narratives of "modernity" and "backwardness", "democracy" and "authoritarianism" deliberately advocated by some Western politicians, they are all like this.
In the field of great power relations, some Western scholars are also enthusiastic about promoting so-called "power transfer", "great power competition", "Thucydidean trap", "new Cold War", and so on. This is vastly different from the traditional Chinese culture and Eastern philosophical philosophy that emphasizes the unity of heaven and man, harmony is precious, harmonious coexistence, and the cultivation of one's own talents.
The Global Civilization Initiative advocates respecting the diversity of world civilizations, opposes imposing one's own values on others, and advocates transcending conflicts and oppositions among civilizations through mutual learning, dialogue, and tolerance. On the one hand, advocating for common human values such as peace, development, fairness, justice, democracy, and freedom; On the other hand, it is required to promote the creative transformation and innovative development of excellent traditional culture while respecting the cultural characteristics of countries and ethnic groups around the world.
From the perspective of interdependence, there is a profound internal logic and unity among the global development initiative, global security initiative, and global civilization initiative. Among them, development is the foundation of security, and security is a condition for development and civilized exchanges. Respecting cultural diversity and recognizing the development rights of all countries also provide a prerequisite for development and security.
