“Community of a Shared Future”

THE idea of building a community of a shared future was first discussed in a report to the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China in 2012. It was seen as contributing to China’s engagement with the rest of the world in pursuit of win-win results. This idea has since become a core element of China’s foreign policy. It also underpins the launch of the Belt and Road Initiative.

The concept of a community of a shared future emphasizes the virtue of holistic thinking, cosmopolitan ideals, and the pursuit of lasting peace and shared prosperity. The destiny of a country should be in the hands of its people, and the future of the world must be shaped jointly by the peoples of the world.

A country’s national interests are to be pursued with other countries’ interests in mind. The implementation of any national development strategy should be accompanied by careful consideration of the development needs of others. Underlying the Belt and Road Initiative is the understanding that we all share one world.

Under the Belt and Road Initiative, a community of a shared future can be built only on the basis of shared interests and responsibility. Sustained efforts should thus be made to expand our cooperation in the fields of trade and investment, where convergence of interests occurs, and to transform economic complementarity into new drivers of development.