A few months into year 2024, the world has remained a place fraught with changes and turbulence. The Ukraine crisis and the latest round of Palestine-Israeli conflicts showed no sign of abating. Tensions were gathering again on the Red Sea and beyond. New flash points, obstructions and difficulties come out one after another. We human beings are confronted with unprecedented challenges. As Chinese President Xi Jinping put it: united or divided, peace or conflict, cooperation or confrontation — these are again questions of our times. President Xi’s answer is loud and clear: people’s wish for a happy life is our goal, and peace, development and win-win cooperation are unstoppable trends of our times. At the just-concluded the Second Session of the 14th National People’s Congress(China’s parliament), Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi emphasized that more and more countries and peoples have come to realize that the future of humanity should be decided by all countries together, and that the future of the world should be built by all peoples together.
The tragic consequences of division, conflicts and confrontations have never been clearer to people all over the world. Unity, peace, and cooperation are the right path for mankind to meet challenges and work together towards a shared future. Therefore, now is high time to build a community with a shared future for mankind. In a world of major changes, China always believes that the overall direction will not change for human development and progress, the overall dynamics of world history will not change moving forward amid twists and turns, and the overall trend toward a shared future will not change for the international community. In December 2023, the Central Conference on Work Relating to Foreign Affairs was held in Beijing, at which a Chinese blueprint was put forward to answer the questions of what kind of world to build and how to build it in a changing international environment. The plan further emphasized that China will work with all countries to build a community with a shared future for mankind.
In building a community with a shared future for mankind, the goal is to build an open, inclusive, clean and beautiful world of lasting peace, universal security and shared prosperity, the pathway is promoting global governance that features extensive consultation and joint contribution for shared benefit, the guiding principle is to apply peace, development, equity, justice, democracy and freedom, the common values of humanity, the basic underpinning lies in building a new type of international relations, the strategic guidance comes from the implementation of the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative and the Global Civilization Initiative, and the platform for action is high-quality Belt and Road cooperation. On this basis, we seek to bring countries together to meet challenges and achieve prosperity for all, and usher in a bright future of peace, security, prosperity and progress for our world. President Xi proposed that China calls for an equal and orderly multipolar world and a universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalization. It echoes with the calls of the majority of countries and charts an important path to build a community with a shared future for mankind.
An equal and orderly multipolar world is one in which all countries, regardless of size, are treated as equals. China always adheres to fairness and justice, advocates and practices true multilateralism, and advances democracy in international relations. China upholds that all countries should jointly safeguard the purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter, jointly defend the universally recognized basic norms of international relations, and jointly participate in the reform of the global governance system. China has proposed the “Three Global Initiatives” as well as “Belt and Road” initiative, and has engaged constructively in resolving hot spots such as the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and the Ukrainian crisis. These are Chinese solutions and Chinese wisdom to build an equal and orderly multipolar world.
A universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalization categorically rejects all forms of unilateralism and protectionism, and any attempt to roll back globalization. Such globalization needs to continuously promote trade and investment liberalization and facilitation, focus on solving structural problems that hinder the sound development of the world economy, and help maintain stable and unfettered global production and supply chains. China champions an open, inclusive, balanced, and win-win economic globalization with Chinese modernization, continues to increase investment in global development cooperation, and helps developing countries improve their independent development capabilities through high-quality Belt and Road Cooperation. We developing countries work together to make the pie of the global economy bigger and share it in a fair way, so as to make development both adequate and balanced, and help people of all countries embark on the road of modernization.
China and Somalia are good friends, good partners and good brothers. Mutual respect, mutual understanding and mutual support on issues involving each other’s core interests and major concerns are outstanding features and highlights of the traditional friendly relations between our two nations. Somalia firmly supports the “One China” principle. China always stands for safeguarding the purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter, and China supports the efforts of the Federal Government of Somalia to safeguard national unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity. China will continue to provide Somalia with comprehensive political, economic, security, humanitarian, education and training support. China will continue to support Somalia’s peaceful reconstruction, national development and rejuvenation, translating the vision of building a community with a shared future for mankind into practical and productive efforts on the ground to enhance China-Somalia friendship and mutually beneficial cooperation.
As a member of the Global South, China always shares weal and woe with other developing countries and serves as a staunch force for stability in a turbulent world. China will forever stand on the side of fairness and justice and stand by developing countries, particularly small and medium-sized countries. China advocates an equal and orderly multipolar world and a universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalization. And China will work with all nations to help build a community with a shared future for mankind, making fresh contribution to human development and progress.
The author is H.E. Fei Shengchao, Ambassador, Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the People’s Republic of China to the Federal Republic of Somalia.