Developing Major-country Diplomacy with Chinese Characteristics

By CHEN XULONG

AFTER the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China （CPC） in 2012 China proposed the exploratory concept of majorcountry diplomacy with Chinese characteristics. In other words， China， as a major country， will assume greater international responsibilities while its diplomatic policy continues to reflect distinctive Chinese characteristics. This concept was established as the guideline for Chinas diplomatic work at the Central Conference on Work Relating to Foreign Affairs on November 28-29， 2014.

Major-country diplomacy means that China presents the image of an emerging power， takes on bigger international responsibilities， and makes greater contributions to the international community by maintaining fairness and equity， upholding justice， and providing more high quality international public products.

The phrase “Chinese characteristics” carries the main connotation of this concept. Chinas Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi held that such Chinese characteristics should be manifest in the following four respects：

First， in conducting its diplomacy， China should stick to the social system and development path that are widely supported by the Chinese people， i.e. socialism with Chinese characteristics under the CPCs leadership.

Second， China should adhere to the independent foreign policy of peace， the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence， and other fine traditions in its diplomacy， such as non-interference in other countries internal affairs.

Third， China will work towards achieving equity and fairness and safeguarding justice， so helping to maintain the overall interests of developing countries and push forward the democratization process of international relations.

Fourth， Chinas diplomacy must serve domestic development and the reform and opening-up drive. Although the worlds second largest economy in aggregate terms， China is distinctive among other countries in that it is still developing. Chinas diplomacy， therefore， must create a stable and friendly external environment that is conducive to its domestic development.

Win-win Cooperation the Key

Major-country diplomacy with Chinese characteristics holds that win-win cooperation should be the guiding principle in international affairs. It has hence been embodied in all aspects of Chinas international exchanges and cooperation.

The Silk Road Economic Belt and 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road Initiatives integrate Chinas development strategy with that of its neighboring areas， thus promoting regional connectivity.

Meanwhile， China interlinks its development blueprints with those of other developing countries， with the aim of establishing a new cooperation framework.

China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations （ASEAN） are working towards intensifying their cooperation to achieve bilateral economic development and expand mutual benefit and win-win results. Efforts are made on seven fronts， including discussion on a treaty of good-neighborly and friendly cooperation between China and ASEAN countries， negotiations to upgrade the China-ASEAN free trade area， speeding up interconnectivity infrastructure construction， enhancing regional cooperation on finance and risk prevention， and promoting exchanges and cooperation on security issues， people-to-people contact， sci & tech and environmental protection.

In promoting China-Africa cooperation， China proceeds under the principle whereby the two parties treat one another as equals， enhancing solidarity and mutual trust， and pursuing inclusive development and innovative pragmatic cooperation. Six fields of bilateral cooperation have been highlighted – industry， finance， poverty relief， environmental protection， people-to-people exchanges， and security. China will meanwhile make good use of the China-Africa Cooperation Forum as an important exchange platform.

The Belt and Road Initiatives will bring China and the Arab countries along the Old Silk Road， with whom it had trade partnerships in ancient times， even closer. With the energy sector at the center of bilateral cooperation， the two sides will step up efforts to facilitate trade and investment， enhance infrastructure construction， and seek breakthroughs in the three hi-tech industries of nuclear power， space satellites and new energy.

In advancing its relations with the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States （CELAC）， China aims for inclusive growth and sustainable development. Having mapped out their 2015-2019 cooperation plan， China and CELAC are integrating their development strategies. The focus of the two sides cooperation will be on energy， infrastructure， agriculture， manufacturing， technical innovation， and information technology.

China is also advancing its cooperation with South Asian countries and exploring ways to build a new security cooperation framework in Asia. Meanwhile， China promotes exchanges with other BRICS countries， so promoting an integrated market and interconnectivity over land， through the air， and on the sea.

Build Partnership Not Alignment

Major-country diplomacy with Chinese characteristics seeks to build partnership rather than alignment. This partnership is distinct by virtue of the following three attributes： First， equality. China maintains that all countries， regardless of size and wealth， should treat one another as equals， and respect one anothers sovereignty， autonomy， territorial integrity， development path， and values.

Second， peace. The most distinct difference between the concepts of partnership and military alliance is that in dealing with country-to-country relationships the former highlights win-win cooperation and， in contrast to the latter， excludes confrontation and military interference.

Third， inclusiveness. In transcending differences in social systems and ideology， partnership seeks mutual benefit and common goals. As President Xi Jinping put it， people of common aspirations following the same course can become partners， as can those who seek common points while reserving differences. Partnership by no means entails forfeiting principles. In dealing with international affairs， China sticks to its independent foreign policy and makes judgments based on facts.

China has， in its endeavor to construct a global partnership network， established 72 different forms of partnership with 67 countries and five regions. It successfully hosted the 2014 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation（APEC） meetings last November， through which the AsiaPacific partnership of the future took shape.

Also worthy of mention are China-EU relations that constitute an important feature of the new-model， longterm， stable and healthy major-country relationship China seeks to establish internationally. During President Xi Jinpings European visit last March， China and the EU reached consensus on building partnership in the fields of peace， growth， reform， and progress of civilization， and on elevating the global influence of the China-EU comprehensive strategic partnership.

New Pattern of Major-country Relationship

In advocating major-country diplomacy with Chinese characteristics， China pursues a new-model major-country relationship. The eyes of the international community are constantly on the relationship between China and the United States – two of the worlds greatest powers. Chinas new diplomatic concept holds that China and the United States should， for the sake of the fundamental interests of their respective peoples and development of humankind as a whole， adopt innovative thinking and act promptly to jointly establish this new-model majorcountry relationship.

In June 2013， China and U.S. state leaders convened a meeting at the Annenberg Estate， during which President Xi Jinping summarized the essential connotations of the new-model major-country relations between China and the United States.

The first is that it should avoid conflict and confrontation. The two sides should develop objective views on one anothers strategic intentions， and become partners instead of opponents. Contradictions and differences should be dealt with through dialogue rather than confrontation.

Mutual respect is the second. The two sides should respect one anothers social systems and development roads， as well as core interests and major concerns. They should seek commonalities while reserving differences， and be inclusive and learn from one another to achieve common progress.

The third is cooperation and win-win results. While pursuing their respective interests， the two sides should take those of one another into consideration. In seeking development， the two sides should also promote common development， so deepening integration of their respective interests.

As State Councilor Yang Jiechi said， this new pattern of relationship between the two great powers of China and America is an important consensus the two sides have reached based on world affairs， national conditions and the future development of bilateral ties. It reflects the political wisdom and historical responsibility of the two countries in opening up a new pattern of great power relationship which avoids the historical tradition of conflicts between great countries.

Maintain Justice and Seek Peaceful Development

Chinas new diplomatic concept also demands that the country maintains the fundamental code of international relations and sticks to the non-interference policy， but is proactive in international affairs. China has been integral to resolving international concerns， such as Irans nuclear program， problems on the Korean Peninsula， conflicts in Ukraine， Israeli-Palestinian hostility， and fighting terrorism and Ebola. Through an objective and fair stance China has promoted peace talks and played the unique role of a great power in maintaining world peace and stability.

Among the permanent members of the United Nations Security Council， China sent the largest peace-keeping force – more than 20，000 in total.

Major-country diplomacy with Chinese characteristics requires resolute safeguarding of state interests and peaceful settlement of disputes. China， therefore， resolutely opposes Japans encroachment on Chinas territorial sovereignty and its attempt to distort history and sabotage post-war international order. With regard to the South China Sea issue， China holds that the disputes be left to the parties to whom they directly relate to resolve peacefully through friendly negotiations. China and ASEAN countries should take joint responsibility for maintaining peace and stability in the South China Sea.

Lastly， Chinas new diplomatic concept advocates a correct viewpoint on justice and interests. In the political arena， China would stick to justice and equity， and economically， the country would seek mutual benefit， winwin results and common development.

China would give more consideration to the interests of neighboring and developing countries with whom it has had long-term friendly relationships， and that now face tough development tasks. It would be more of a giver than a taker in their relations， never seeking selfish gains at the cost of others.

Despite the differences between major-country diplomacy with Chinese characteristics and Western diplomatic concepts， the former nevertheless follows the fundamental rules and common approaches of major-country diplomacy. China is meanwhile open-minded and inclusive in learning advanced concepts and practices of West- ern countries. This is apparent in the importance China attaches to construction of a multilateral mechanism and international norms， and to advancing international rule of law， in its deep involvement in global governance and providing more international public products， and in its exerting proactive influence on world sustainable development and security.