Towards a New Type of Cooperative and Win-Win International Relations

Ruan Zongze



Towards a New Type of Cooperative and Win-Win International Relations

Ruan Zongze

Building a new type of international relations with win-win cooperation at the core is a major innovation and development of contemporary China's outlook on the international order formed after the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping as General Secretary has coordinated both domestic and international situations since the 18th National Congress of the CPC. China has proved itself a country that not only advocates but more importantly practices and pushes forward cooperative and win-win international relationship. Against the background of profound evolution of the global order， China has taken the lead in proposing this refreshing concept and provided China's solutions for realizing lasting world peace， which vividly displays the global significance of the Chinese dream and embodies the perspective and qualities of major-country diplomacy with Chinese characteristics. Such a concept is bound to inject powerful positive energy into the establishment of a new fair and reasonable international order.

On March 23， 2013， Xi Jinping delivered a speech when he paid his first visit to Moscow State Institute of International Relations after taking office as the Chinese president， in which he indicated that facing the profound changes of international developments and the objective requirement that all the countries are in the same boat， all countries should jointly promote the building of a new type of international relations on acooperative and win-win footing and people in the whole world should work together to safeguard world peace and advance common development. Through combing the course of China's diplomatic theories and practice innovation since the 18th National Congress of CPC， it can be seen that this is the first time President Xi clearly proposed the magnificent conception of building “a new type of international relations” in the context of the Chinese dream that is featured as the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. At the Central Conference on Work Relating to Foreign Affairs held in November 2014， President Xi highlighted that we will persist in win-win cooperation，push forward the building of a new type of international relations featuring cooperation and win-win results， and continue to follow an opening-up strategy of mutual benefit and pursue a win-win approach in all aspects of our external cooperation including political， economic， security and cultural fields.

At the 70th Session of the UN General Assembly held on September 28， 2015， President Xi gave a keynote speech titled “Working Together to Forge a New Partnership of Win-win Cooperation and Create a Community of Shared Future for Mankind，” elaborating on how to forge a new type of international relations of win-win cooperation and build a community of shared future for mankind from such five perspectives as a partnership marked by equality and mutual consultation and understanding， a security architecture featuring fairness， justice， joint contribution and shared benefit，an open， innovative and inclusive development prospect that benefits all， an inter-civilization exchange to promote harmony， inclusiveness and respect for difference， as well as an ecosystem that respects the nature and encourages green development. It is a solemn commitment made by the leader of China to the world at the United Nations Headquarters and the manifestation of China's role as a responsible power to the whole world. The speech won warm applauses from the attendees.

At a new historical starting point， the Central Committee of CPC with Comrade Xi Jinping as General Secretary is keenly aware that cooperation is the general trend and win-win results are the shared aspiration of people. TheCentral Committee of the CPC has put the focus on building a new type of international relations with win-win cooperation as the core and is working hard to operate the major-country relations， well adopt foreign policies toward neighboring and developing countries， use multilateral diplomacy to promote cooperation platforms and enhance China's say and influence in shaping a future international order.

Chinese President Xi Jinping delivers a speech entitled “Carry Forward the Bandung Spirit for Win-win Cooperation” at the Asian-African Summit 2015 in Jakarta， April 22， 2015.

China is committed to building a new model of major-country relations based on win-win cooperation. In terms of Sino-US relations， President Xi stresses that the smooth cooperation between China and the US can serve as a bedrock of global stability and a booster of world peace. In September 2015， President Xi paid a state visit to the US for the first time. Following their meetings at the Anneneberg Estate， California and Yingtai， Beijing，President Xi and President Obama had an autumn meeting in the White House， during which 50 major cooperation achievements were reached and the new pattern of major-country relations between China and the US was further reinforced. President Xi's successful visit to the US has set a modelfor the construction of a new type of international relations. China and Russia have maintained close high-level contacts. President Xi has visited Russia four times during his term， which has deepened the China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination. All-round dialogues and cooperation between China and the EU continue to deepen. In October 2015， President Xi paid a successful state visit to the United Kingdom. The two countries signed a grand deal worth about 40 billion pounds. The UK expressed its wish to be China's “best Western partner.” What's more， German Chancellor Merkel and French President Hollande came to visit China one after another. China and the EU have made great efforts to dovetail China's Belt and Road Initiative with the European Development Plan， dovetail China's campaign to promote international cooperation on production capacity with Europe's investment plan， and dovetail China's “16+1” cooperation campaign with the China-EU cooperation， with a view to fulfilling the comprehensive strategic partnership between two sides.

China has particularly focused its efforts on deepening the “mutual benefit and win-win” configuration with neighboring countries. At a conference on foreign policies toward neighboring countries in October 2013， President Xi pointed out that the basic principle for our such policies is to persist in building a good-neighborly relationship and partnership with the neighboring countries， adhere to the policy of bringing harmony，security and prosperity to neighbors， and highlight the idea of amity，sincerity， mutual benefit and inclusiveness. For this purpose， China has proposed such policy initiatives as the Belt and Road Initiative and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank （AIIB）， and meticulously built new platforms for the implementation of foreign policies toward neighboring countries on a bilateral and multilateral basis. China has strengthened its cooperation with ASEAN， as indicates its vigorous efforts to participation in and push forward multilateral economic cooperation under various frameworks and in all forms through such mechanisms as the ASEAN Plus China， ASEAN Plus Three （APT）， East Asia Summit， trilateral cooperation among China，Japan and Republic of Korea， sub-regional cooperation in the broad MekongRiver area， and Lancang-Mekong River Dialogue and Cooperation. The China-Japan-ROK summit was resumed after a three-year hiatus. China's free trade agreements with the ROK and Australia have come into effect. China has also actively involved itself in the negotiations on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership （RCEP） and deliberated with ASEAN on the upgraded version of China-ASEAN Free Trade Area. At the same time， China and ASEAN countries have also strived to enhance security communication and cooperation， financial collaboration and risk prevention as well as infrastructure connectivity， so as to create a “diamond decade” for bilateral ties.

The status as the largest developing country determines that China will keep to the principle of sincerity， practical results， affinity and good faith and give top priority to the advancement of relations with other developing countries. During his visit to Africa in March 2013， President Xi talked about “universal peace” and came up with a right approach to upholding principles while pursuing shared interests. Then at the conference on foreign policies toward neighboring countries， President Xi specially illustrated this idea and underscored that China will uphold faith， friendship，justice and principles in the cooperation with other developing countries. The diplomatic layout between China and other developing countries has formed several sections， including the China-CELAC Forum， the Forum of China-Africa Cooperation （FOCAC）， China-Arab Cooperation Forum and the Asian-African Conference， which are in line with the Belt and Road Initiative so as to extend China's foreign relations to cover all other developing countries. In January 2016， President Xi paid state visits to Saudi Arab， Egypt and Iran， achieving remarkable results. Not only have these visits expanded the win-win cooperation between China and the three countries， they have also brought the information and hope of peace to the turbulent Middle East. At the same time， China has established an assistance fund for South-South cooperation， supported other developing countries to implement the Post-2015 Development Agenda， and firmly backed up the increase of representation and voice of developing countries， especiallyAfrican countries， in the international governance system.

China has played a new role in global governance. China sticks to the path of cooperation and development， safeguards the international order and system underpinned by the purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter， and acts as a builder and defender of the international order all the time. China has taken an active part in the UN affairs and multilateral diplomacy， and carried out comprehensive cooperation with the UN as well as its affiliations. China's multilateral diplomacy culminated when President Xi paid his first visit to the UN in September 2015. He fully expounded on China's opinions about today's most important issues like development，women， peacekeeping， and global governance， and proposed China's solutions， which displayed China's role as a responsible power and won international acclaim. China has also played an active and constructive role in many global and regional multilateral mechanisms involving APEC， G20，the Nuclear Security Summit， ASEM， the BRICS Summit， and dutifully made its contributions to tackling climate change， combating international terrorism， performing UN peacekeeping missions， helping conflict zones with post-war reconstruction， and the like.

For more than 70 years since the founding of the UN， the international situation has been undergoing major and profound changes and the international order and system are yet to have corresponding reforms for improvement. With the increasing prominence of global problems and growing emergence of new challenges， the global governance mechanism also calls for renewal and improvement. At the same time， the rising momentum of emerging economies is rewriting global political and economic landscapes. Against this background， President Xi has brought up such proposals as the construction of a new type of cooperative and win-win international relations and the building of a community of shared future for mankind. It is both a kind of inheritance of the UN Charter's purposes and principles，and significant innovations and developments. China's diplomacy is making strides toward a new stage and the country is proactively participating in and leading major global issues with the focus on converting China'sopportunities into the world's and converting world opportunities into China's.

The Chinese dream will bring about important development opportunities for the world. President Xi emphasized that the Chinese dream is the dream of peace， development， and win-win cooperation. The Chinese dream is closely connected with the dreams of other peoples in the world. The Chinese dream is beneficial not only to Chinese people， but also to the people all over the world. The Chinese dream proposed by President Xi enriches China's strategic thoughts of peaceful development. China will realize its dream through the path of peaceful development. It is the response to the concerns of international community about China's development trend， and also the confidence and consciousness of Chinese people for achieving the development goals. Over 30 years of reform and opening-up is the period of peaceful development in China. On the one hand， China's peaceful development has benefited from its integration into the international system. On the other hand， the international system has become more represented because of China's integration. Today's world is under more favorable conditions than ever to progress toward the goal of peaceful development with win-win cooperation as the practical approach to realizing this goal. If the Chinese dream comes true， it will definitely create more opportunities for all countries and make great contributions to world peace and development. China will， as always， open its arms to embrace the world， continue to act as the constructor of global development， hold on to the path of common development， and welcome other countries to board China's “express train of development.” China will also try its best to offer a helping hand to those in need， making its “circle of friends” grow bigger.

With the continual buildup of China's comprehensive national strength，the international community has entertained more and more expectations of China and increasingly anticipated to hear China's voice and see China's solutions. China's relations with the outside world are undergoing profound changes. It is extraordinarily eye-catching what kind of foreign strategy Beijing will enforce and how it will respond to the anticipations of theinternational community. Now China is becoming a major supplier of international public goods. China's solutions have enriched and developed the idea of international relations. As a fast-growing major power， China advocates cooperation to replace confrontation and win-win outcomes to replace zero-sum game， and find a new communication path of “dialogue other than confrontation， and partnership other than alliance” among all nations， which has increased the transparency of China's foreign policies. China has taken part in various international affairs， including preparing the UN's 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and coping with global climate change. China has vigorously promoted the Belt and Road Initiative on the principle of “mutual consultation， common construction and sharing.” So far more than 30 countries have signed cooperative agreements with China on the Belt and Road Initiative to put the idea of win-win cooperation into reality through concrete actions.

The connectivity and interdependence between China and the international community has never been closer. Under such a context，building a new type of cooperative and win-win international relations faces both rare historic opportunities and severe challenges.

The reform of international system is now at a critical time and the world is faced with great opportunities for building a new type of cooperative and win-win international relations. A new age of globalization has provided unprecedented opportunities for lasting peace. All countries have gained access to enormous space for development and embraced the opportunity to participate in shaping the future international system. First， the international system and order are going through profound readjustment. More often than not， the historical international systems were formed after great wars. Instead，this round of international system reform is a peaceful transformation for the first time in history. The prompt development of globalization in the 21st century makes it nearly impossible for full wars to break out among major powers. Win-win cooperation is a much more effective approach to protecting and expanding national interests. Second， multiple forces have actively participated in shaping a new international order. Since the end ofthe Cold War， the “flat development” tendency of international powers has remained salient， non-state actors has sprung up， and the way of safeguarding interests has changed with the downward shift of the power center. In the past， great powers competed for power and interests through wars，colonization and division of spheres of influence while two confronting military blocs dominated the international pattern during the Cold War. At present， countries have gradually turned to the coordination of institutions and rules as the way of defending and expanding their interests

The current world is still far from tranquil. Hegemonism， power politics and zero-sum games still haunt the world. How to realize win-win cooperation is a long-term， arduous and tortuous process and entails the joint efforts of all stakeholders. Just as President Xi Jinping has stressed，the thought of zero-sum has been out of date and we must explore a new path of united actions and win-win cooperation. During a UN Security Council debate chaired by him in February 2015， Foreign Minister Wang Yi pertinently elaborated on “four needs and four needn'ts，” that is， we need peace， cooperation， justice and win-win outcomes rather than conflict，confrontation， hegemony， and zero-sum game.

The year 2016 marks the starting year of China's 13th Five-Year Plan and also a year for China to host the G20 summit， which will be a vital opportunity for China to build a new type of cooperative and winwin international relations. Through a cooperative and win-win path and embracing an era of building a community of shared destiny for mankind，China's solutions will offer a new choice for the world and open up a new vista for the future development of international relations， which will inevitably leave China's stamp on a new just and reasonable international order it is devoted to build.

Ruan Zongze is Senior Research Fellow and Executive Vice President of China Institute of International Studies. This article was translated from Chinese edition of Qiushi Journal， Issue 9， 2016.