Five Principles as Relevant Today as 70 Years Ago

Aconference marking the 70th anniversaryof the Five Principles of PeacefulCoexistence， a cornerstone of Chineseforeign policy， was held in Beijing on June28， attracting attendees from around the world，including former political leaders from some 20countries. At the conference， President Xi Jinpingmade an important speech in which he said thatthe Five Principles “marked a groundbreaking andepoch-making achievement in the history of internationalrelations.”

Seventy years ago， Chinese leaders put forth infull the following Five Principles – mutual respectfor sovereignty and territorial integrity， mutualnon-aggression， mutual non-interference in eachother’s internal affairs， equality and mutual benefit，and peaceful coexistence. These principleswere included in China’s joint statements withIndia and Myanmar， which called for establishingthe Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence as thebasic norm in state-to-state relations.

The Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence putforward by then Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai， thegreatest diplomat of the 20th century in my view，represents a very significant milestone in the long"march toward a post-colonialist and post-imperialistnew world order that is genuinely peacefuland equitable.

The era they were formulated in was undergoingprofound global changes and in particularwitnessing three separate but closely inter-relatedphenomena， namely， the emergence of socialismnot simply as an idea but as a reality holding statepower， initially in one country but then in a socialistcamp encompassing much of Europe and Asia;the defeat of fascism in 1945 and the formationof the United Nations aimed at preventing warand promoting democratic global governance; theupsurge of national liberation movements and thebeginning of great waves of decolonization thatwould lead to the formation of the NonalignedMovement and the emergence and rise of theGlobal South.

The Chinese Revolution itself and the foundingof the People’s Republic of China in 1949 reflectedand impacted all these three historical currents.The October Revolution and the founding of theSoviet Union had inevitably raised the question ofwhat relationship a socialist country should havewith the capitalist powers and it was on this basisthat Vladimir Lenin （1870-1924）， founder of theRussian Communist Party， advanced a policy ofpeaceful coexistence.

Zhou applied and developed this concept whileacknowledging the existence of states with fundamentallydifferent social systems， and hence theircoexistence was not a mere transient phenomenonbut a reality that would exist for a long historicalperiod. Therefore， it could not be simply treated asa temporary expedience or tactic but rather had tobe raised to the level of theory.

His thinking also embodied Chairman MaoZedong’s concept of there being both antagonisticand non-antagonistic contradictions. Specifically，the collapse of the colonial empires， and the rise ofnew emerging forces throughout Asia， Africa， andelsewhere， meant that a new world was emergingof countries with different social systems， cultures，religious beliefs， and so on， but which shared importantcommon interests of being independentfrom imperialism and all facing the common needs"of development， modernization， and poverty alleviation. This provided the basis for Premier Zhouand India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru（1889-1964） agreeing to the Five Principles and forthe principles to form the bedrock of the 10 principlesadopted by the Afro-Asian Conference heldin the Indonesian city of Bandung in 1955.

A key test of the correctness or otherwise of a setof principles is whether or not they stand the test oftime. Over the past 70 years， the Five Principles haveonly become more relevant and necessary. Embodyingthe principles of the UN Charter and representingthe interests of the great majority of the peoplein every country， they are widely welcomed andsupported by the overwhelming majority of states.Moreover， their virtue and necessity can be seen inthe appalling tragedies that result from a failure touphold them， whether in Iraq， Afghanistan and， ofcourse， above all today in Gaza.

The Five Principles are in turn embodied andfurther developed and applied in the importantglobal initiatives put forward by President Xi withregard to security， development， and civilization.As with Premier Zhou’s initiative seven decadesago， these are increasingly widely welcomed bycountries and peoples around the world， addressing，as they do， the key issues and imperatives ofpeace and development， and advancing the correctand realistic ways to tackle the existential threatsfacing humanity， such as nuclear war， climatecatastrophe， and a collapse in biodiversity， andto promote the building of a community with ashared future for humanity.

As Xi said in his speech， both the Five Principlesand the concept of a community with a sharedfuture for mankind demonstrate the broad visionof the Communist Party of China to contributemore to humanity. “Looking at the past and futureat this critical moment in history， we believe ourexploration for the betterment of human civilizationwill not end， and our efforts for a better worldwill not end. No matter how the world evolves， onebasic fact will not change. There is only one PlanetEarth in the universe， and the whole humanityhave one common home.”