Kernal of coexistence

China's initiatives are basis for building a community with a shared future for humanity in harmony with nature

The consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic persist, the Ukraine crisis continues, and new conflicts are emerging, pushing the world closer to what some label a new Cold War — a world divided into disconnected and politically, economically, and militarily opposed blocs. Therefore, the proposal to build a community with a shared future for humanity in harmony with nature among all the states and peoples of the world is of great importance in this time of international tensions.

The Belt and Road Initiative, also known as the New Silk Road, involves various projects in social, economic and cultural cooperation based on a network of infrastructure spreading across the five continents. It shapes the most extensive project of international cooperation in history, aiming to promote social development between China and the rest of the world, significantly impacting the improvement of people's living standards in countries facing tremendous challenges in Africa, Asia and Latin America. From its inception, the project was designed to develop according to the principles of ecological sustainability and the promotion of renewable energies.

The BRI aims to implement projects benefiting local populations, promoting action not only on the symptoms of problems but proposing measures to combat the backwardness and social injustice suffered by millions of people worldwide. In this way, the initiative is a significant aid in overcoming the challenge of achieving peaceful coexistence among countries.

The Global Security Initiative implicitly condemns practices of decoupling between states, cutting off supplies, sanctions, provocations and putting pressure on countries that do not accept the hegemony of the United States. It aims to prevent the consolidation of a new Cold War mentality.

The initiative upholds a commitment to the concept of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security. And it calls on the international community to work within a multilateral order to maintain peace and security worldwide and resolve disputes peacefully through dialogues and consultations adhering to the principles of the UN Charter. It rejects double standards and the use of unilateral sanctions as elements of international policy. It also underscores the importance of countries working together on regional disputes and global challenges such as terrorism, climate change, cybersecurity and biosecurity.

The initiative's focus is on awareness and discussion, aiming to move the world away from the current dynamics of confrontation, which could have severe consequences for humanity.

The Global Development Initiative strives to build an open world economy and establish a global governance system, along with a fair and reasonable institutional environment that allows cultivating new driving forces for global development. It promotes scientific and technological innovation for faster technology transfer and knowledge sharing, drives the development of modern industries, and accelerates the transition to low-carbon development, aiming for more robust, green and healthy global development.

The initiative advocates for a reformed global governance that seeks the well-being of all men and women on the planet, in harmony with nature. It aims to bury colonialism and the dependencies between poor and rich countries, and to develop within the framework that can fulfill the objectives of the UN Charter and the 2030 Agenda.

From this perspective, the fight against the global spread of the COVID-19 pandemic and its consequences demonstrates the correctness of the statement that "all countries must cooperate to face the challenges that humanity shares and jointly safeguard shared interests". It is a great truth that development is not possible without a peaceful and secure framework for international relations.

The Global Civilization Initiative aims to foster the joint development of common values shared by all civilizations throughout human history — values based on justice, equality and freedom to choose the path each people can take to achieve modernity and improve the living conditions of their peoples. It advocates for respecting the diverse social, cultural, and historical realities and peculiarities of each place on the planet, rejecting the imposition of a single model of civilization. It supports multiple relationships that allow for the exchange of knowledge and values among all the peoples of the world and to bury colonialism as a system that seeks to impose social, cultural and economic hegemony. It calls for building horizontal and egalitarian international relations.

The challenge is on the table, and the question is whether we can understand that the future is in our hands to build together a community with a shared future of peace and progress for all humanity in harmony with nature. It must be clear that it is impossible to speak of building a community with a shared future for all if this future is not built in harmony with nature.

The author is president of the Communist Party of Spain. The author contributed this article to China Watch, a think tank powered by China Daily.

The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.

Contact the editor at editor@chinawatch.cn