Global South upholds peaceful coexistence instead of lecturing

The third plenum of the 20th Communist Party of China Central Committee, held from July 15 to 18, emphasized the CPC's commitment to pursuing an independent foreign policy of peace and devotion to fostering a global community with a shared future, advocating for a fair and structured multipolar world and a universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalization.

After attending a conference to mark the 70th anniversary of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence in late June, I am convinced that they are needed more than ever to make international relations fairer and more equitable.

The Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence are the result of China's initiative launched in conjunction with India and Myanmar in 1954, a year after my birth in Germany.

However, I only became aware of the five principles during a junior high school civics class when I was about 15 years old, and what I remember is that I was quite astonished that three "Third World" countries — that's how the developing world was then pejoratively called, although even then it accounted for the majority of humanity — were able to develop such a globally important concept without any involvement of the West, which then dominated international relations. At that time, scores of countries were still under colonial rule or had only recently declared independence, often after painful liberation struggles.

Only as a university student in the 1970s was I finally able to deepen my understanding of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, which I still regard as one of the most important and fundamental principles of global governance, because they are much broader than the 17th century Westphalian system limited to state sovereignty.

Today, the five principles are more topical than ever, considering the tumultuous predicament the world is going through. They are also the Asian value system's important contribution to the ongoing construction of a global community with a shared future for mankind.

For the Global South, in particular, the five principles continue to be the foundation for building a fairer and more equitable international governance system. Moreover, they should now be seen within the context of China's three global initiatives, launched with the aim of promoting human progress: the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative and the Global Civilization Initiative.

I regard China's three global initiatives as a direct follow-up to the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, for example, by promoting inclusiveness and mutual benefit, instead of zero-sum games, and respect for the diversity of civilizations, which includes respect for different value systems.

All these aims are, within the ambit of the five principles, the Global South's response to some Western countries' attempt to impose their supposedly "universally valid" socio-political values on countries that have, for centuries or even millennia, developed their own value systems, which should always be interpreted in relation to their respective national, regional, social, cultural and religious context — for instance, the West's emphasis on individualism versus, generally speaking, the Global South's stress on the collective whole. That's why there are, obviously, Asian values, Western values, African values, Latin American values.

On the global security front, one of the most important requirements is to always take into consideration the legitimate security interests of every country. We know what happens if this vital requisite is willfully or carelessly ignored: peaceful coexistence will be at stake.

The armed conflicts currently afflicting Eastern Europe and the Middle East are painful examples of the breakdown of peaceful coexistence caused by perilously ignoring national security interests and neglecting historical grievances.

China has been working hard on solving both disputes through political means and bringing the conflicting parties to the negotiating table such as by hosting various Palestinian factions in Beijing and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba in Guangzhou earlier this month. Both meetings involved Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, one of the world's most seasoned diplomats.

I also believe that the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative and the establishment of BRICS are both direct consequences of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence for tackling global issues.

The five principles "have no expiry date" — they are here to continue the ongoing development efforts by the Global South, home to about three-quarters of our battered planet's population.

One can only hope that the G7 club — supposedly the seven "richest countries" — will finally come around and respect the politico-economic interests of the Global South given the emerging economies including China, India and Indonesia's growing influence.

Obviously, for peaceful coexistence to be maintained, economic development and security concerns need to strike the right balance. Lack of equitable development imperils both national and international security.

That's why the time-honoured concept of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence is a work in progress that needs to be cherished and nourished by the international community for the benefit of all — but always by pursuing a realistic and pragmatic approach.

The author is director of the Macau Post Daily.

The views don't necessarily reflect those of China Daily.

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