5 Responsibilities of China as a Major Country and the Belt and Road
Zhou Fangye
Principles and position of responsibilities and accountabilities of China as a major country
From the 1950s to the 1970s, China was “a socialist country” and “a national independent country” whose diplomatic task was mainly to safeguard national sovereignty, win international recognition, and support national liberation movements and just struggles in other Asian and African countries.[1] At that time, by supporting the independence and development of the Third World, China could not only fend off the growing diplomatic isolation, but also mobilise as many international forces as possible to fight against imperialism and hegemonism, reflecting a high degree of unity of patriotism (self-interest) and internationalism (international obligations).[2] Thanks to the joint efforts of China and Asian and African countries, Asian-African nations had successively gained political independence and effectively safeguarded their national sovereignty. This has markedly enhanced the overall position of the Third World in the international system on the basis of South-South Cooperation.
After the reform and opening up in 1978, China began to emphasise its identity as the “largest developing country”, changed its views on the mainstream international systems, actively “participated in” and “integrated in” the mainstream international systems, and transformed the previous stages of struggle into mutually beneficial and win-win cooperation platforms. According to statistics, China had joined 33 international conventions from 1949 to 1978 and 240 international conventions from 1979 to 2003.[3] Since the late 1990s, China has clearly stated that it would be “a responsible major country” in the international community and began to participate more actively in international affairs. Since the beginning of the twenty-first century, with the rise of China’s overall national strength, there are growing expectations of the international community for China to exert a greater global role. Since the 18th CPC National Congress in 2012, facing the complex international situation, China has formed and established Xi Jinping’s thought on major-country diplomacy with Chinese characteristics for the new era, which has thus pointed out the direction for deepening the development of Chinese socialist cause.
First, guiding the reform of the international system is the fundamental position of China as a responsible major country. Judging from the historical experience, the international system has been continuously developed and improved in the process of alternation of old and new forces, especially the interaction of major countries. Regarding the current international system, China upholds its reform stand. On the one hand, China has been integrating itself into the international community through reform and opening up and has become a beneficiary of the current international system. Xi Jinping pointed out that “As far as the existing international system is concerned, China has been a participant, builder and contributor. We stand firmly for the international order and system that is based on the purposes and principles of the UN Charter”. On the other hand, there are also many injustices and unreasonable phenomena need to be adjusted in the current international system. In this regard, Xi Jinping stressed that “A great number of countries, especially developing countries, want to see a more just and equitable international system, but it doesn’t mean they want to unravel the entire system or start all over again. Rather, what they want is to reform and improve the system to keep up with the times”.[4] In order to promote the development and improvement of the international system, China has successively proposed a series of important reform concepts, including the new security concept featuring “mutual trust, mutual benefit, equality and cooperation”, the initiative of promoting democracy in international relations based on the multi-polar development trend, the solemn commitmentto adherence to a peaceful development path, and the advocacy of “fostering a new form of major-country relations featuring no conflict or confrontation, mutual respect and win-win cooperation”. In 2017, the report to the 19th CPC National Congress further proposed to “foster a new form of international relations” based on the following core principles. First, mutual respect. Countries of different size, strength or wealth, and with diverse systems, religions, and civilisations, are all equals. Second, fairness and justice. The law of the jungle which puts the weak at the mercy of the strong must be rejected, and the legitimate rights and interests of all countries, in particular the developing countries, should be upheld. Third, win-win cooperation. The outdated mindset of zero-sum game or winner-takes-all should be replaced with a new approach of working for common development and shared benefits.[5]
Second, enhancing the common interests of all mankind is an important goal of China as a responsible major country. As a world we are now facing growing uncertainties and destabilising factors. Global economic growth lacks energy; the gap between rich and poor continues to widen; hotspot issues often arise in some regions; and unconventional security threats like terrorism, cyber-insecurity, major infectious diseases, and climate change continue to spread. As human beings we have many common challenges to face. We are in urgent need of feasible solutions to solve various global problems. In response, China has proposed the initiative of “building of a community of a shared future for mankind” so as to build an open, inclusive, clean, and beautiful world that enjoys lasting peace, universal security, and common prosperity. Its contents include: we should take a new approach to developing state-to-state relations with communication, not confrontation, and with partnership, not alliance; we should commit to settling disputes through dialogue and resolving differences through discussion, coordinate responses to traditional and non-traditional threats, and oppose terrorism in all its forms; we should make economic globalisation more open, inclusive, and balanced so that its benefits are shared by all; we should work to gether to facilitate exchanges and mutual learning among civilisations; we should be good friends to the environment and cooperate to tackle climate change.[6]
Third, doing everything within our capacity and keeping the parity of authority and responsibility is the basic principle of China as a responsible major country. China ranks second in the world by total economic output, but it is in a position below 70th by per-capita income. According to the standards set by the United Nations, China still has a poverty-stricken population of more than 100 million. This shows that unbalanced development is still China’s basic national condition, and a large developing country is still the basic identity of China. Therefore, on the one hand, China should actively assume the responsibilities of a major country, providing more public goods for the world on the basis of continuous development of national strength, and on the other hand, we must also bear in mind the basic national conditions of China as a developing country to avoid assuming responsibilities and obligations that exceed its bearing capacity.[7] Meanwhile, as far as global governance is concerned, authority is the legal condition and prerequisite for fulfilling responsibilities. Responsibility is the obligation and expense for enjoying authority. As an emerging power, China needs to shoulder greater responsibilities and obligations in the governance of global issues. It should also gain more say and influence so as to gain a more favourable international environment for sustainable development of China.[8]
Fields and contributions of responsibilities and obligations of China as a responsible major country
The Outline of 13th Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development of the People’s Republic of China promulgated in 2016 elaborated on the issue regarding “actively assuming international responsibilities and obligations”. China has sent to the outside world the clear information that it will more proactively play a constructive role in the international community and provide public products. Specifically, the responsibilities and obligations of China as a major country in the new era are mainly reflected in the following areas.[9]
First, further strengthening foreign assistance. From 1950 to 2016, China provided more than 400 billion yuan of assistance to more than 160 countries and international organisations in accordance with the principles of “mutual respect,equality,keeping promise,mutual benefits and win-win”, built more than 2700 complete-set engineering projects, and trained nearly 12 million talents of various types, having become a model for South-South Cooperation.
Under the new situation, foreign assistance is an important manifestation of China’s role as a responsible major country. China will further expand its scale of foreign aid, improve its foreign aid methods, provide more free training for developing countries in human resources, development plans and economic policies, expand foreign cooperation and assistance in scientific and technological education, medical and health care, disaster prevention and reduction, environmental governance, wild animal and plant protection, poverty alleviation and other aspects, and strengthen efforts in humanitarian assistance.
Second, actively responding to North-South developmentimbalances. China is an important participant and contributor to global development cooperation. It has actively implemented the UN Millennium Development Goals and made remarkable achievements in poverty reduction, health, education, and other fields. It has also provided important support and help to more than 120 developing countries to help them realise the UN Millennium Development Goals. In 2015, Xi Jinping announced at the UN Summit on Sustainable Development that China would set up a South-South Cooperation Assistance Fund with an initial contribution of US$ 2 billion, to support South-South cooperation and assist developing countries in implementing their post-2015 development agenda. China would also do its best to raise its investment in the least developed countries (LDCs) to US$12 billion by 2030. In addition, China would exempt the debt of the outstanding intergovernmental interest-free loans due by the end of 2015 owed by relevant LDCs, land-locked developing countries, and small island developing countries.[10]
Third, actively responding to global climate change. China attaches great importance to the issue of climate change. China is actively implementing the relevant national strategies for combating climate change and has submitted Enhanced Actions on Climate Change: China’s Intended Nationally Determined Contributions to the secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), making an important contribution to coping with global climate change. China has always actively participated in the relevant negotiations under the framework convention and is committed to promoting the establishment of a fair and reasonable global climate governance system. China also advocates that the system should adhere to the principles of equity and common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities, and take into account differentiated historical responsibilities and distinct national circumstances, development stages and capabilities of developed and developing countries. It should reflect all elements in a comprehensive and balanced way, including mitigation, adaptation, finance, technology development and transfer, capacity building, and transparency of action and support.
Fourth, actively maintaining the international public safety. China is firmly opposed to all forms of terrorism, actively carries out international anti-terrorism cooperation, and has established anti-terrorism policy dialogue mechanisms with nearly 20 countries. It is also deeply involved in anti-terrorist cooperation under the framework of multilateral mechanisms such as the UN, APEC, and the Global Anti-Terrorism Forum to curb the spread of terrorism.
China has always actively supported UN peacekeeping operations. It has participated in peacekeeping operations for nearly 30 years and has sent more than 30,000 peacekeepers to various countries and regions. It is a permanent member of the Security Council and has sent the most peacekeepers. China is often among the top 10of all contributors and has committed the most troops out of all the permanent UN Security Council members.
China is always opposed to proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) and their means of delivery. It calls for adopting political and diplomatic means to achieve non-proliferation goals, giving full play to the core role of the United Nations and other international organisations and handling the relationship between non-proliferation and peaceful use in a balanced way, and is opposed to discriminatory measures and double standards. China has participated in all international treaties and related international organisations in the field of non-proliferation and will continue to participate fully in international arms control, disarmament and non-proliferation affairs, conscientiously fulfil its treaty obligations, actively participate in international cooperation in non-proliferation and formulation of international rules, and strive to safeguard the seriousness and authority of the international arms control and non-proliferation system.
China has actively pushed for political solutions to sensitive international and regional hotspot issues. China has insisted on resolving conflicts of territorial claims and disputes over maritime rights and interests with its neighbours through peaceful means. So far, it has solved the land boundary issue with 12 of the 14 countries that border China. China has advocated the “dual track” approach in handling the South China Sea issue. China will continue to uphold fairness and justice and insist on proper control and resolution of sensitive hotspot issues through dialogue and consultation.
Based on the principles of peace, sovereignty, co-governance, and universal benefits, China advocates building a cyber space featuring peace, security, openness, and cooperation and building a multilateral, democratic, and transparent Internet governance system. China has established dialogue mechanisms on network affairs with relevant countries and participated in multilateral network dialogues and cooperation. It is committed to promoting the development of the International Code of Conduct for Information Security within the framework of the United Nations, helps developing countries bridge the “digital divide”, and supports the international community to jointly combat cybercrime and cyber hacking.
Responsibilities and obligations of China for the Belt and Road
The Belt and Road is an important channel for China to fulfil its responsibilities and obligations as a responsible major country. In today’s world, global growth requires new drivers, development needs to be more inclusive and balanced, and the gap between the rich and the poor needs to be narrowed. Hotspots in some regions are causing instability and terrorism is rampant. Deficits in peace, development, and governance pose a daunting challenge to mankind. The Belt and Road Initiative is an effective solution imbued with China’s wisdom and accountabilities that China has proposed with its identity as a responsible large developingcountry.
The Belt and Road is a road for peace, a road of prosperity, a road of opening-up, a road of innovation, a road connecting different civilisations, and a road of greenness. It helps to fundamentally solve many real challenges that the world is facing, particularly security issues, development issues, and climate issues. However, to advance the Belt and Road Initiative, we need to strengthen extensive consultation and joint contribution and share benefits among countries along the routes, and more importantly, it is necessary for the major countries to assume important responsibilities in maintaining security, promoting cooperation, and assisting development.
China is not only the initiator but also the responsible practitioner of the Belt and Road Initiative.[11] China emphasises that the pursuit of the Belt and Road Initiative is not meant to reinvent the wheel. Rather, it aims to complement the development strategies of the countries involved by leveraging their comparative strengths. We should foster a new form of international relations featuring win-win cooperation; we should foster partnership of dialogue with no confrontation and friendship rather than alliance; we should work to resolve hotspot issues through political means, and promote mediation in the spirit of justice; we should intensify counter-terrorism efforts, address both its symptoms and root causes, and strive to eradicate poverty, backwardness, and social injustice.
At the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in 2017, China clearly committed that we would scale up financing support for the Belt and Road Initiative and encourage cooperation in infrastructure, production capacity, and finance; offer short-term research visits to China for young foreign scientists, train foreign scientists, engineers and managers, and set up joint laboratories; we would set up a big data service platform on ecological and environmental protection; we proposed establishing an international coalition for green development under the Belt and Road, and would provide support to related countries in adapting to climate change; and we would launch more projects to improve people’s well-being.[12]
As China has demonstrated its commitment as a responsible major country, the Belt and Road Initiative has gained the understanding and recognition of the international community in a short period of time. In November 2016, the 193 member states of the UN unanimously adopted a resolution, which welcomes the establishment of the Belt and Road Initiative and other economic cooperation initiatives and calls on the international community to provide a safe and secure environment for the Belt and Road Initiative. In March 2017, the UN Security Council unanimously adopted Resolution 2344, calling on the international community to strengthen regional economic cooperation through the Belt and Road Initiative. So far, remarkable results have been achieved in the building of the Belt and Road. However, in the medium to long term, its development remains a long and arduous task, and China needs to continue to assume its responsibilities as a major country and escort for the building of the Belt and Road.
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[1] Xie Yixian, Editor-in-Chief, China’s Diplomatic History (the Period of the People’s Republic of China 1949-1979), Zhengzhou: Henan People’s Publishing House, 1998 ed., p. 11.
[2] Zhou Hong, “Thirty Years of China’s Foreign Aid and Reform and Opening-up”, World Economics and Politics, Issue 11, 2008.
[3] “List of China’s Participation in International Conventions (1875-2003)”, official website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China, searched on February 5, 2018.
[4] “Speech by Xi Jinping at the Welcome Banquet in Seattle”, Xinhua News Agency, Seattle, September 22, 2015.
[5] Wang Yi, “New Look, New Accomplishments and New Role—China’s Diplomacy in a New Era”, Global Times, 7th ed., December 11, 2017.
[6] “Work Together to Build a Community of Shared Future for Mankind—Speech by Xi Jinping at the United Nations Office at Geneva”, Xinhua News Agency, Geneva, January 18, 2017.
[7] Luo Jianbo, “A Responsible Major Developing Country: China’s Identity and Its Responsibilities as a Major Country”, West Asia and Africa, Issue 5, 2014, pp. 42-43.
[8] Lin Yueqin, “Global Governance Innovation and the Responsibilities of Emerging Powers”, Social Sciences in Nanjing, Issue 10, 2016, p. 1.
[9] Yang Jiechi, “Actively Assume International Responsibilities and Obligations”, People’s Daily, 6th ed., November 23, 2015.
[10] “Towards a Mutually Beneficial Partnership for Sustainable Development—Speech by Xi Jinping at the UN Sustainable Development Summit”, Xinhua News Agency, United Nations, September 26, 2015.
[11] Office of the Leading Group for the Belt and Road Initiative, “Building the Belt and Road: Concept, Practice and China’s Contribution”, May 10, 2017.
[12] “Work Together to Build the Silk Road Economic Belt and The 21st Century Maritime Silk Road—Speech by Xi Jinping President of the People’s Republic of China at the Opening Ceremony of the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation”, Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, May 14, 2017.