Is China’s rise peaceful? What does a rising China mean to the global order? What could China and Europe do together to promote world peace and development? These questions are often asked by my European colleagues.

The answer could be found in China’s commitment to foster a new type of international relations and a community with a shared future for humanity. Together, China and Europe have a major role to play to promote peace and development in the long term and to keep our civilizations alive.

The 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China made it clear that China will continue its efforts to safeguard world peace, contribute to global development, and uphold the international order. The overarching goal of China’s diplomacy is to forge a new type of international relations featuring mutual respect, fairness, justice and win-win cooperation, and to build a global community with a shared future.

This vision reflects how China perceives global governance and world order under the changing circumstances, and represents a commitment that China has made in light of the fundamental norms of international relations.

Turning vision into reality calls for efforts on various fronts. Politically, it is imperative to reject a Cold-War mentality and power politics, act on the basis of mutual respect and equality, and follow a new approach to state-to-state relations featuring dialogue rather than confrontation, and partnership instead of alliance.

On security, we need to settle disputes and differences through dialogue and consultation, counter traditional and non-traditional challenges in an integrated manner, and fight terrorism in all manifestations. Economically, we need to act together to promote trade and investment liberalization and facilitation, and make economic globalization more open, inclusive, balanced and beneficial to all.

Culturally, we should respect the diversity of civilizations, and replace estrangement with exchange, clashes with mutual learning, and superiority with coexistence. Ecologically, we should be good friends to the environment, jointly tackle climate change, and protect our planet for the sake of human survival.

A new type of international relations is defined not by the dominance of one country or a group of countries. It should not be meant to overturn the current system or start it all over again.

Rather, we hope that all countries could enjoy equal rights, equal opportunities and equal rules, and that the current system and order could be more equitable and reasonable.

To build a global community is not about devising a set of uniform values to supersede values that are distinct to an ethnicity or nation. Rather, it is about identifying the common interests of mankind while preserving diversity and jointly addressing challenges that confront us all.

The Schuman Declaration has a famous line which goes, “World peace cannot be safeguarded without the making of creative efforts proportionate to the dangers which threaten it’’. The EU’s history demonstrates that countries could well join hands for win-win outcomes by overcoming historical, cultural and geographical obstacles through creative efforts.

As two major forces for peace and development, China and Europe have a joint responsibility to promote globalization and multilateralism, and make the world a place of greater openness, security and prosperity.

The author is Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary and Head of Mission of the People’s Republic of China to the European Union. The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Watch.

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