Xi's idea of building a community with a shared future for mankind particularly inspiring at the moment

On Jan. 18, 2017, Chinese President Xi Jinping delivered a keynote speech entitled “Work Together to Build a Community of Shared Future for Mankind” at the United Nations (UN) Office at Geneva.

Customs officers in Heihe, northeast China's Heilongjiang province, clear a batch of anti-epidemic supplies to be donated to Russia, April 2, 2020. (People's Daily Online/Qiu Qilong)

The speech came at a time when a new year had just begun and everything had taken a new look. It was also a time when the world was full of uncertainties and people longed for a bright future but were bewildered about what would come.

Xi's speech won high praise from the international community, with many believing that the Chinese leader portrayed a bright prospect of a community with a shared future for mankind and lit the way forward for human beings with insightful observations.

Four years on, Xi's idea of building a community with a shared future for mankind is particularly inspiring when the world is plagued by the raging COVID-19.

The world today is experiencing unprecedented changes, which have been worsened by the once-in-a-century pandemic.

The global economy has been put into deep recession, the world is entering a period of turbulence and transformation, and human society is faced with numerous challenges.

People from all countries have become more aware that they must advance the building of a community with a shared future for mankind as everyone is living in an interconnected global village and shares weal and woe with each other.

At such a moment, by reviewing Xi's speech made four years ago, looking back at the history in the past century and more, and thinking about the questions of "what is going on with the world” and "what shall we do about it," people around the world will better understand the common aspiration held dear by mankind.

"Pass on the torch of peace from generation to generation, sustain development and make civilization flourish: this is what people of all countries long for; it is also the responsibility statesmen of our generation ought to shoulder. And China's proposition is: build a community of shared future for mankind and achieve shared and win-win development, " Xi said in the important speech he delivered four years ago.

He put forward specific proposals from such aspects as partnership, security, growth, inter-civilization exchanges and the building of a sound ecosystem.

Xi called for staying committed to building a world of lasting peace through dialogue and consultation, building a world of common security for all through joint efforts, building a world of common prosperity through win-win cooperation, building an open and inclusive world through exchanges and mutual learning, and making the world clean and beautiful by pursuing green and low-carbon development.

He has formulated a blueprint for human society, and charted the way forward for progress and development.

As an ancient Chinese adage goes, "the greatest ideal is to create a world truly shared by all."

Photo taken on April 14, 2020, shows a China-Europe freight train loaded with 260,000 pieces of medical supplies departing from a China-Kazakhstan logistics cooperation base in Lianyungang, east China's Jiangsu province, for Central Asian countries. (People's Daily Online/Wang Jianmin)

Building a community with a shared future for mankind represents the greatest common divisor of all peoples' aspirations for peace, development and prosperity.

It is generally acknowledged by the international community that by advocating and promoting the building of a community with a shared future for mankind, China has demonstrated its active efforts to advance with the times.

In February 2017, the concept of "building a community with a shared future for mankind" was written into a UN resolution for the first time. Later, it was also adopted by the UN Security Council and Human Rights Council.

At present, China is forging bilateral community with a shared future with more and more partners. The country has reached agreement with relevant parties on building a community with a shared future with its neighbors, a community with a shared future in the Asia-Pacific, a China-ASEAN community with a shared future, a China-Africa community with a shared future, a China-Arab community with a shared future, and a community with a shared future with Latin American and Caribbean countries.

In addition, China's proposals for building a community with a shared future in cyberspace, a community of shared future for global nuclear safety, a maritime community with a shared future and a global community of health for all have been actively echoed around the world.

Great visions can be realized only through actions. China has firmly adhered to the concept of a community with a shared future for mankind, and practiced the vision with actions.

From unswervingly upholding multilateralism to tackling climate change together with other countries, from promoting joint efforts for high-quality construction of the Belt and Road to leading international cooperation in poverty reduction, China has taken concrete actions to promote the implementation and realization of the idea of building a community with a shared future for mankind.

China will hold high the banner of peace, development, cooperation and mutual benefit, follow the independent foreign policy of peace, boost foreign exchanges at all levels in various fields, and promote the building of a new type of international relations and a community with a shared future for humanity, according to the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee's proposals for formulating the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025) for National Economic and Social Development and the Long-Range Objectives Through the Year 2035.

China will continue to uphold the vision of a global community of shared future, and follow the principle of pursuing the greater good and shared interests; it will do everything within its means to promote cooperation and inject Chinese strength into global development, said a white paper on China's international development cooperation in the new era recently released by the State Council Information Office of China.

In global response to the epidemic, China stands for the vision of building a community with a shared future for mankind, taking it as its responsibility to ensure not just the life and health of its own citizens, but also global public health.

Chinese President has conducted in-depth exchanges and communication with leaders from other countries, proposed and actively promoted the construction of a community of common health for mankind, and called for mutual assistance and unity to fight the epidemic.

The international community generally believes that Chinese ideas and actions have become an important force in pushing the world out of the darkest moments in such a special period, and that building a community with a shared future for mankind is the right way to deal with the common challenges of humanity and establish a more prosperous and better world.

"We are not alone on the Great Way and the whole world is one family," Xi once said.

Building a community of shared future is an exciting goal, and it requires efforts from generation after generation, he pointed out.

Countries need to respond to people's call, follow the trend of the times toward peace, development and win-win cooperation and jointly make unremitting efforts to advance the great cause of building a community with a shared future for mankind.