Together We Build a Community with a Shared Future for Mankind
(by H.E. MA Qiang, Chinese Ambassador to South Sudan)
In 2013, Chinese President Xi Jinping innovatively propounded the idea of building a community with a shared future for mankind, answering a question raised by the world, by history, and by the times: “Where is humanity headed?” Since then, as great transformation is accelerating across the world, mankind living in the same global village and facing unprecedented challenges are increasingly becoming a community with a shared future in which everyone’s interest is closely interlinked, and the concept of a community with a shared future for mankind has gained extensive recognition and support from the international community. In President Xi’s 2024 New Year message, he also stated that “we Chinese are keenly aware of what peace means. We will work closely with the international community for the common good of humanity, build a community with a shared future for mankind, and make the world a better place for all”. His remarks has once again demonstrated the Chinese nation’s aspiration of “harmonious coexistence”, and conveyed confidence and hope to a world full of uncertainty.
- Building a community with a shared future for mankind is the answer to the call of the times and the blueprint for the future.
This concept is how China proposes to solve the questions of what kind of world to build and how to build it based on our deepening understanding of the laws governing the development of human society. It reflects the Chinese Communists’ worldview, perception of order, and values, accords with the common aspiration of people in all countries, and points the direction for the progress of world civilizations. It is also the noble goal pursued by China in conducting major-country diplomacy with Chinese characteristics for the new era.
In summary, in building a community with a shared future for mankind, the goal is to build an open, inclusive, clean and beautiful world of lasting peace, universal security and shared prosperity, the pathway is promoting global governance that features extensive consultation and joint contribution for shared benefit, the guiding principle is to apply the common values of humanity, the basic underpinning lies in building a new type of international relations, the strategic guidance comes from the implementation of the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative and the Global Civilization Initiative, and the platform for action is high-quality Belt and Road cooperation. On this basis, we seek to bring countries together to meet challenges and achieve prosperity for all, and usher in a bright future of peace, security, prosperity and progress for our world.
II. A great vision requires credible actions.
Vision guides action and direction determines the future. Over the past decade, we have strode forward and achieved fruitful outcomes, firmly upholding the goal of building a community with a shared future for mankind. We put forward important initiatives such as building a global community of health for all, a community with a shared future in cyberspace, and a community of life for humanity and nature, significantly boosting global governance across various sectors. We promoted high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, which has led to the launch of more than 3,000 cooperation projects, attracted nearly one trillion US dollars of investment, created an array of national landmarks, livelihood projects and milestones of cooperation, and won the active support of more than three quarters of countries in the world and dozens of international organizations. We successively put forth the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative and the Global Civilization Initiative, which have provided comprehensive solutions to the challenges confronting humanity and received positive responses, including from countries like South Sudan.
Building a stronger China-Africa community with a shared future exemplifies the broader effort of forging a global community for mankind. Over the past decade, under the joint guidance and commitment of Chinese President Xi Jinping and African leaders, the synergy between the Belt and Road Initiative and the AU’s Agenda 2063 has been promoted. China has remained Africa’s largest trading partner, with bilateral trade exceeding 2 trillion US dollars in this period. Large-scale infrastructure projects, aided or participated in by China, including railroads, highways, ports, and electrical infrastructure, continuously benefit the African people. Landmark projects such as the Mombasa-Nairobi Railway, Addis Ababa-Djibouti Railway, and the headquarters of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have spurred economic and social development in African countries and improved the livelihoods of their people. China has dispatched about 9,000 medical personnel and provided more than 100,000 training opportunities to African countries. Through cooperation in fields such as poverty reduction, health, education, science and technology, environmental protection, climate change, youth and women affairs, we have strengthened exchanges with African countries, provided assistance, and shared experience, fostering a self-sustaining drive for Africa’s comprehensive social and economic development. As we enter a new decade, China and Africa are working together to implement the 10 major cooperation plans, the eight major initiatives and the nine programs of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation as well as the China-Africa Cooperation Vision 2035, yielding new achievements in building a high-level China-Africa community with a shared future.
As an indispensable part of building the China-Africa community of a shared future, China-South Sudan cooperation has always adhered to the principle of mutual benefit. Recent years have seen the deepening cooperation in the oil sector, laying a solid foundation for South Sudan’s economic and social development. Actively responding to the appeal from President Salva Kiir Mayardit to “scale back humanitarian programming and devote more energies to development support”, China has implemented and completed a number of key projects such as China-aided Broadcasting Facilities, Wau’s Clement Mboro Bridge,
Wau’s Clement Mboro Bridge.
and Air Traffic Management System, and will soon launch several assistance projects including the Juba Teaching Hospital (Phase II), borehole drilling and water supply, and Juncao (mushroom) technology cooperation. During the BRICS Business Forum in Johannesburg, President Kiir witnessed the signing of the MOU on the Nimule Dry Port Project between the Ministry of Transport of South Sudan and a Chinese company, marking a new milestone in the China-South Sudan cooperation. After the COVID-19 pandemic, China has actively provided training opportunities for South Sudanese in areas such as infrastructure, health care, agricultural development, poverty alleviation and state governance. Last year, China invited hundreds of South Sudanese for study and exchange programs. We also actively promote the second phase of the China-aided Technical Cooperation Project of Education, support Juba University in building a China Culture Center, and continuously provide various types of scholarships to South Sudanese students to help them better serve their country after studying in China. In last year’s thematic writing contest organized by the Chinese Embassy to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the vision of building a community with a shared future for mankind, Ghai Wichdhuor Kerjiok Jang, a South Sudanese alumnus who studied in China, stated that “in my point of view, building a community with a shared future for mankind is one of the best China-Africa Community bilateral relations for economic stability and prosperity”.
China-aided Broadcasting Facilities at South Sudan Broadcasting Corporation
III. With perseverance in our continuous efforts, a promising future awaits us.
The future of humanity is bright, but it will not come without effort. Building a community with a shared future for mankind is both a salutary vision and a historical process that calls for generations of hard work. We believe the Chinese saying “long as the journey is, we will reach our destination if we stay the course”, and we are ready to contribute with firm conviction and solid actions to build an open, inclusive, clean, and beautiful world of lasting peace, universal security and shared prosperity, and jointly create a better future for all of humanity.
Chinese Medical Team providing medical services in South Sudan
At the China-Africa Leaders’ Dialogue held in South Africa last August, President Xi Jinping made three proposals, namely, the Initiative on Supporting Africa’s Industrialization, the Plan for China Supporting Africa’s Agricultural Modernization and the Plan for China-Africa Cooperation on Talent Development, to advance modernization and create a great future for African countries including South Sudan. The three proposals have drawn a new blueprint for the high-level China-Africa community of a shared future, and will surely bring numerous opportunities for China-South Sudan practical cooperation in the future.
As the peace process steadly advances in South Sudan, and as people from all sectors continue to pursue peace and development, China is willing to join hands with South Sudan to carry forward the spirit of China-Africa friendship and cooperation characterized by sincere friendship and equality, mutual benefit and common development, fairness and justice, openness and inclusiveness, and progress with the times. The two countries will plan, act, and march together in the right direction towards building a community with a shared future, one that promises common development, long-term stability, and sustained prosperity for a brighter tomorrow.
