Thread by @MoritzRudolf

On 26 September, the 🇨🇳State Council issued a white paper on the Global Community of Shared Future (GCSF)

It is the most comprehensive document on 🇨🇳’s vision to reform the global order &
BJ’s most serious attempt to define the GCSF.

What does it say?
Why is it relevant?
🧵

The 29-page white paper includes 5 chapters.

As many official 🇨🇳 documents, it starts with Beijing’s assessment of the global situation:

▪️immense and unprecedented crises
▪️existential issue of survival for human civilization
▪️need for sustainable dev. of human civilization

▪️The GCSF narrative assumes the all-encompassing interconnectedness of all peoples, countries & individuals.

▪️🇨🇳 proposes building
“an open, inclusive, clean & beautiful world that enjoys peace, security & prosperity, turning people's longing for a better life into reality.”

The key elements & goals of the GCSF are as follows:

GCSF elements:
▪️equal partnership
▪️ new security environment
▪️ common development
▪️ inter-civilization exchanges
▪️ ecosystem (that puts Mother Nature and green development first).

GCSF Goals: Building a world of
▪️lasting peace through dialogue & consultation
▪️common security for all through joint efforts
▪️common prosperity through win-win coop.
▪️openness & inclusivity through exchanges & mutual learning
▪️green &low-carbon dev that is clean &beautiful

Chapter 1⃣ states that humanity stands at a crossroad & needs to choose between
▪️unity & division
▪️ opening up &closing off
▪️ cooperation &confrontation

It states
▪️Interdependence is the prevailing trend throughout history
▪️Global challenges call for (new!) global response

With the GCSF, 🇨🇳 seeks to provide a counternarrative to the
▪️inevitability of rising countries seeking hegemony argument.
▪️ Zero-sum game approach

🇨🇳 puts the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence front and center (this is not new but framed as a modern innovation).

According to Chapter 2⃣humanity must choose between

▪️Cold War mentality (implicit accusation of the 🇺🇸)

▪️Acting for the common wellbeing of humanity, strengthening solidarity and cooperation, advocating openness and win-win results, and promoting equality and respect. (GCSF)

It states that to build a GCSF requires the following 4 components:

1⃣A new approach to international relations

▪️ The rise of developing states requires global gov. changes.
▪️Global village: interests intertwined, and futures interlocked.

2⃣ New features of global gov.
▪️Openness & (ideological) inclusiveness
▪️ Equity & justice (against hegemonism & double standards)
▪️ Harmonious coexistence (room for differences)
▪️ Diversity & mutual learning (different approaches to fundamental questions)
▪️Unity & coop.

3⃣New prospects for int. exchanges
▪️ centrality of sovereign equality
▪️ “true multilateralism”
▪️ fair & just security environment (shared interests)
▪️ common dev.
▪️ inter-civilization exchanges to promote harmony
▪️ ecosystem that puts Mother Nature & green dev. first

4⃣ New vision for building a better world

▪️Peace via dialogue &consultation
▪️ From absolute sec. for one to common security for all
▪️Common prosperity via win-win coop.
▪️Open &inclusive world via exchanges &mutual learning (no civilization superior)
▪️green &low-carbon dev.

Building a GCSF is 🇨🇳's proposed strategy for reforming & improving the int. governance system.

▪️greater democracy in international relations
▪️ more just and equitable global gov.
▪️ transcends outdated mindsets
🔹zero-sum game
🔹 power politics
🔹 Cold War confrontations

Chapter 3⃣ “Deep Roots in History and Cultural Traditions” describes the GCSF as building on:

▪️ Principle of equity and sovereignty
▪️ international humanitarianism
▪️ four purposes and seven principles established by the UN Charter
▪️ Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence

Other foundations of the GCSF:

▪️ Trad. Chinese culture (e.g., harmony, all nations together are one community, universal benevolence, Chinas altruism narrative; humans are part of nature)
▪️Global vision of the CPC

▪️🇨🇳 dipl. traditions
🔹major-country dipl. with 🇨🇳 charact.
🔹FPPC
🔹3 Worlds
🔹new type of int. rel.
🔹common values of humanity
🔹BRI
🔹3GIs

▪️Other civilizations
🔹ref. to ancient 🇬🇷/African philosophers & 🇮🇳 lit.
🇷🇺African🇩🇪🇲🇽🇮🇩🇲🇳 proverbs of global connectedness.

Chapter 4⃣ “Direction & Path” proposes 5 elements how the int. community should turn the GCSF vision into reality

1⃣New type of economic globalization
▪️against decoupling & de-risking
▪️impact of AI on the new round of economic globalization and social dev.

2⃣Peaceful dev. path
3⃣New type of int. rel.
▪️built on the principles of mutual respect, equity & justice +mutually beneficial coop.
▪️FPPC
▪️Major countries are key actors
4⃣True multilateralism
▪️ no double standards
▪️🇨🇳actively participates & leads global gov. system reform

5⃣Common values of humanity (peace, development, equity, justice, democracy & freedom).

▪️Special focus on the need to redefine the term democracy at the international level (critique of the west).
▪️more exchanges & mutual learning among civilizations.

Chapter 5⃣ “🇨🇳's Action and Contribution” lists concrete examples where 🇨🇳 promotes the GCSF:
▪️Regarding the BRI it highlights
🔹Port of Piraeus
🔹Global promotion of Juncao tech.
🔹🇨🇳🇱🇦 Railway & Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Railway
🔹Qamchiq Tunnel on Angren-Pap Railway line

▪️The white paper summarizes the key elements of the 3 global initiatives
▪️GSI
▪️ GDI
▪️ GCI
▪️ nothing new here: more info can be found here: )

https://twitter.com/MoritzRudolf/status/1636223360748101633?lang=en

▪️The document also lists 🇨🇳’s ‘Major Propositions on Political Settlement of the 🇺🇦 Crisis’ namely:

▪️ the 4 key principles
▪️ 4 things that the international community should do together
▪️ 3 observations
More info can be found here:

https://twitter.com/MoritzRudolf/status/1651216984275599367

The document also lists the regional Communities of shared future proposed by the 🇨🇳 leadership, namely between 🇨🇳 and

▪️Africa
▪️ Arab countries
▪️ Latin America and Caribbean
▪️ Pacific Islands
▪️ ASEAN
▪️ SCO
▪️ Central Asia

Those are 🇨🇳's foreign policy priorities.

Bilateral Communities of Shared Future (based on action plans, joint statements, or agreements)
▪️ 🇱🇦
▪️ 🇰🇭
▪️ 🇲🇲
▪️ 🇮🇩
▪️ 🇹🇭
▪️ 🇲🇾
▪️ 🇵🇰
▪️ 🇲🇳
▪️ 🇨🇺
▪️ 🇿🇦
▪️🇺🇿🇹🇲🇰🇿🇹🇯🇰🇬

Areas where 🇨🇳will push most vigorously for the GCSF narrative to reform the global order

▪️Health
▪️nuclear security
▪️ maritime issues (maritime community of shared future)
▪️ climate (community of life for humanity & nature; community of all life on Earth)
▪️ cybersecurity

To find the documents search for:

携手构建人类命运共同体：中国的倡议与行动

or

Full Text: A Global Community of Shared Future: China's Proposals and Actions