China's Communist Party Offers A Shared Future For Mankind

China's Communist Party Offers A Shared Future For Mankind
In 2013, President Xi expressed China's vision of fostering new dogma of international relations based on mutual economic benefits at the core concept prominently known as 'shared future for mankind'. Over the past decade, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) development has been devoted to a more equitable global governance system. Such peaceful development and bolstering economic growth depict China's commitment to building a world of common prosperity and a collective future.

It is worth recalling that such a concept is evocated in the framework of the few great goals to be achieved, including but not limited to building a maritime community of shared future, global energy interconnection, a peaceful international environment, and stable global order. The given framework is, to some extent, new in the elaboration of doctrine and represents China's thought in particular. The kind of thinking offered by the 19th Communist Party of China (CPC) Session is a sort of guarantee of peaceful development in China's global restructuring.

Such a peaceful approach apparently challenges the old-fashioned global norm of pseudo-democratic interventions. This new way of thinking also represents a significant contribution to the development of underdeveloped and war-affected countries. As this approach may revalorise global order, it also appears to be antithetical to the so-called international power and its intervention. This is, of course, a positive development for ordinary civilians in the west, but, in the short-sighted perspective of the present ruling class, it represents a deadly danger. Therefore, the raising concerns of the west on the re-election of President Xi are about 'what to expect from 20th CPC's Session' for a peaceful development of the global order.

Comparing China's priorities with the western ones, it is impressive that the first ones are aiming at global economic development, and the second with the military advantage, of course, is the dangerous one. However, the issues at stake go far beyond when unregulated and imbalanced globalisation, which took place so far, has created a situation that is not favourable to international cooperation. Indeed, CPC is worried about the future of mankind, which can be observed by its recent programmes on poverty alleviation, narcotics control, containment of contagious diseases and mitigation of natural disasters. Such non-politicised tasks of the CPC stimulated global cooperation in solving shared problems, giving shape and content to a really democratic governance of the international community.

The competitive approach is the position of the 20th CPC's session, which is contained in its long-sighted development of the infrastructure, energy and maritime routes, which will peacefully foster global economic growth. The ongoing session is already committed to finding solutions to strategic issues, including international and regional peace, disarmament, poverty alleviation and mutual economic development. In this session's agenda, there are also concerns about climate change, and there is a strong emphasis on minimising the possible impact of that phenomenon on the world environment. Furthermore, it plans to give the right answer to challenges of crucial importance to ensure the human species' very survival.

The aim of the CPC appears not to be replacing one hegemony with another but to give birth to and shape new governance of the global community and the planet itself. The west already acknowledges such multi-polarism, and that is already shaping and developing the institutional instruments provided for in global governance. CPC seems conscious about maintaining China's primacy in the global community and, therefore, is eager to keep its pre-eminence in trade, development and community-based programmes. With sustained and predictable investment, CPC is driving cohesion among allies and partners, and ensuring more access to shared resources to improve living standards.

It is vital to highlight one critical feature to clarify the concrete features of the CPC objectives: its history of the development of mankind through cooperation and coordination in ever-bigger territorial frameworks. Based on this territorial framework, CPC had carefully designed and attempted to implement an international structure through BRI delicately and specify that the overcoming of the global governance shall be based on coexistence among sovereign and independent states. CPC is transplanting a qualitative tool in the form of a 'shared future of mankind' in global governance to assess the progress which can be made through international cooperation.

CPC has already taken a strong position against the risk posed to the international community derived from the past acts of the west. The western administration concerning defence and disarmament has the choice to revive a protectionist approach to global issues. However, all are well aware that this is not a theory or mere appearance since western options revitalise the climate of the cold war, impede a compact commitment of the international community on shared issues and put international development at risk. Altogether, such stances imply a straightforward disavowal of international obligations in sensitive areas of international cooperation, which appears to be driven by the CPC in the future.

The author holds an LLD from Dalian Maritime University, China and LLM from University of Hertfordshire, United Kingdom, he was the key personnel running LLM International and Maritime Law program at Bahria University, Islamabad. His recent research focuses on issues relating the ocean and port governance, environmental law, law of the sea and international humanitarian law. He tweets @jahanzebbutt88