China has offered cooperation and benefits for all - will the world shake hands?

By Seymur Mammadov

In connection with the pandemic of the coronavirus and the tendency of most countries to isolate, today the world has started talking about the collapse of the idea of globalization. At the first serious threat, the states of the world fled to their apartments, closed doors and windows, fencing themselves off from their neighbors. And the globalists are especially zealous in this.

What was meant by globalization by Western politicians? Unification for greater control and access of those who are stronger to the wealth and opportunities of the weaker and dependent.

Meanwhile, the idea of the unity of mankind is inherently beautiful, progressive and humane. It implies cooperation for the benefit of all, joint solution of problems and the use of the capabilities of each member of the world community in the interests of all. It is precisely this philosophy that the concept of the Community of shared future for mankind initiated by President Xi Jinping of China.

The Community of shared future for mankind is not a philosophical category, not a utopia, it is a completely real and fully meeting the requirements of the modern world concept of building a better and peaceful future for all. Because cooperation in conditions of confrontation is impossible. The model proposed by China does not make it the very center of the universe, in contrast to the idea of globalization, which suggests the possibility for strong countries to take from those who are weaker. China, on the contrary, offers its opportunities. The concept voiced by the head of the PRC is precisely that unique, which combines the ability to combine own interests and the interests of partners.

As noted by Xi Jinping, “at present, mankind lives in a world that has gathered different cultures, races, people with different skin colors, different religions and countries with different social systems. The peoples of all countries have formed the community of shared future for mankind, where “you have me and I have you””.

That is, the Chinese side does not build illusions, does not fantasize. Beijing is well aware of how diverse and controversial humanity is. At the same time, he understands how interconnected these individual particles are, and how these contradictory at first glance moments can serve the common good. Each member of the world community, thanks to the Chinese concept, will know that he is not alone, that his problems will be processed and resolved by close and distant neighbors. China has actually proposed a new form of international relations. İn this concept it comes to the forefront an economy, and the policy of force, military pressure and threats as an instrument for solving its problems is rejected.

Twenty years ago, Xi Jinping presented the details of the Chinese concept during the Asian Forum. He pointed out that the concept of the Community of shared future for mankind implies equal rights and respect for each other, mutually beneficial cooperation in the name of common development, the creation of a common security space, the exchange of experience between civilizations.

For the first time, the concept of the Community of shared future for mankind was included in the UN resolution in 2017, which speaks of its recognition by other members of the world community. In the future, it has repeatedly been included in other UN resolutions. During the World Economic Forum in Davos, Xi Jinping explained in detail the idea of China to build a community with a common future for humanity. In the future, the concept took on even sharper outlines and began to sound like "Act together to build a community with a single future."

In 2014, during a conference on international affairs, Xi Jinping said that China’s goal is to turn neighboring countries into a community of one destiny. In recent years, the head of the PRC during his speeches often referred to this concept, each time expanding its borders. Initially, this concept was considered at the regional level, but gradually gained global proportions. One of the vivid examples of the concept’s wide possibilities is the grandiose project “One Belt - One Road” put forward by Xi Jinping. Having drawn transport and trade corridors along the patterns of the ancient Great Silk Road, China proposed an incredibly powerful and incredibly beneficial old idea in a modern design. The Silk Road Economic Belt is a caravan route consisting of several branches. Today, of course, it’s not laden camels, but trains and large-capacity wagons that go along it.

By the way, recently, despite a pandemic and closed borders, the next train passed through the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway corridor, which is an integral and even a key part of the railway segment of the Chinese project. What can be called a compelling argument in favor of the Community of shared future for mankind. In conditions of universal disaster, cooperation continues, economic activity, which is extremely necessary to maintain the economies of countries along the route of cargo transit.
It did not come as a surprise that the United States and a number of other countries perceived the Community of shared future for mankind ambiguously. The countries neighboring China saw in the concept a kind of threat to themselves, to their security and independence. And the States accuse Beijing of wanting to become a center of power in East Asia.

China, unlike other large countries, invited its neighbors to cooperate and earn money by promoting “One Belt - One Road”. In this case, the PRC itself does not assume the role of a mentor. She is simply looking for the best ways to implement trade relations, opening up enormous opportunities for everyone involved in the project. It is no accident that friction continues on the continent - everyone wants to drag the Chinese “blanket” onto themselves in order to get as much as possible from the project. It is interesting that in parallel with this, criticism of the project continues, moreover, it is very far from the economy, and operates only with political arguments. Simply put, no one can prove with figures why the “One Belt - One Road” unifying and involving in cooperation is bad. Only words remain.
The same applies to the Community of shared future for mankind. Criticism is unconstructive and not reasoned enough.

Meanwhile, the pandemic shows that mankind really has a common destiny and common problems. When threats arise, it becomes clear how interconnected the particles of the modern world are. China understood that. When will the West understand?

The author is the director of the international expert club EurAsiaAz