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Ambassador YinChengwu Published An Article in Liberian Newspaper
2024-07-17 18:15


On July 12, 2024, Ambassador Yin Chengwu published an article entitled “Peaceful Coexistence for Building Prosperity” in the Liberian newspaper The NEWS and Daily OBSERVER. The full text is as follows:

On June 28, 2024, the Conference Marking the 70th Anniversary of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence was held in Beijing. Chinese President Xi Jinping attended the conference and delivered an important address. Seventy years ago, China specified and advocated the Five Principles in their entirety for the first time, namely, mutual respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, mutual non-aggression, mutual non-interference in each other’s internal affairs, equality and mutual benefit, and peaceful coexistence. It marked a groundbreaking and epoch-making achievement in the history of international relations. Over the past 70 years, the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence have transcended time and space and overcome estrangement, showing robust resilience and everlasting relevance. They have become open, inclusive, and universally applicable basic norms for international relations and fundamental principles of international law.

Ⅰ. Looking Back: The Common Quest of Asian and African Countries

After the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, China pursued the independent foreign policy of peace. At that time, national independence and liberation movements swept across the globe and the world was overshadowed by the dark clouds of the Cold War. The Chinese government actively sought peaceful coexistence with all countries, specified the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence for the first time.

In 1955, 29 Asian and African countries, including China and Liberia, attended the Bandung Conference. They proposed ten principles for handling state-to-state relations on the basis of the Five Principles, and advocated the Bandung spirit of solidarity, friendship and cooperation. The Non-Aligned Movement that rose in the 1960s adopted the Five Principles as its guiding principles. The Declaration on Principles of International Law adopted at the 25th Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in 1970 and the Declaration on the Establishment of the New International Economic Order adopted at the Sixth Special UNGA Session in 1974 both endorsed the Five Principles.

Over 70 years, amidst the winds of change in the international situation, the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence have set a historic benchmark for international relations and international rule of law, and have served as the prime guidance for the establishment and development of relations between countries with different social systems. They have been a powerful rallying force behind the efforts of developing countries to pursue cooperation and self-strength through unity, and have contributed historic wisdom to the reform and improvement of the international order.

Ⅱ. All Flourish: the Global South Work in Unity

The Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence originated from Southern countries and are a shared treasure of the Global South. China is willing to work with other Global South countries to vigorously promote South-South cooperation while also fostering North-South cooperation, continually strengthening and consolidating the unity of the Global South.

As a member of the global South, China has taken the lead in supporting the African Union's accession to the Group of Twenty (G20) and has sought to enhance the representation and voice of the countries of the South in international mechanisms to safeguard the common interests of the global South.

President Xi Jinping announced that, to better support Global South cooperation, China will establish a Global South research center. It will provide 1,000 scholarships under the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence Scholarship of Excellence and 100,000 training opportunities to Global South countries in the coming five years. It will also launch a Global South youth leaders program. China will continue to make good use of the China-U.N. Peace and Development Fund, the Global Development and South-South Cooperation Fund, and the Climate Change South-South Cooperation Fund, and will work with interested parties to set up a tripartite center of excellence for the implementation of the Global Development Initiative, so as to facilitate growth in Global South countries. It will renew the China-IFAD South-South and Triangular Cooperation Facility, and make an additional Renminbi contribution equivalent to US$10 million to be used to support agricultural development of the Global South. China is ready to discuss free trade arrangements with more Global South countries, continue to support the WTO’s Aid for Trade initiative, and renew its contribution to the WTO’s China Program. It welcomes more Global South countries to join the Initiative on International Trade and Economic Cooperation Framework for Digital Economy and Green Development. Between now and 2030, China’s import from fellow developing countries is expected to exceed US$8 trillion.