By He Yin, People’s Daily

China is not only advocating but also acting on the vision of building a global community of shared future. Over the past decade, from promoting high-quality development of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), to proposing and implementing the Global Development Initiative (GDI), Global Security Initiative (GSI), and Global Civilization Initiative(GCI), China, with firm beliefs and solid actions, has worked with all relevant parties to consolidate greater efforts for lasting peace, create a favorable environment for common security, inject stronger confidence into common development, provide important impetus for cultural exchanges, and take more actions for ecological protection. China has continuously contributed to the building of a global community of shared future.

The BRI is a vivid example of building a global community of shared future, a public good and a cooperation platform provided by China and welcomed by the international community.

By July 2023, more than three-quarters of countries in the world and over 30 international organizations had signed agreements on Belt and Road cooperation with China.

Over the past decade, China has laid the groundwork and set up the frameworks of BRI cooperation, delivering tangible results and achieving sustainable progress. Together, participants in the initiative have jointly advanced “hard connectivity” of infrastructure,”soft connectivity” of rules and standards and “people-to-people connectivity” among partner countries. This has effectively promoted the development of participating countries, constantly giving local people of BRI countries a stronger sense of fulfillment and happiness.

Flagship projects of the BRI, such as the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, the China-Laos Railway, the Jakarta-Bandung High-speed Railway and the Mombasa-Nairobi Railway, have lent strong impetus to local economic and social development. The China-Europe freight trains have made 77,000 trips in the past ten years, carrying 7.31 million twenty-foot equivalent units and becoming an important bridge for international economic and trade cooperation. Luban workshops have helped young people in more than 20 Belt and Road countries acquire vocational skills. The BRI aims to help China and the rest of the world share opportunities and seek common development.

Development serves as the material foundation for security and civilization. Through the GDI, China has made its contribution to resolving challenges to development and advancing global development.

The fundamental aim of the initiative is to accelerate the implementation of the UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Its core requirement is a people-centered approach, its foremost philosophy is united, equal, balanced, and inclusive global development partnerships, and its pivotal measure entails results-oriented actions to bolster stronger, greener, and healthier global development and jointly build a global community of development.

China has hosted the High-level Dialogue on Global Development and presented 32 important measures to implement the initiative. So far, half of these measures have been implemented or achieved early fruits. The library of the GDI projects is expanding, with over 200 projects achieving good results.

UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina J. Mohammed noted that strengthening cooperation within the framework of the GDI is key to achieving the common objectives for people and the planet.

Security acts as the fundamental prerequisite for development and civilization. Through the GSI, China has boosted confidence for maintaining and realizing common security and universal security.

The initiative calls for adapting to profound changes in the international landscape through solidarity, addressing traditional and non-traditional security risks and challenges with a win-win mindset, and creating a new path to security that features dialogue over confrontation, partnership over alliance and win-win over zero-sum.

Over the past three decades and more, China has sent more than 50,000 personnel to UN peacekeeping operations in over 20 countries and region. China has been calling for the resolution of conflicts and working tirelessly to promote peace. It has facilitated the restoration of diplomatic relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran and has been actively involved in resolving international and regional hotspot issues. China is actively committed to international cooperation in various fields, including counter-terrorism, public health, digital governance, bio-security, and climate change.

China’s actions fully demonstrate its role as a responsible major country in safeguarding world peace and stability. International personages pointed out that the GSI fills the void of a viable global security architecture, and China’s successful implementation of this initiative fully proves that China is a defender of global peace and security.

Civilization provides the cultural-ethical support for development and security. Through the GCI, China has injected impetus into promoting mutual learning and building an open and inclusive world.

The initiative calls for jointly advocating respect for the diversity of civilizations, jointly advocating the common values of humanity, jointly advocating the importance of inheritance and innovation of civilizations, and jointly advocating robust international people-to-people exchanges and cooperation. It makes a sincere call for the world to enhance inter-civilization exchanges and dialogue, and promote human progress with inclusiveness and mutual learning.

China has hosted gatherings including the Communist Party of China (CPC) in Dialogue with World Political Parties High-level Meeting, the CPC and World Political Parties Summit, and the Conference on Dialogue of Asian Civilizations. It has promoted diverse forms of civil diplomacy, city diplomacy, and public diplomacy. It has also celebrated splendid cultural and tourist “years” and festivals.

China actively promotes the establishment of a global network for dialogue and cooperation on civilizations, strengthens international cultural exchanges and cooperation, and promotes mutual understanding and friendship among peoples of all countries, offering cultural-ethical support for the building of a global community of shared future.

The future of humanity is bright, but it will not come without effort. To build a global community of shared future, confidence and determination are of foremost importance; a broad mind and a global vision are central; a sense of responsibility and a will to act hold the key.

China will continue to work with all parties, hold high the banner of building a global community of shared future, and build an open, inclusive, clean and beautiful world that enjoys lasting peace, universal security, and common prosperity.

By Tuersun Aibai

In recent years, anti-China forces in the West have hyped up the so-called forced labor narrative, an accusation to systematically vilify China, as an attempt to tarnish the country’s image on the international stage, weaken its international reputation, and alienate the nation by jeopardizing its friendly and cooperative relations with other countries.

In order to understand the political and economic motives behind their “forced labor” fallacy, as well as the exploration of the narrative’s manipulation strategies, transmission paths, and methods of the fallacy, I conducted a statistical analysis of over 30,000 Xinjiang-related stories from 22 media outlets in 15 countries and regions.

From these, I selected 189 pieces published by 13 media outlets that spread the “forced labor” slander for further analysis and found out that the claim of “forced labor” concocted by anti-China forces in the West is a new discourse pattern and narrative framework, which has gradually evolved from the framework of early public opinion manipulation, into a comprehensive economic blockade and repression of Northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

How ‘forced labor’ smear grows

Based on the analysis of 189 stories published by 13 overseas media outlets, I found that the evolution process of the “forced labor” smear campaign can be divided into three phases.

The first phase is a “topic brewing period” that spanned from December 2018 to March 2020.

In December 2018, the Associated Press (AP) first claimed that a company in Xinjiang’s Hotan city had cooperated with local education and training program institutions to sell clothes made by the program’s trainees to the US. The story was later quoted by many overseas media outlets and caught the attention of the US government, which in turn required that certain clothing and outdoor recreation product brands such as Adidas inspect their industrial chains, and enforced a prohibition of the importation of so-called forced labor products.

On December 18 that year, Voice of America (VOA) published a story titled US Sportswear Traced to Factory in China’s Internment Camps, in which it alleged that Chinese government was “forcing some detainees to work in manufacturing and food industries.” Two days later, VOA published a second article titled US Reviews Report of Imports from Forced Labor in China Camp, quoting several infamous Xinjiang separatists as stating that there was “forced labor” at Xinjiang’s vocational education and training centers. Other mainstream US media sources such as The New York Times (NYT) also published similar stories with incendiary claims that month.

During that period, claims of “forced labor” were introduced by US media outlets as fodder for a new anti-China topic of focus, and its transmission scope was mainly within the US and its media sources. The claim only served to attack the trainees working at the clothing industry in the region after receiving vocational education.

The second phase of the West’s “forced labor” smear campaign, a “topic fomentation period,” spanned from March 2020 to December 2021.

On March 1, 2020, the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI), a think tank reliant on US defense funds and is keen to concoct and amplify various anti-China topics, released a “research report” titled Uygurs for sale ‘Re-education’, forced labor, and surveillance beyond Xinjiang. The ridiculous report attacked China’s efforts in accelerating Xinjiang’s development, and slandered the employment placements of trainees from Xinjiang’s vocational education and training program. Western media outlets later widely referenced and quoted the report.

By further fueling the “forced labor” narrative, some so-called “human rights groups” and media outlets called on governments in Western countries such as the US and the UK to investigate the industrial chains and asked local enterprises to cut ties with their Chinese counterparts that use Uygur labor.

In March 2020, Switzerland’s Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) proposed that some major clothing brands ban the use of Xinjiang-sourced cotton using the groundless “forced labor” accusations as a pretext, claiming that the production cotton in Xinjiang “violated labor rights,” and “violated human rights.” Following this call to action, certain US congressmen introduced the so-called “Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA),” which required companies to obtain certification from the US government that any product imported from Xinjiang into the US was not produced with the use of “forced labor.” The bill also required the US president to “identify and designate” visa or financial sanctions against any foreign person who “knowingly engages” in the “forced labor” in the Xinjiang region.

The “forced labor” fallacy continued to grow in the European Union (EU). In December 2020, the European Parliament passed a resolution on Xinjiang, falsely alleging the use of “forced labor” in the region. It required EU member countries to impose sanctions on Xinjiang officials and boycott so-called “forced labor” products from Xinjiang.

During this period, the scope of the “forced labor” smear campaign had further expanded, and some Western governments introduced related bills to “legally” base their “forced labor” accusations. The smear campaign targeted not only the employment of surplus rural labor in Xinjiang, but also extended to more industries in this region such as tomato cultivation in the agricultural sector and the photovoltaic and solar energy product manufacturing industries.

Legislatures, judiciaries, border defense, and the commerce departments of some Western countries banded together to form a community of mutual interests in this smear campaign. Western media sources, NGOs, think tanks, and enterprises also followed suit, cooperating closely with governments from the public opinion and “academic” standpoints.

The third phase, which started from January 2022 and is currently ongoing, is the “instrumentalization and politicization period.”

Sample analysis based on media coverage suggested that the focus of media outlets in most countries has shifted to the “force labor” fallacy, while the US and the UK conversely remain focused on actively hyping up the fallacy. Data showed that eight US- and UK-based media outlets published a total of 24 stories attacking Xinjiang between January and April in 2022.

In this phase, the “forced labor” smear campaign entered a new “practice stage,” serving the West’s goals of escalating the economic suppression of China by indiscriminately attacking all the products made in Xinjiang and all the enterprises in the region.

Worse still, with the Xinjiang-related “bills” coming into effect, anti-China forces in the West have completed the transition from public opinion attacks, to the introduction of legislative economic sanctions. Now the public opinion campaign has turned into an economic war waged against China. The “forced labor” fallacy has become an integral part of the Western anti-China forces’ strategic containment of China.

The graphic shows a four-step scheme of US’ malicious slander against China. From govt, think thanks to the media, US’ disinformation machines fabricate lies and pave the way for legislation that aims to contain China. Graphic: Feng Qingyin/GT

The graphic shows a four-step scheme of US’ malicious slander against China. From govt, think thanks to the media, US’ disinformation machines fabricate lies and pave the way for legislation that aims to contain China. Graphic: Feng Qingyin/GT

Tactics of public opinion manipulation

The “forced labor” fallacy did not emerge accidentally. Thanks to a long-term planned process and a clear manipulation strategy of public opinion by Western anti-China forces, who, prey on different countries’ perceptions of the human rights concept to create and hype up lies under the guise of “protecting human rights,” the fallacy gained momentum.

The concept of human rights is regarded as a value deeply influenced by the historical and cultural traditions of different countries. There are both commonalities and differences in the understanding of human rights among countries. Therefore, the UN’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights, as well as the European Declaration of Human Rights, do not specifically give a universal definition of the standards of human rights.

Since the founding of the People’s Republic of China, the Chinese government has regarded the rights to subsistence and development as fundamental human rights, fully protected the political, economic, social, and cultural rights of the people of all ethnic groups, and continuously promoted and elevated the development of human rights work in practice. China has written human rights protection into the country’s Constitution and the Constitution of the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC), and further promoted the systematization and legalization of human rights protection. China has also held human rights forums and issued a white paper to comprehensively elaborate its concept of human rights.

However, the anti-China forces in the West, who ignore the differences in human rights concepts between China and the West and China’s achievements in the protection and promotion of human rights, politicize, weaponize, and instrumentalize the concept of human rights by employing the “forced labor” fabrications and hype.

Some biased western media sources, by citing misleading quotes, wantonly attack the human rights situation in China, so as to promote the spread of the “forced labor” accusation by employing several tactics.

Tactic one: “Criminalize” Chinese government

The “forced labor” accusation falsely alleges that the purpose of the transfer of the employment policy in Xinjiang region is to “strip” Uygurs of their cultural identity and “assimilate” them. Western anti-China forces have further fabricated lies claiming that China committed so-called “crimes against humanity” and “crimes of genocide” in the region.

For instance, on March 2, 2020, an Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) article quoted an ASPI researcher as saying that the goal of the labor transfers was “political,” with an aim toward the “stripping of their unique culture and identity.” On November 25, The Global and Mail cited some infamous anti-China “human rights groups” that “Uygurs and other Turkic minorities have been subject to forced labor as part of China’s plan to control the Uygur population in the region.” On August 23, 2021, the Washington Post quoted an anti-China group’s statement as saying that “no American corporation should be doing business in a region that is the focal point of a campaign of genocide targeting a religious and ethnic minority.”

The reality is that, the Uygur population has increased from 3.61 million in 1953 to 11.62 million in 2020, an increase of over three-fold, while the Chinese national population growth rate over the same period only grew two-fold. The growth rate of the Uygur population has been higher than the national average.

Tactic two: Demonizing China’s poverty alleviation policies

For instance, on June 24, the Washington Post groundlessly claimed that a Chinese company “recruits and employs Uygurs and other minorities via state labor programs that aim to place them in factories.” On March 7, CNN quoted a British scholar as saying that the job programs in Xinjiang “are often non-consensual, and people who refuse can be punished with internment.”

Contrary to the lies and rumors they fabricated, the fact is that workers of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang region, including those who were transferred for employment and those who had completed their studies in learning institutions and training centers, have the agency to choose their preferred jobs and regions of placement. They sign labor contracts and receive remuneration in accordance with the law, and enjoy various social insurance benefits.

The total number of rural migrant workers in China reached 30.7 million in 2021, of which 3.2 million were from Xinjiang. With an increase in the number of stable employment, the economic income of the people of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang has continued to increase, and the regional per capita gross domestic product (GDP) had increased from 45,476 yuan ($6,225.9) in 2017 to 53,593 yuan in 2020.

Tactic three: Stigmatizing assistance measures for transfer employment

The “forced labor” smear campaign claims that the Chinese government assigns staff to “monitor” Uygur employees, and even defames the existence of administrators of ethnic and religious affairs for Uygur employees at local companies, terming it as “monitoring.”

On April 27, 2021, The Guardian quoted a member of an Australian anti-China group as saying that Uygurs were “held in secure compounds, working extremely long hours and under constant surveillance, and with political indoctrination as part of their daily routine.” On March 9, 2020, a Washington Post article even ridiculously described the psychological counseling rooms as having been set for the purpose of thought policing Uygur employees.

Such psychological rooms, far from solely being found in Xinjiang, are part and parcel of many Chinese and foreign enterprises to help relieve psychological pressure experienced by employees. This is a common international practice. In November 2019, Chinese authorities issued the Specification of Healthy Enterprise Construction (trial), which requires employers to attach importance to their employees’ physical and mental health, and encourages enterprises to set up mental health counseling rooms.

Tactic four: Distorting service work for labor transfer employment

On March 2, 2020, ABC quoted an ASPI researcher and separatist as saying that Uygur workers “are often transported across China in special segregated trains,” and “authorities and factory bosses continue to closely monitor them.” On April 27, 2021, The Guardian claimed that Uygurs employees “have limited or no communications with their families; mothers have been separated from their babies and families have been torn apart,” citing the words of an anti-China separatist.

China fully protects the legitimate rights and interests of workers of all ethnic groups in law, policy, and practices, which advocate equal pay for equal work without discrimination against any ethnic groups. Chinese laws expressly stipulate that Uygur people enjoy the same rights as other ethnic groups, and Chinese enterprises have no right to and nor should they restrict their freedom.

Chinese citizens enjoy freedom of religious belief, and the state guarantees normal religious activities. Uygur employees participate in religious activities on the premise that they abide by China’s laws and regulations, the enterprise’s rules, and normal work routines.

Tactic five: Attacking China by citing misleading, tendentious claims

Based on my analysis of 189 stories from 13 media outlets, I found that when hyping up the “forced labor” smear, overseas anti-China media sources mainly cited “research report” published by the ASPI and anti-China scholar Laura Murphy, and the remarks of the separatist organization “World Uyghur Congress” along with its affiliated bodies.

A considerable number of their Xinjiang-related stories cited anti-China politicians and scholars to support their narratives, lack field research and first-hand information. The stories did not provide any reliable information, let alone contain actual interviews conducted with Uygur employees.

For example, in the article Canadian watchdog asked to probe allegations that imports made with forced labor in China published on April 11, 2022, The Globe and Mail quoted an “executive director” of a so-called “Uygur rights advocacy project” based in Ottawa as saying that he hopes a probe will drive Canada to take greater action against imports made using “forced labor.”

Obviously, some Western media outlets achieve their goals of misleading their audiences and spreading fallacies by unilaterally quoting false statements made by some anonymous and anti-China sources, and using sensational and biased headlines. Their stories and quotes, without investigating the actual situation on the ground in Xinjiang region, lack verifiability. The information they convey in their stories is full of malicious speculation and lies.

Western anti-China forces concocted the “forced labor” fallacy as a means to serve their goal of suppressing China’s economic development. To clarify the lies and show the world a real Xinjiang, China should make more efforts in several aspects, such as focusing on the international communication with the Arab world and developing countries, strengthen the public dissemination of accurate information, while also paying close attention to the slanderous tactics employed by anti-China forces to defame China.

（The auther is an expert from the School of Journalism and Communication at Xinjiang University）

By Ji Fang, People’s Daily

Since the start of the Hangzhou Asian Games, athletes from various countries have been competing fiercely and striving for excellence, showcasing the power of sports and the charm of athletics. Watching the exciting Asian Games has become a new option for the Chinese people to spend their Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holiday.

The Chinese delegation debuted on the stage of the Asian Games in Tehran, Iran in 1974. Since then, Chinese athletes have constantly achieved outstanding results and broken records at the event.

From the Beijing Asian Games in 1990 to the Guangzhou Asian Games in 2010, and now the Hangzhou Asian Games, the event has partnered with China three times, witnessing the development of China’s economy and society.

Hosting the Asian Games has not only accelerated the growth of China’s sports industry and facilitated urban transformation, but also prompted reflection on the deeper meaning behind organizing major sporting events.

China has continuously shown its competitiveness and strength during major international sporting events such as the Asian Games and the Olympic Games. Over the past half-century, the journey of the Chinese delegation in the Asian Games reflected the country’s relentless efforts in the realm of sports.

In terms of promoting nationwide fitness activities, hosting high-level sporting events has ignited a sports frenzy and further fueled people’s enthusiasm for participating in sports activities. During this year’s Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holiday, many people have plans to watch the Asian Games and engage in physical exercise. The enthusiasm generated by the Asian Games has injected new vitality into the development of nationwide fitness and the sports industry.

From the initial preparation stage, the Hangzhou Asian Games has been aiming to benefit the people. Through measures such as opening Asian Games venues to the public, utilizing idle urban spaces, and organizing mass sports events, the public has been better motivated to participate in sports activities.

The sports ecosystem is becoming increasingly robust, allowing more people to transition from being spectators to active participants, thus strengthening the connection between the Asian Games and the general public.

Sports bring vibrancy to people’s lives, and China’s third time hosting the Asian Games is opening a new and inspiring chapter for the country’s sports undertaking.

He Yin, People’s Daily

“The vision of a global community of shared future stands on the right side of history and on the side of human progress. It introduces a new approach for international relations, provides new ideas for global governance, opens up new prospects for international exchanges, and draws a new blueprint for a better world.”

The white paper titled “A Global Community of Shared Future: China’s Proposals and Actions” recently issued by China’s State Council Information Office provides a profound explanation of the historical background, rich connotations, implementation paths, and vivid practices of building a global community of shared future.

It helps people from all sectors of society and the international community have a more comprehensive understanding of the far-reaching significance of building a global community of shared future. It also provides a clearer understanding of the great goals of major-country diplomacy with Chinese characteristics. Furthermore, it consolidates the broad consensus and strong momentum for jointly building a global community of shared future.

The world is undergoing changes on a scale unseen in a century. Various problems old and new and complex issues are converging with and compounding each other. The peace deficit is growing, the development deficit ballooning, and the security deficit glaring.

In March 2013, Chinese President Xi Jinping propounded the idea of building a global community of shared future, answering a question raised by the world, by history, and by the times: “What is wrong with this world, what we should do about it.” His proposal lights the path forward as the world fumbles for solutions, and represents China’s contribution to global efforts to protect the shared home and create a better future of prosperity for all.

The vision of building a global community of shared future complies with the prevailing trend of interdependence throughout history, responds to the needs of the times to tackle global challenges, and echoes the popular calls for peace, justice and progress.

Under the personal guidance and promotion of Xi, the building of a global community of shared future has evolved from a vision to action, and grown stronger. It has steadfastly adhered to the viable path amidst changing winds and storms, and has made remarkable achievements in the face of crises and challenges, demonstrating its leadership in shaping the era.

Over the past decade, the vision of building a global community of shared future has become increasingly refined. From state visits to multilateral summits, Xi has systematically expounded on this significant concept on various international occasions, continuously deepening the international community’s understanding of it.

Xi proposed to forge partnerships in which countries treat each other as equals, engage in mutual consultation and show mutual understanding, create a security environment featuring fairness, justice, joint efforts, and shared interests, promote open, innovative and inclusive development that benefits all, increase inter-civilization exchanges to promote harmony, inclusiveness, and respect for differences, and build an ecosystem that puts Mother Nature and green development first. He also emphasized the importance to build an open, inclusive, clean, and beautiful world of lasting peace, universal security and shared prosperity.

With its connotations and paths constantly deepened and expanded, the vision of building a global community of shared future has gradually formulated a science-based theoretical system pursuing the five goals for the world and the common values of humanity, with building a new type of international relations as the fundamental path, the Belt and Road Initiative as an important platform, and the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative and the Global Civilization Initiative as a crucial cornerstone.

The vision of building a global community of shared future conforms to the trend of the times and charts the course for improving global governance. It envisions a world characterized by openness and inclusiveness, equity and justice, harmonious coexistence, diversity and mutual learning, and unity and cooperation. It calls for peaceful development rather than conflict and confrontation, common security rather than absolute security, mutual benefit rather than zero-sum games, and exchange and mutual learning rather than a clash of cultures, as well as for green development to protect our planet.

Such a vision rises above the exclusive rules of bloc politics, the notion of might makes right, and the “universal values” defined by a handful of Western countries. It sets a new example for the theory of international relations and serves as a great banner that leads the trend of the times and the direction of human progress.

International dignitaries pointed out that the vision of building a global community of shared future outlines the path to achieve the grand vision of all humanity and charts the course for human development and progress, bringing hope for building a free, just, and beautiful world.

The vision of building a global community of shared future adheres to peace and cooperation, providing an important guideline for achieving mutual benefit and win-win outcomes.

It mirrors the common values shared by all humanity, and reflects the broadest common aspiration of the peoples of all countries in pursuit of peace, development, and stability, and the broadest consensus among countries with different cultural backgrounds and at different stages of development. It has won broad understanding and support from the international community.

The vision has been included in United Nations General Assembly resolutions for six consecutive years and has been repeatedly incorporated into resolutions or declarations of multilateral mechanisms such as the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and the BRICS. From bilateral to multilateral occasions, and from regional to global levels, China has been forging communities with a shared future in different forms with dozens of countries and regions.

In the face of global challenges, all countries in the world are in the same big boat. Whatever they may encounter on their journey ahead, the only right choice is to work together for the benefit of all. Only when all countries work together, only when they align individual interests with the interests of all, and only when they truly build a global community of shared future, can humanity sail towards a better future.

By He Yin, People’s Daily

The State Council Information Office of China on Oct. 10 issued a white paper titled “The Belt and Road Initiative: A Key Pillar of the Global Community of Shared Future.”

The white paper was released ahead of the third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation to introduce the achievements of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in the past 10 years. This will help enhance the international community’s understanding of the initiative, facilitate high-quality development of Belt and Road cooperation, and bring the benefits of the initiative to more countries and peoples.

Only by placing the BRI under the grand coordinates of history can its significance for the times and the world be better understood.

In today’s world, as technological revolution and productive forces develop, economic globalization has become a historical trend. However, the economic globalization dominated by a few countries failed to achieve inclusive and shared development.

The world is moving ever closer towards greater multipolarity, economic globalization, and cultural diversity, and becoming increasingly information-orientated in the process. It is increasingly clear that humanity is a global community of shared future in which everyone’s interests are inseparably entwined.

However, the deficits in peace, development, security and governance continue to grow rather than shrink. At the critical crossroads of history, building a global community of shared futureis where the hope lies for the progress of human society.

The BRI takes the building of a global community of shared future as its overarching goal, creating a platform for action and offering approaches to realizing this goal. It turns visions into reality, and is an important public good for improving global governance.

In the 10 years that have passed since the launch of the BRI, cooperation under the BRI framework has brought remarkable and profound change to the world and become a major milestone in the history of humanity. The BRI has boosted China’s development and benefited the rest of the world.

The initiative boosts development and builds poverty reduction capacity in participating countries. It delivers notable results in projects that improve people’s lives, bringing tangible benefits to participating countries.

The BRI boosts the momentum for global development, encourages deeper regional economic cooperation, promotes global trade, and maintains the stability of global supply chains, thus adding vitality to economic globalization.

It follows the principles of extensive consultation, joint contribution, and shared benefits, promotes and activates authentic multilateralism, and strengthens the position and role of developing countries and emerging economies in the world market system. It marks a significant improvement in global governance.

The BRI boosts people-to-people exchanges and mutual learning among civilizations, garnering strength for the progress of human civilization. Facts have proven that BRI cooperation responds to the call of the times and benefits the peoples in participating countries. It thus enjoys popular support. It is a path for all participating countries to achieve modernization and a path of hope leading to a bright future. It is resilient and vigorous, and offers broad prospects.

The reason for the BRI to have gathered world-changing strength in the past decade is that it always adheres to the principles of extensive consultation, joint contribution, and shared benefits, and advocates win-win cooperation in pursuit of the greater good and shared interests. It emphasizes that all countries are equal participants, contributors and beneficiaries, and encourages economic integration, interconnected development, and the sharing of achievements.

The principle of extensive consultation signifies that the BRI is not a solo endeavor by China, but a collaborative effort involving all stakeholders. From the making of blueprints to specific project design and implementation, the BRI emphasizes equal participation, effective communication, collective wisdom, and freedom from any political or economic preconditions.

The principle of joint contribution highlights that the BRI is not one of China’s international aid programs or geopolitical tool, but a collaborative effort for shared development. It aims to align with existing regional mechanisms rather than becoming their substitute and leverage complementary strengths.

China has signed more than 200 BRI cooperation agreements with more than 150 countries and 30 international organizations across five continents, to strengthen strategic synergy and promote interconnected development.

The principle of shared benefits underscores the importance of win-win cooperation. It aims to identify common interests and grounds for cooperation, meet the development needs of all parties, and address the real concerns of the people. This principle emphasizes sharing development opportunities and outcomes among all participating countries, ensuring that none of them is left behind.

Most participants are developing countries, all seeking to leverage collective strengths to address challenges such as inadequate infrastructure, lagging industrial development, limited industrialization, insufficient capital and technology, and a shortage of skilled workers, to promote their own economic and social development.

It is based on the principles of extensive consultation, joint contribution, and shared benefits that the BRI has achieved authentic win-win cooperation.

In a world full of uncertainties and instabilities, all countries should urgently bridge differences through dialogue, oppose rifts with unity, and promote development through cooperation. Against this backdrop, the BRI becomes more meaningful and is an initiative to be welcomed.

China is willing to work with all other parties to take the third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation to strengthen confidence, maintain resolve, raise extensive consultation, joint contribution, and shared benefits to new heights. Cooperation will thrive, and the BRI can look forward to an even brighter future.

By Qiang Wei, People’s Daily

China’s State Council Information Office on Oct. 10 issued a white paper titled “The Belt and Road Initiative: A Key Pillar of the Global Community of Shared Future.”

The white paper will give the international community a better understanding of the value of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), facilitate high-quality cooperation under it, and ultimately deliver benefits to more countries and peoples.

The white paper says to promote greater connectivity through BRI cooperation, China has continued to facilitate policy coordination, infrastructure connectivity, unimpeded trade, financial integration, and closer people-to-people ties, by orienting towards “hard connectivity” in infrastructure, bolstering “soft connectivity” through harmonized rules and standards, and strengthening people-to-people bonds.

As its scope expands, the BRI has become the world’s largest platform for international cooperation, with the broadest coverage.

Over the past decade, BRI cooperation has witnessed remarkable results. It has opened up new space for world economic growth, built a new platform for international trade and investment, reinforced the development capacity of relevant countries and improved people’s lives, sought ways to improve the global governance system, and brought greater certainty and stability to a world fraught with turbulence and change. The initiative has contributed to addressing global development imbalance and advancing modernization in all countries.

The BRI has brought tangible benefits to participating countries. A large number of infrastructure projects have been built, with significant progress for participating countries in the construction of railways, highways, pipelines, shipping, energy, communications and other basic public service facilities. This has improved local living and working conditions and the development environment, and boosted these countries’ capacity for independent economic development.

The World Bank has estimated that by 2030, BRI-related investments could lift 7.6 million out of extreme poverty and 32 million out of moderate poverty.

The BRI has added vitality to economic globalization. World Bank study – “Belt and Road Economics: Opportunities and Risks of Transport Corridors” – noted that transport infrastructure projects under the BRI would reduce trade costs for the world by 1.8 percent, and reduce trade costs along the China-Central Asia-West Asia economic corridor by 10 percent. This has greatly facilitated global trade and boosted economic growth. The study projects that trade growth would range between 2.8 and 9.7 percent for corridor economies and between 1.7 and 6.2 percent worldwide, and global real income is expected to increase by 0.7 to 2.9 percent.

The BRI has provided new solutions for improving global governance. According to the China’s National Image Global Survey released by the Academy of Contemporary China and World Studies in 2020, the BRI is the Chinese proposal with the highest level of acceptance overseas, with more than 70 percent of respondents recognizing the positive impact of the BRI on individuals, states and global governance.

European think tank Bruegel released a paper titled “Global Trends in Countries’ Perceptions of the Belt and Road Initiative” in April 2023, which noted that the BRI is generally positively received in the world, and Central Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, in particular, exhibit strongly positive sentiment towards the BRI.

The BRI has garnered strength for the progress of human civilization. The global influence of various multilateral and bilateral political party exchange mechanisms has increased with the creation of mechanisms such as the CPC and World Political Parties Summit, and the CPC in Dialogue with World Political Parties High-level Meeting.

Various BRI cooperation mechanisms have emerged, including the Silk Road Think Tank Association, the Belt and Road Initiative Tax Administration Cooperation Mechanism, the Alliance of International Science Organizations, the Belt and Road Health Professionals Development Alliance, the Silk Road International League of Theaters, and the Silk Road International Museum Alliance. The emergence of such mechanisms has facilitated people-to-people exchanges in diverse forms, promoting mutual understanding, mutual respect, and mutual appreciation among the peoples of all countries.

By He Yin, People’s Daily

China was recently re-elected as a member of the Human Rights Council at the 78th session of the United Nations(UN) General Assembly for the term 2024 to 2026.

This is the sixth time that China has been elected to the Human Rights Council since its establishment in 2006, which fully demonstrates the international community’s full recognition of China’s achievements in the field of human rights and its active participation in international human rights cooperation.

As a founding member of the UN and a permanent member of the UN Security Council, China has always participated in UN human rights affairs with a responsible attitude, actively integrating into the global human rights governance system, and striving to promote the healthy development of international human rights undertakings.

China upholds the purposes and principles of the UN Charter and abides by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, earnestly fulfills its obligations to international human rights conventions and has ratified or joined 29 international human rights instruments, including six core UN human rights treaties. China has successfully participated in three rounds of Universal Periodic Review of the UN Human Rights Council, becoming a role model of compliance.

Besides, the country also actively expands cooperation with the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and the High Commissioner’s office, as well as the special procedures of theHuman Rights Council, demonstrating the image of a responsible major country.

China holds a people-centered human rights philosophy and believes that a happy life for the people is the most important human right. It has found a path towards better human rights that follows the trend of the times and fits its national realities. It has made historic progress in its human rights cause.

China aims at increasing people’s benefits, ensuring the people are their own masters and supporting development in an all-round way, and ensures that people enjoy a full range of human rights that are genuine, specific, effective, and functional.

China has built a moderately prosperous society in all respects, and established the world’s largest education, social security, and medical and health care systems. It has made continuous efforts to develop whole-process people’s democracy, and enhanced protection for the rights and interests of specific groups such as ethnic groups, women, children, older people, and those with disabilities. It has made the sky bluer, the mountains greener and the waters more lucid, increasing people’s sense of fulfillment, happiness and security.

A European journalist said that each country can follow a human rights path that suits its national conditions, realizing the people’s aspirations for a better life and instilling confidence in future development. “China has set a very good example in this regard,” the journalist noted.

China has always attached importance to participating in the reform of the global human rights governance system, advocating for bigger voice and rights of developing countries, and steering global human rights governance toward greater fairness, equity and inclusiveness.

China is a vigorous proponent of reform of the UN special mechanisms for protecting human rights; it played a significant role in the negotiations and final vote on establishing the UN Human Rights Council. Its proposals were recognized by most countries.

China supports the establishment of specialized mechanisms within the UN Human Rights Council, such as those addressing the right to development, the right to food, and unilateral coercive measures.

China advocates for special conferences on food security and global financial crisis, actively promotes international mechanisms for protecting human rights.

China has facilitated the adoption of Human Rights Council resolutions on “the contribution of development to the enjoyment of all human rights,””promoting mutually beneficial cooperation in the field of human rights” and “promoting and protecting economic, social and cultural rights within the context of addressing inequalities.”

China practices true multilateralism, holds dear humanity’s common values of peace, development, fairness, justice, democracy, and freedom, and works to build a global community of shared future, providing new ideas for global governance, including human rights governance.

China’s proposal to build a global community of shared future has been incorporated into more than 10 resolutions of the UN Human Rights Council, becoming an important part of the international discourse on human rights. Foreign scholars said this vision has brought hope to global human rights governance in challenging times.

China has put forward the Global Development Initiative, Global Security Initiative, and Global Civilization Initiative, promoting human rights with development, safeguarding human rights with security, advancing human rights with cooperation, and contributing wisdom and solutions to building a world featuring “human rights for all.”

Human rights are a symbol of human progress. Mankind shares a common goal to enjoy human rights. China views the re-election as a good opportunity to continue its active participation in global human rights governance, and extensive exchanges and cooperation with other countries to contribute even more to the sound advancement of the international human rights cause and the building of a global community of shared future.