BEIJING: The Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence were proposed 70 years ago.
Having emerged in a complex historical context, the five principles have been gradually accepted by countries worldwide and become fundamental norms for maintaining international peace and security and promoting friendly relations among nations. At a commemorative conference marking 70 years of the principles, held by China on Friday, Chinese President Xi Jinping called for the principles to be carried forward to build a community with a shared future for mankind and provide a strong driving force for human progress.
In 1954, then Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai put forth in full the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence for the first time – mutual respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, mutual non-aggression, non-interference in each other’s internal affairs, equality and mutual benefit, and peaceful coexistence.
Later, these principles served as guidelines for countries with different historical and cultural backgrounds, social systems and national conditions to handle their interrelations. Noting the five principles have withstood the test of international vicissitudes, Xi said in the speech at Friday’s conference that 70 years on, China has answered the call of the times by proposing a community with a shared future for mankind.
The Chinese president said that the Vision of Building a Community with a Shared Future for Mankind, carrying forward the spirit of the five principles, is the most effective way to sustain, promote and upgrade these principles, demonstrating China’s firm resolve to follow the path of peaceful development.
China is the only country in the world that has incorporated peaceful development in its Constitution, and the only country among the five nuclear-weapon states to pledge no first use of nuclear weapons. –The Daily Mail-CGTN news exchange item
