BEIJING: The Chinese term renlei mingyun gongtongti, cited frequently by President Xi Jinping, poetically describes the Chinese vision of a future, global community, shared by the peoples of the world. While its precise rendering in English remains a matter of some discussion, including “a community with a shared future for mankind/humanity,” “a global community of shared future” and “a human community with a shared future,” and despite the term having evolved conceptually over the past years, its current meaning is quite clear.
The term in part was first introduced in official lexicon during the 17th Communist Party of China (CPC) National Congress in 2007. Initially, its conception expressed the Chinese Government’s belief in the common destiny of the mainland and Taiwan. However, by the 18th CPC National Congress in 2012, the term was broadened conceptually to express its current global perspective and under President Xi’s leadership, the term was included in the preamble of the Chinese Constitution in 2018. The constitutional reference provides the definitive context, and thus the passage in which it appears deserves full citation:
“The achievements of China’s revolution, development and reform would have been impossible without the support of the world’s people. The future of China is closely bound up with the future of the world. China pursues an independent foreign policy, observes the five principles of mutual respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, mutual non-aggression, mutual non-interference in internal affairs, equality and mutual benefit, and peaceful coexistence, keeps to a path of peaceful development, follows a mutually beneficial strategy of opening up, works to develop diplomatic relations and economic and cultural exchanges with other countries, and promotes the building of a human community with a shared future. China consistently opposes imperialism, hegemonism and colonialism, works to strengthen its solidarity with the people of all other countries, supports oppressed peoples and other developing countries in their just struggles to win and safeguard their independence and develop their economies, and strives to safeguard world peace and promote the cause of human progress.”
–The Daily Mail-Beijing Review news exchange item
