CHINESE APPROACH FOR GLOBAL GOVERNANCE EXPOUNDED IN REPORT AT CPC’S 19TH NATIONAL CONGRESS: CHINA’S CONTRIBUTION AND ROLE

CHEN FENGYING

As the biggest ruling party in the world, the Communist Party of China (CPC) regards making new and greater contributions for mankind as its abiding mission, and has made the solemn commitment to the world that China will continue to hold high the banner of peace, development,cooperation, and mutual benefit, stick to the path of peaceful development,uphold its fundamental foreign policy goal of preserving world peace and promoting common development, and forge a new form of international relations featuring mutual respect, fairness,justice, and win-win cooperation. Meanwhile, the CPC has included in its Party Constitution amended after its 19thNational Congress the correct viewpoint of righteousness and benefit, pushing forward the development of a community with a shared future for mankind, the principle of achieving shared growth through discussion and collaboration as well as the Chinese approach for global governance such as advocating Belt and Road practice. By doing so, the CPC wishes that its successfully developing path, theory, system and culture could blaze a new trial for other developing countries to achieve modernization,offer a new option for other countries and nations who want to speed up their development while preserving their independence, and offer Chinese wisdom and a Chinese approach to solving the problems facing mankind.

Evolution of Global Governance System: An Irresistible Trend

In his speech delivered at the United Nations Office at Geneva on 18 January 2017, President Xi Jinping clearly pointed out that mankind is in an era of major development as well as profound transformation and change. The trend toward multi-polarity and economic globalization is surging. IT application in social development and cultural diversity are making continued progress.A new round of scientific and industrial revolution is in the making. Interconnection and interdependence between countries are crucial for human survival. The forces for peace far outweigh factors causing war, and the trend of our times toward peace, development,cooperation and win-win outcomes has gained stronger momentum.

Undoubtedly, international economic and financial pattern has undergone unprecedented structural changes since the Wall Street financial storm. Global economic governance and international order are in a new stage of major readjustment and transformation.

As a matter of fact, the speeded transformation of international economic pattern could be traced back to the first decade of this century. On the one hand, the rising of emerging markets and developing economies as a whole since China’s entrance into WTO served as an important engine for world economic growth. On the other hand, the outbreak of the Wall Street financial storm resulted in the “Great Recession”of developed economies and the overall weak recovery later on. According to the IMF statistics, the US economy accounted for only 24.7% of the world economy in 2016, compared with 33% in 2001, while that of the major developed countries/regions (US, EU, UK, Japan)in total accounted for only 49.8% in 2016 compared with 70% in 2001. Against the general backdrop of globalization, with economic factors playing an increasingly significant role in international affairs, economic relationship has become one of the key composites of international relations. Global economic governance is at the core of global governance. However, since global governance system based on WWII and the Cold War fails to adapt to the development of world economy and the changes of international power structure, emerging markets and developing countries are calling for global governance, and the international community has kept requesting a reform of global governance system.

In as early as October 2015, the CPC stressed in its Communiqué of the 5thPlenary Session of the 18thCentral Committee that China should actively participated in global economic governance and public goods supply so as to enhance China’s institutional discourse power in global economic governance and build an extensive community of common interests. It is fair to say that financial crisis has provided China with an unprecedented strategic opportunity to take part in global governance and changes of international order in an allround way. Since then, China has been more actively participated in global governance, putting forward its proposals, initiatives and approaches for action.China, once a mere participator and cooperator in global governance, has become a designer, promoter and leader.China’s institutional discourse power in global economic governance has therefore upgraded. In fact, since reform and opening-up, China has always been active in participating and building global economic governance system, and has made remarkable contributions.

The post-crisis era provides China with strategic opportunities to upgrade its institutional discourse power. China is an active participator and designer of global economic governance that promotes improvement of evolution of global economic governance system,guides global economic process and international economic order to develop toward fairness, justness and win-win cooperation. China regards that as its responsibility as a major country and its international duty.

As President Xi Jinping pointed out at APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting in Danang, current international situation features global multi-polarity, economic globalization, cultural diversity and IT application. Therefore, in handling relations among civilizations, countries need to learn from others’ cultures, and to replace estrangement with exchange,clashes with mutual learning, and superiority with coexistence. Countries should resolutely reject the Cold War mentality and power politics, and take a new approach to developing state-tostate relations with communication, not confrontation, and with partnership, not alliance. We should commit to settling disputes through dialogue and resolving differences through discussion.In international relations, countries should follow the principle of achieving shared growth through discussion and collaboration in engaging in global governance, stand for democracy in international relations and the equality of all countries, big or small, strong or weak, rich or poor. Countries should support the United Nations in playing an active role in international affairs,and support the efforts of large number of developing countries to increase their representation and strengthen their voice in international affairs. In economic field, the international community should stick together through thick and thin, build an open world economy,and make economic globalization more open, inclusive, and balanced so that its benefits are shared by all. As President Xi Jinping once said, in this world of profound changes, those who recognize the trend are wise and those who ride the trend will win.

Chinese Approach: Tremendous Contribution to Global Governance Reform

It is declared in the report delivered at CPC’s 19thNational Congress that socialism with Chinese characteristics has entered a new era. That means the successfully developing path, theory,system and culture of China could blaze a new trial for other developing countries to achieve modernization,offer a new option for other countries and nations who want to speed up their development while preserving their independence, and offer Chinese wisdom and a Chinese approach to solving the problems facing mankind. The report clearly put forward that China will forge a new form of international relations featuring mutual respect, fairness,justice, and win-win cooperation. The international community must take a new approach to developing state-tostate relations with communication, not confrontation, and with partnership, not alliance. Aimed at building a community of shared future for mankind, China will follow the principle of achieving shared growth through discussion and collaboration in engaging in global governance, stand for democracy in international relations and the equality of all countries, big or small, strong or weak, rich or poor. China supports the efforts of other emerging markets and developing countries to increase their representation and strengthen their voice in international affairs. Meanwhile, in relations with its neighboring countries, China sticks to the principle of amity, sincerity, mutual benefit and inclusiveness as well as the policy of forging friendship and partnership with its neighbors. China, guided by the principle of upholding justice while pursuing shared interests and the principle of sincerity, real results, affinity and good faith, works to strengthen solidarity and cooperation with other developing countries. Whiling dealing with international affairs, we need to discard old mentality of alliance, confrontation and zero-sum games. We should respect the diversity of civilizations by replacing estrangement with exchange, clashes with mutual learning, and superiority with coexistence. The above-mentioned concepts about international relations fully demonstrate the new development trend of international relations in the new era. Besides of being China’s new diplomatic ideas, they also serve as guidelines of China’s action in foreign affairs, and will exert epoch-making in-

fluence on international relations.

In terms of policy, the report stresses that China will not close its door to the world; instead, it will only become more and more open. Making new ground in pursuing opening up on all fronts is China’s major channel to inspire economic globalization and advance global economic governance as well as contribute Chinese wisdom and a Chinese approach. Moreover, it serves as a key propeller for China’s economy to grow from a mode of high growth rate to that of high quality. It is well known that China has scored remarkable achievement with worldwide attention and become world second economy as well as a major engine for world economic development. China has stepped into the center of world stage and is capable of making tremendous contribution to human civilization and prosperity. All those achievements should be attributed to the policy of reform and opening up which China has unswervingly adhered to in the past four decades. As underlined in the Constitution of the CPC, only reform and opening up can enable China. Based on comprehensive analysis, China’s opening up in the past four decades could be divided into three states: the first dating between 1980 and 2000, which could be regarded as edition 1.0; edition 2.0, an upgraded one, dating from 2001 till now, signified by China’s entrance into WTO; the allround upgraded edition 3.0, dating as of the socialism with Chinese characteristics entering new era after CPC’s 19thNational Congress and the Chinese nation has achieved a great leap from having stood up to being wealth and to being strong.

In practice, China’s opening up has entered an unprecedented new stage.One of the major features is that opening up has been put into China’s basic state policy. That shows the unparalleled resolution of the CPC central committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at the core for opening up, for the deepness and extensiveness as well. Another major feature is the implementation of the system of pre-establishment treatment plus negative list across the board.China is the only one among developing countries that pledged to adopt such a transparent opening policy.Based on China’s confidence in its road,theory, system and culture under the leadership of the CPC, that pledge has been written into the Constitution of the Communist Party of China. That third feature is significant easing of market access and further opening of the service sector. In fact, China has been making great efforts to further open its service sector. In this regard,China has already set up eleven free trade zones with different characteristics and focuses in Shanghai, Tianjin,Guangzhou and other cities since 2015.Moreover, it was put brought forward in the report at CPC’s 19thNational Congress to explore the opening of free trade ports. Even before that, it was proposed that a Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area be established.All those symbolize a new stage of China’s opening up. The fourth feature is granting foreign-invested companies with national treatment. Based on preestablishment national treatment plus negative list, it is written in the report at CPC’s 19thNational Congress that all companies registered in China are treated equally, which means granting national treatment to foreign companies in real term. Of course, differential policies are adopted concerning special fields related to national security. That is to say, different negative lists may be adopted for domestic and foreign companies, yet foreign companies could get access to all fields that are not in the list.

The report sends a positive signal to the international community that China will continue to foster an open economy that benefits all, so as to make economic globalization more open, inclusive and balanced. China is advancing a diplomatic agenda in a comprehensive, multilevel and multifaceted way by pursuing the Belt and Road Initiative, initiating the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, setting up the Silk Road Fund, hosting the First Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation, the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting, the G20 Summit in Hangzhou, the BRICS Summit in Xiamen.China champions the development of a community with a shared future for mankind and encourages the evolution of the global governance system. With remarkable rise of its international influence, ability to inspire and power to shape, China has supplied many public goods for global economic governance and made great new contributions to world peace and development.

As a matter of fact, the 71st Session of UN Assembly adopted a resolution on 11 September 2017, which included consultation and collaboration initiated by China into global economic governance concept, requiring all parties to “continue improving global economic governance and to strengthen the role of the United Nations in this regard with extensive consultations and joint contribution for the shared benefits”. Meanwhile, it is reiterated in the resolution to create a community of shared future for mankind in the spirit of win-win cooperation. Even before that, the UN had unanimously adopted Resolution 2344,in which the member states are called for facilitating the development of Belt and Road. It was the first time that the idea of “creating a community of shared future for mankind” was written in the UN resolutions. This resolution also appeals that member states support mass entrepreneurship and innovation. More and more Chinese ideas have been written into UN resolutions, demonstrating that Chinese wisdom and a Chinese approach are becoming new concepts of global governance.

Stepping into a new era, China is now making quantity-based quality contribution to world economy. Its contribution to global governance is transforming from hard power to soft power, which covers innovations in theory, institution and practice. At the same time,China will play a more significant role as a major country by supplying even more public goods within its capacity and contributing Chinese wisdom and a Chinese approach for improving global governance system. China is ready to work with the people of all other countries to build a community with a shared future for mankind and create a prosperous and bright tomorrow for all of us.