Ji Chen

One

Nowadays, the world is facing a great change that has never happened in a hundred years. How to effectively solve the dilemma of change and development in the global governance system has become a “21st century governance problem” that countries around the world are generally concerned about and thinking about. In this regard, President Xi Jinping accurately grasped the laws of historical development, objectively analyzed the changing trends of the world situation, and put forward an important concept when thinking deeply about “what kind of world to build and how to build this world” and other major strategic issues related to the future and destiny of mankind—promote the construction of a community with a shared future for mankind, which has become the core and essence of Xi Jinping’s diplomatic thought.

The idea of promoting the construction of Community of Shared Future for Mankin is a Chinese wisdom and a Chinese plan to scientifically answer the future and destiny of mankind. In March 2013, during his visit to Russia, President Xi Jinping first explained to the world the concept of the times to promote the construction of “Community of Shared Future for Mankind”. Since then, President Xi Jinping has repeatedly expounded the idea of promoting the construction of “Community of Shared Future for Mankind” in overseas visits, heads of state meetings, international conferences and media platforms. No country can cope with all kinds of challenges faced by mankind alone, and no country can retreat to a self-enclosed island. We live in a world full of hope and challenges. We cannot give up our dreams because the reality is complicated, and we cannot give up our pursuit because the ideal is far away. And history tell us that as long as the international community upholds the concept of Community of Shared Future for Mankind, adheres to multilateralism and takes the road of unity and cooperation, people all over the world will be able to cope with global problems hand in hand and build a beautiful earth home together.

Since 2017, President Xi Jinping has thoroughly and systematically expounded the realization path of promoting the construction of concept of Community of Shared Future for Mankind. First, at the 20th meeting of the Council of Heads of States of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, President Xi Jinping first proposed to build a “health community”, a “safety community”, a “development community” and a “humanities community” within the framework of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. Second, at the 27th APEC Economic Leaders’ Informal Meeting, President Xi Jinping systematically expounded for the first time the concept of building an “Asia-Pacific community of destiny” featuring “openness, inclusiveness, innovative growth, interconnection and win-win cooperation”. At the same time, President Xi Jinping “advocated China to build a community of destiny with other countries concerned” when meeting with leaders of China’s neighboring countries such as Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and Myanmar. Third, President Xi Jinping has put forward important initiatives such as building a community of destiny in cyberspace, a community of destiny in nuclear safety, a community of destiny in the ocean and a community of human health and health on many international occasions. These initiatives and ideas make the idea of promoting the construction of Community of Shared Future for Mankind clearer and more concrete.

Through practical measures, China promotes the construction of Community of Shared Future for Mankind from ideas to actions, ensuring that Community of Shared Future for Mankind, the “tree of human thoughts in the 21st century”, bears fruitful fruits.

Two

This year marks the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Pakistan. Over the past 70 years, China-Pakistan relations have been constantly tested by the changing international situation, which has enabled China and Pakistan to support each other in the struggle to safeguard national sovereignty and security, cooperate with each other in the process of domestic economic and social development, and move forward hand in hand in the turbulent world history. China and Pakistan have become reliable all-weather friends at critical moments. Nowadays, China-Pakistan relations have been elevated to a new historical height of all-weather strategic partnership. China and Pakistan support and cooperate with each other on issues involving their core interests and major concerns. The friendly relations between the two countries have developed into a rock-solid “hardcore” friendship. The friendly cooperative relations between China and Pakistan can be regarded as a model of friendly coexistence among countries in the contemporary world.

In recent years, under the historical background of “all-round friendship” between China and Pakistan, the two countries have continuously enhanced the depth and breadth of “all-round cooperation”. China and Pakistan actively build the “Belt and Road Initiative”, build the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor with high quality, deepen the pragmatic and mutually beneficial cooperation between the two countries in various fields, create more benefits for the people of China and Pakistan, provide a correct demonstration for regional prosperity and world peace, and inject powerful impetus. The idea of China and Pakistan working together to build a closer community of destiny between China and Pakistan in the 21st century is deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, and its effect is initially apparent.

Three

In the face of the sudden COVID-19 epidemic raging all over the world, China and Pakistan are sharing weal and woe and sincerely helping each other. China and Pakistan continue to promote anti-epidemic cooperation, deepen the essence of China-Pakistan destiny community, work together to build a community of human health and practice the era idea of building Community of Shared Future for Mankind with practical actions.

At the beginning of 2020, when the Chinese people were seriously affected by the COVID-19 epidemic, Pakistani President Aref Alwi and Prime Minister imran khan sent letters of condolence to President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang respectively. The Senate and National Assembly of Pakistan successively passed resolutions to firmly support the Chinese government and people in fighting the COVID-19 epidemic. Nearly 1,000 Pakistani citizens in Wu Hanyou, and the Pakistani government has indicated that it has no intention to evacuate them hastily, which fully reflects the trust of the Pakistani government and people in the Chinese government. At the same time, the Pakistani government and various sectors of society have provided China with much-needed epidemic prevention materials such as masks. After the outbreak of COVID-19 in China, Pakistan immediately assisted China with 300,000 medical masks and other protective equipment, which was the total stock of all public hospitals in Pakistan. When Chinese netizens saw the news reports that Pakistan selflessly supported China in fighting the epidemic, they were very moved, and they left messages to praise and thank the Pakistani government and people.

After the COVID-19 outbreak in Pakistan, in order to thank the Pakistani people for their selfless help to the Chinese people in fighting the COVID-19 outbreak, China has continuously supported Pakistan in fighting the COVID-19 outbreak in various ways. On March 9, 2020, the first batch of anti-COVID-19 materials aided by the Chinese government arrived in Karachi. On March 28th, China’s anti-epidemic medical expert group in Pakistan arrived in Pakistan to provide advice on epidemic prevention and control, patient treatment and laboratory work in Pakistan, and to provide training and guidance for Pakistani medical personnel and community prevention and control personnel. At the request of the Pakistani army and with the approval of the Central Military Commission, on April 24th, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army dispatched an air transport plane to urgently assist the Pakistani army in epidemic prevention and control materials such as nucleic acid detection kits and protective clothing, and sent a Chinese military anti-epidemic expert group to Pakistan to assist in epidemic prevention work. Soon after, at the request of the Pakistani military again, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army dispatched an air transport plane on May 12 to urgently assist the Pakistani military with the second batch of urgently needed epidemic prevention materials with the approval of the Central Military Commission of the Communist Party of China.

On February 1, 2021, the first batch of COVID-19 vaccines aided by Chinese government to Pakistan arrived in Islamabad smoothly. This is the first batch of vaccine assistance provided by the Chinese government to the international community. On February 7th, the Covid-19 vaccine aided by Chinese People’s Liberation Army to Pakistani army arrived in Islamabad smoothly. This marks that the Pakistani army has become the first foreign army to receive vaccine assistance from the Chinese army. On August 11th, China’s first batch of more than 2 million doses of vaccines supplied by COVID-19 Vaccine Implementation Plan (COVAX) arrived in Pakistan successfully. “The arrival of these vaccines is a concrete action for China to fulfill its commitment of taking the COVID-19 vaccine as a global public product and another vivid example of the special and profound relationship between China and Pakistan.” Nong Rong, Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan, said at the scene that “China will provide more vaccines to Pakistan through the COVID-19 Vaccine Implementation Plan (COVAX) in the future. China and Pakistan are placed in the priority direction of vaccine assistance and export in COVID-19, and the joint efforts of the two countries to fight the epidemic have set an example for global cooperation against the epidemic.”

The current global anti-epidemic situation is still full of challenges. China and Pakistan should inherit and carry forward the tradition of friendly relations formed since the establishment of diplomatic ties 70 years ago, continuously deepen the all-weather strategic cooperative partnership between the two countries, safeguard the common interests of the two countries, and promote regional peace, development and prosperity. We should work together to cope with the COVID-19 epidemic, and take the opportunity of fighting the COVID-19 epidemic to build a health community between China and Pakistan, and strive to achieve friendly relations between the two countries, which will become an international model to promote the construction of Community of Shared Future for Mankind and push the relations between the two countries to a higher level in the 21st century.

Standing at the historical new starting point of the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Pakistan, China and Pakistan joined hands in fighting the COVID-19 epidemic, promoting the building of a community of human health and practicing the idea of building Community of Shared Future for Mankind, which became the historic beginning of the next 70 years of China-Pakistan relations and a new historical footnote of the great friendship between China and Pakistan, being “higher than mountains, deeper than sea and sweeter than honey” in the 21st century.

(The author of the article is Ph. D. Candidate from School of Ethnology and Sociology, MinZu University of China, and his main research fields are World Ethnic Issues, Ethnology, Ethnic History, etc.)

Edited by : Muhammad Zamir Assadi