Source: China Daily Published: 2024-07-02

Experts laud Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, stressing current relevance

By XU WEIWEI, EDITH MUTETHYA and YANG WANLI

The Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence proposed by China serves as a crucial guide for navigating today's geopolitical tensions and fostering international stability, experts say, highlighting the historical significance and contemporary relevance of these principles in promoting global peace.

The Conference Marking the 70th Anniversary of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence was held on Friday in Beijing. President Xi Jinping attended the conference and delivered an important speech, calling on the international community to uphold the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence under the new circumstances and jointly build a community with a shared future for mankind.

'The speech comes at a critical juncture in global affairs. As the world faces unprecedented challenges — ranging from geopolitical tensions to economic instability and social unrest — his reaffirmation of these principles provides a much-needed framework for international relations,' said Maarij Farooq, deputy editor-in-chief at Pakistan Economic Net and Daily Ittehad Media Group.

These principles — mutual respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, nonaggression, noninterference in each other's internal affairs, equality and mutual benefit, and peaceful coexistence — are more relevant than ever in fostering a stable and peaceful global environment, he said.

'By advocating dialogue over confrontation and collaboration over conflict, President Xi demonstrates China's role as a responsible global power dedicated to building a harmonious international order,' Farooq said.

Bhokin Bhalakula, former speaker of the Thai Parliament, echoed Farooq's view, saying that the principles prevent conflicts over territorial disputes, promote a sense of security among nations, and foster trust and cooperation among countries.

He highlighted the role these principles can play in ensuring that international partnerships are fair and beneficial for all parties and reducing exploitation and inequalities.

Anthony Moretti, department head and associate professor in the Communication and Organizational Leadership Department at Robert Morris University, said that for countries throughout the latter half of the 20th century that were able to free themselves from the oppression of colonialism, the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence became essential building blocks of their foreign policy.

Critical juncture

Dennis Munene, executive director of the China-Africa Center at the Africa Policy Institute, said that the speech comes at a time when the global community is facing both traditional and nontraditional security threats that have destabilized the international community.

'However, as an agent of peace and development, China has adhered to the principles of peaceful coexistence, which have enabled China to provide global public goods such as the Belt and Road Initiative, the Global Security Initiative, the Global Development Initiative, and the Global Civilization Initiative that have enhanced South-South cooperation, while at the same time improved and developed North-South relations,' said Munene.

Lawrence Loh, director of the Centre for Governance and Sustainability at the NUS Business School, National University of Singapore, said the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence are timeless perceptions and are even more relevant today amid escalating geopolitical tensions.

'President Xi's reiteration of the principles is most timely for developed and developing countries to stay rooted together based on inclusive multilateral modes of interactions,' said Loh, adding that the principles can be the continued basis to guide rational international relations for a calm and progressive world for the benefit of all.

Xn Iraki, an associate professor at the University of Nairobi's Faculty of Business and Management Sciences, said the principles have found wide appeal beyond China, and have been adopted by the UN.

'The principles can be a guiding light, ensuring coexistence within a country and its neighbors,' Iraki said.

William Jones, former Washington Bureau chief for Executive Intelligence Review News Service and a nonresident fellow of the Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies, said reviving those principles is of vital importance in putting a stop to the ongoing wars today, as well as the more serious wars being threatened by the geopolitical tensions being fomented now by certain forces in the West.

Yifan Xu in Washington and Yang Ran in Beijing contributed to this story.