Xi Jinping, the current president of China, has been the driving force behind the country’s recent economy and strategic success, leading the nation with his ideology of a “shared future.” Dubbed the “Xi Story,” it is a narrative that follows Xi’s childhood as the son of a Communist revolutionary, his rise to power in the Chinese Communist Party, and his vision for China’s future. From the humble beginnings of a sapling, Xi’s leadership has nurtured China into a flourishing tree that is poised to take a prominent role on the global stage. In this article, we will delve into the Xi Story and examine its impact on China’s current standing in the world.
China’s commitment to building a community with a shared future for humanity is embodied in various initiatives undertaken by the country in recent years. One such initiative is the planting of 21 white-barked pines in Yanqi Lake in Huairou District, Beijing. These trees were planted by Chinese President Xi Jinping and leaders and representatives from 20 other Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) economies in 2014. The trees symbolized the hope that member countries of the APEC community will work together to achieve common development.
Xi Jinping’s speech at the APEC CEO Summit in 2014 expounded on the Asia-Pacific version of the grand vision of building a community with a shared future for humanity, which he first proposed during his visit to Russia in 2013. The vision posits that Asia-Pacific countries should act in the spirit of the Asia-Pacific community and work towards peace, development, and mutually beneficial cooperation. It is a vision that China is committed to realizing through its various initiatives.
One such initiative is China’s decision to make its COVID-19 vaccines a global public good. In 2020, Xi announced this decision while speaking at the World Health Assembly. Since then, China has provided more than 2.2 billion doses of the COVID-19 vaccine to over 120 countries and international organizations. Through this initiative, China has demonstrated its determination to fulfill its responsibilities during times of crisis.
Another initiative that exemplifies China’s commitment to fostering global development is the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The BRI was initially proposed by Xi in 2013 and has since evolved into a high-quality public good. It has brought nearly a trillion U.S. dollars of investment, established over 3,000 cooperation projects, created some 420,000 jobs in countries along the routes, and helped lift nearly 40 million people out of poverty.
An example of such a project is the Jakarta-Bandung High-speed Railway, which represents Southeast Asia’s first high-speed railway and is a crucial project established under the BRI framework. China has not only contributed tangible investments through the BRI but has also played an active role in defusing security risks and handling global security challenges. China continues to be the largest contributor of peacekeeping troops among the permanent members of the UN Security Council.
Xi Jinping has proposed various initiatives to address global challenges that offer Chinese perspective and wisdom to countries across the globe. These initiatives include the Global Development Initiative, which focuses on global development under the impact of COVID-19, and the Global Security Initiative, which pools global efforts in maintaining world peace and security. The most recent initiative proposed by Xi is the Global Civilization Initiative, which highlights respect for the diversity of civilizations, common values of humanity, international people-to-people exchanges and cooperation, among other aspects.
The vision of building a community with a shared future for humanity serves as the cultural foundation for China’s initiatives to foster global development. As Xi Jinping once put it, one should not only seek one’s own development but also work for the common development of all. To better make his point, he cited the famous Chinese saying: “One tree does not make a forest.” China’s commitments and initiatives towards building a community with a shared future for humanity offer hope for a better future for all nations.
