高岸明 | Meet the People's Expectation for a Better Life

读书嘉宾：中国外文局副局长兼局总编辑

英文文本：

Meet the People’s Expectation for a Better Life

As the term suggests, a global community of shared future means that the future of each and every nation and country is interlocked. We are in the same boat, and we should stick together, share weal and woe, endeavor to build this planet of ours into a single harmonious family, and turn people’s longing for a better life into reality.

– We should endeavor to build a world of universal security free from fear. The evolution of human civilization shows that despite our longing for lasting peace for thousands of years, the specter of war has never been far away and has continued to haunt us. As all of humanity lives on the same planet, no country should maintain its own security at the cost of another’s. A threat to another country may turn out to be a challenge to your own. Unilateral action or blind belief in the use of force cannot provide an answer to increasingly complex and multifaceted security threats.

Instead, we should adopt a new common approach to security that is comprehensive, cooperative, and sustainable, and we should work together to put in place a new security architecture that is equitable, fair, and beneficial to all. We should jointly remove the root causes of war, reach out to those displaced by war, and protect women and children from the scourge of war, so that the sunshine of peace will radiate across our land and everyone will live in peace and harmony.

– We should endeavor to build a world of common prosperity free from poverty. Despite the fact that material and technological development in the world today has reached a level that would have been unimaginable to our ancestors,imbalanced and inadequate development still presents a major issue. There is a huge development gap between the North and the South; poverty and hunger remain wide-spread; a new digital divide is emerging; and people in many countries are still living in distress. If you follow the old-fashioned logic of winner-takes-all, or beggar-thy-neighbor, you will shut the door on others and only end up blocking your own way. Such practices can only serve to erode the foundations of one’s own development and impair the future of humanity.

We should subscribe to the concept of benefiting all, and push for economic globalization that is more open, inclusive, equitable and balanced, thus creating conditions for pursuing common development of all peoples. Together, we should work for the common development and prosperity of all countries, eradicate poverty and backwardness that still plague people in many countries, and create a worry-free life for children around the world. It will enable all countries to benefit from development and all peoples to enjoy prosperity, peace and good health.

– We should endeavor to build a world that is open and inclusive, a world free from isolation. As an ancient Chinese saying goes, “All living things grow side by side without harming one another; the sun, moon and seasons rotate according to their own laws without hindering each other.”The flourishing of civilization and the progress of humanity will not be possible without enhancing common ground, openness,inclusiveness, exchanges and mutual learning among civilizations, and agreeing to disagree.

Different civilizations should blossom and coexist in harmony with each other, and draw on each other’s strength to inspire and nourish human development – this is the call of history. We should always bear in mind that the world is a colorful one with diverse civilizations; and we should see that different civilizations enrich each other and create a splendid world. We should work together to bring down cultural barriers, reject prejudices that stand in the way of human interactions, and eliminate cultural bias that prevents people from engaging with one another. Let us work together to make sure that different civilizations coexist in harmony with each other and that everybody enjoys cultural nourishment.

– We should endeavor to build a green, clean and beautiful world. The Earth is the only shared home for humanity. Now, a few individuals are trying to find a new home in outer space, but that is still a distant dream. And in the foreseeable future, human beings still need to live on this planet. This is a fact that will not change. We should jointly protect our planet, not only for ourselves,but also for the sake of future generations. Believing in harmony between man and nature, we should cherish the environment as dearly as we cherish our own lives. We should revere, respect, adapt to, and protect nature. We should protect the irreplaceable planet Earth, our home, heal wounds inflicted on the eco-environment, and build a harmonious and livable home for humanity. This will allow the natural ecosystems to recover and regenerate themselves, and allow everyone to live in an environment of lucid waters and lush mountains.

Today, the world is changing, as are our development models. Political parties must move with the tide of the times, have a good understanding of the general trends of human progress, meet the common expectations of the people, and closely link their personal development with the development of their country, their nation and humanity. We should aim high and look far, have the courage to take up responsibilities, and shoulder the mission of the times, bearing in mind the interests of both our own countries and the world at large, and both the overall interests and long-term interests.

We should have a good knowledge of our people’s conditions and translate their needs into our Party’s guiding thoughts, purposes, and goals, and design concrete and practical implementation plans.

The building of a global community of shared future requires the participation of all peoples. To advance this great cause we should build consensus among people of different nations, with different beliefs and cultures, and from different regions.

To realize a great dream, it is imperative to draw on the wisdom and strength of all involved. We should try to pool ideas from multiple dimensions, different levels and different perspectives, draw on best practices, explore new ways of thinking,get inspiration, and build momentum. Political parties from different countries should enhance mutual trust, dialogue, and coordination. Building on a new model of international relations, we should explore a new model of party-to-party relations in which political parties seek to expand common ground while reserving differences, and respect and learn from each other. We should build a multiform, multilevel international network for party-to-party exchanges and cooperation. All these will work together and form a mighty force for building a global community of shared future.

A trail can be blazed only by taking steps; and a cause can be accomplished only by taking actions. Building a global community of shared future is a historic process. It cannot be completed overnight, nor will it be plain sailing. Persistent and arduous efforts are called for. To build such a community, we must make unremitting efforts. We should not give upon our dream because of the complexity of the reality, nor should we stop pursuing our ideals as they seem so far away to reach.