China on Friday hosted an international conference in Beijing to mark the 70th anniversary of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence with experts applauding the spirit and value of these propositions amid a turbulent world.
The five principles include mutual respect for territorial integrity and sovereignty, non-aggression, non-interference in each other’s internal affairs, equality and mutual benefit, and peaceful co-existence.
Experts in attendance said these principles provide guidance to contemporary international relations and can help protect the legitimate rights and interests of countries around the world, especially developing nations.
Kgalema Motlanthe, former president of South Africa, told China Media Group (CMG) that current trade wars among countries are “unnecessary” and poison global governance. “Against such backdrop, China’s Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence are like a solution that underscores the crying need for peace,” said Motlanthe.
Former General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee Nong Duc Manh highly appreciated China’s organization of the celebration. He emphasized that after 70 years of formation and application in international relations, the five principles have demonstrated their strong vitality and become a basic foundation of and a standard for international relations and law, helping to protect the rights of countries the world over.
“The principles have also promoted an active role in strengthening the trend of peace and stability, building the world economic-political order in an increasingly fair, reasonable and tolerant direction, and contributing to peacefully solving disagreements and hot issues based on international law,” Manh added.
“Peace and stability are the prerequisites for sustainable development and prosperity in our region,” said Kao Kim Hourn, secretary-general of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). “As we strategically navigate a complex geopolitical landscape, it’s essential to uphold the principles of mutual respect, non-interference, peaceful resolution of disputes, as well as to continue enhancing mutual trust and understanding through dialogue and diplomacy, cooperation and collaboration, consultation and engagement.”
“The Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence proposed by China 70 years ago provide a historical answer to the question of how to maintain post-war peace and stability globally, while achieving peaceful coexistence among nations,” Chen Bo, president of the China Institute of International Studies told CMG. She added that in recent years, China has proposed to build a community with a shared future for mankind. “This represents China’s contemporary answer to the significant question of the kind of world to build and how to build it.”
Massimo D’Alema, former prime minister of Italy, said the five principles tell people that countries with different political systems not only can but must coexist together without war. He also expressed belief that the five principles remain “a pillar of peace and all the possibility to build a common destiny for humanity.”
Mulatu Teshome, former president of Ethiopia, said that building a community with a shared future for mankind is not separate from the five principles but reinforces them.
The principles help “build a partnership in which countries have to respect each other, creating consensus. This has to be the guiding principle of contemporary international relations,” said Mulatu.
Meanwhile, the South China Morning Post (SCMP) in Hong Kong quoted Sourabh Gupta, senior policy specialist with the Institute for China-America Studies in Washington D.C. as saying that the five principles had become part of customary international law and “ever more relevant” with the rise of the Global South. He noted that “the message embodied in the five principles is certainly alive and well; it has not lost its appeal.”
Friday’s conference was attended by around 600 people including former country leaders, representatives of international and regional organizations, diplomatic envoys from more than 100 countries, Chinese and foreign experts and scholars, and media and business representatives.
