Momentous narrative for humanity: marking the 5th anniversary of President Xi’s speech on building a community with a shared future for mankind in Switzerland

By Wang Xinyuan

It has been five years since Chinese President Xi Jinping delivered the keynote speech titled "Work Together to Build a Community of Shared Future for Mankind" at the United Nations Office in Geneva, Switzerland, on Jan. 18, 2017, during which he called on the world to build a community of shared future for mankind and achieve shared and win-win development.

"Building a community with a shared future for mankind" has since become China's important concept of global governance, winning wide support from the international community. The concept has been endorsed by the UN General Assembly for five consecutive years since 2017.

Over the years, the concept has constantly been developed and enriched in answer to the call of our time. Here is a general review since its proposal.

Building a community with a shared future for mankind

The World Economic Forum Annual Meeting, Jan. 17, 2017

Chinese President Xi Jinping made a keynote speech titled "Jointly shoulder responsibility of our times, promote global growth" at the opening session of the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2017 in Switzerland, Jan. 17, 2017.

"Today, mankind has become a close-knit community of shared future. Countries have extensive converging interests and are mutually dependent. All countries enjoy the right to development. At the same time, they should view their own interests in a broader context and refrain from pursuing them at the expense of others."

UN High Level Meeting on "Building the Community of Common Destiny of Mankind", Jan. 18, 2017

Chinese President Xi Jinping delivered a keynote speech titled "Work together to build a community of shared future for mankind" at the United Nations Office in Geneva, Switzerland, Jan. 18, 2017.

"Pass on the torch of peace from generation to generation, sustain development and make civilization flourish: this is what people of all countries long for; it is also the responsibility statesmen of our generation ought to shoulder. And China's proposition is: build a community of shared future for mankind and achieve shared and win-win development."

Building a China-Africa community with a shared future

The Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), Sept. 3, 2018

Chinese President Xi Jinping delivered a keynote speech titled "Work Together for Common Development and a Shared Future" while attending the opening ceremony of the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) in Beijing, capital of China, Sept. 3, 2018.

"China, the world's largest developing country, and Africa, the continent with the largest number of developing countries, have long formed a community with a shared future. Indeed, we share a common stake. China will work with Africa to achieve our shared goal of building a closer China-Africa community with a shared future and turn it into a pacesetter for building such a community for mankind."

Building a community with a shared future for Asia

The Conference on Dialogue of Asian Civilizations (CDAC), May 15, 2019

Chinese President Xi Jinping delivered a keynote speech titled "Deepening exchanges and mutual learning among civilizations for an Asian community with a shared future" at the opening ceremony of the Conference on Dialogue of Asian Civilizations (CDAC) at the China National Convention Center in Beijing, capital of China, May 15, 2019.

"Diversity spurs interaction among civilizations, which in turn promotes mutual learning and their further development. We need to promote exchanges and mutual learning among countries, nations and cultures around the world, and strengthen popular support for jointly building a community with a shared future for both Asia and humanity as a whole."

Building a SCO communit with a shared future

The 19th Meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), June 14, 2019

Chinese President Xi Jinping delivered a speech titled "Staying focused and taking solid actions for a brighter future of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization" at the 19th Meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, June 14, 2019.

"Despite immense changes in the international situation, peace, development and win-win cooperation remain the irreversible trend of our times... We need to keep a profound understanding of the overriding trend toward multi-polarity and economic globalization, draw inspiration from the wisdom of the Shanghai Spirit, and seek strength from solidarity and cooperation so as to jointly build a closer SCO community with a shared future."

Building a global community of health for all

The 73rd World Health Assembly, May 18, 2020

Chinese President Xi Jinping delivered a speech titled "Fighting COVID-19 Through Solidarity and Cooperation, Building a Global Community of Health for All" at the opening of the 73rd World Health Assembly via video link in Beijing, capital of China, May 18, 2020.

"I call on all of us to come together and work as one. Let’s make concerted efforts to protect the life and health of people in all countries. Let’s work together to safeguard planet Earth, our common home. Let’s work together to build a global community of health for all!"

Building an Asia-Pacific community with a shared future

The 27th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders' Meeting, Nov. 20, 2020

Chinese President Xi Jinping delivered a speech titled "Working Together for an Asia-Pacific Community with A Shared Future" at the 27th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders' Meeting via video link, in Beijing, capital of China, Nov. 20, 2020.

"Together, we can build an Asia-Pacific community with a shared future featuring openness and inclusiveness, innovation-driven growth, greater connectivity, and mutually beneficial cooperation."

Building a community of life for man and Nature

The Leaders Summit on Climate, April 22, 2021

Chinese President Xi Jinping delivered an important speech titled "For Man and Nature: Building a Community of Life Together" while attending the Leaders Summit on Climate via video link in Beijing, capital of China, April 22, 2021.

"Faced with unprecedented challenges in global environmental governance, the international community needs to come up with unprecedented ambition and action. We need to act with a sense of responsibility and unity, and work together to foster a community of life for man and Nature."

Building a community of all life on earth

The Leaders' Summit of the 15th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP15), Oct. 12, 2021

Chinese President Xi Jinping delivered a keynote speech titled "Working Together to Build a Community of All Life on Earth" via video link at the leaders' summit of the 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP15) held in Kunming, southwest China's Yunnan Province, Oct. 12, 2021.

"If we humanity do not fail Nature, Nature will not fail us. Ecological civilization represents the development trend of human civilization. Let us join hands, follow the philosophy of ecological civilization and shoulder our responsibility for future generations. Let us make joint efforts to build a community of all life on Earth, and a clean and beautiful world for us all."