Harvey Dzodin on BRI becoming a vivid practice of building a community with a shared future for mankind

Interview Series: Community with a Shared Future for Mankind

EP03: Harvey Dzodin on BRI becoming a vivid practice of building a community with a shared future for mankind

Facing the global challenges of protectionism and unilateralism, China has been vigorously promoting the vision of a community with a shared future for mankind and aiming to create a new kind of international relations based on mutual benefit. What does the concept of building a community with a shared future for mankind mean to China, and how does it benefit the world? Today we are honored to have Dr. Dzodin join our discussion on this topic.

Dr. Dzodin is a Senior Fellow at the Center for China & Globalization. He has also served as a former legal adviser in the Carter Administration and the director and vice president at ABC TV Network in New York.

Q1: Chinese President Xi Jinping called for building a community of shared future for mankind in a keynote speech at the United Nations Office at Geneva in 2017. In your view, how is China advancing such a vision as it participates in global governance?

Harvey Dzodin: China’s active participation in the UN is already helping President Xi advance the vision of building a community with a shared future for mankind that he talked about at the UN in Geneva in 2017.

It’s the 2nd largest financial contributor to the UN, and of all the permanent members of the UN Security Council, it’s now the largest contributor of peacekeepers. And China is increasingly playing a leadership role in the UN system, heading a number of the UN specialized agencies.

China is participating in the rules placed international order on every level, bar none. So no matter what aspect you could think of, whether it's industrial development, whether it's arms control, whether it's the regulation of space, or peaceful purposes, whether it's conflict resolution and conflict prevention, China is doing it all now.

Q2: And of all the efforts China have made, can you please raise one specific example that exemplifies the concept of building a community of shared future for mankind?

Harvey Dzodin: Personally, if I can think of one ongoing example of the international cooperation, and that exemplifies President Xi's idea of a community of shared future for mankind, is the Belt and Road Initiative. It does mean that there's an interconnectivity of the world, and it's not one way, it's in two directions.

I can see it even here in Europe, where many trains come each week directly from China, in a very small window of time, bring goods to Europe, and can bring European goods back to China. This didn't exist before the Belt and Road Initiative. The Belt and Road Initiative is helping countries build infrastructure like the bridges, railways and so on.

I think your Belt and Road Initiative is exactly this kind of model that's supposed to, as they say, lift all boats. It's supposed to help everyone everywhere. It's not just a way for one country to take advantage of others.

Q3: The expression of "lifting all boats" is really vivid. The ideal is to stick together as one for all the mankind through thick and thin, especially during hard times. When faced with the COVID-19 pandemic, China has proposed to build a global community of health for all. In which way do you think China has implemented this proposal and contributed to the global community?

Harvey Dzodin: During the pandemic, China was really out there contributing Chinese vaccines, contributing all the things that were needed to fight the pandemic. And we're contributing experts. And I think that this made a big difference that China was on a global level contributing, to try to help other countries to overcome their difficulties.

Q4: I think you've raised a great point here. Ever since China's call for building a community with a shared future for mankind, do you think the country has put its words into practice?

Harvey Dzodin: You have to say that China puts its money where its mouth is. They spend billions of dollars and to help poor countries become less poor. And I think they do that because they do have this interest of a concept of a community of shared future for mankind.

Q5: Thank you Dr. Dzodin, and my last question is that in your view, what message does China convey to the international society through building a community of shared future for mankind?

Harvey Dzodin: They’re showing that China has a model that works.

It’s your model of building a new type of international relations that's based on mutual respect, an equity justice on win-win cooperation.

And I think it's just another element of China standing up being a rich country and wanting to share its wisdom, not only of the last seven decades or so, but of the last millennia as well, because of your great history.