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The cultural values of a country influence its national psychology and identity.
Digging into Chinese traditional culture, no doubt the core value is harmony.
In China, harmony means proper and balanced coordination between things and encompasses rationale, propriety, and compatibility.
Rationale refers to acting according to objective laws and truths.
Propriety indicates suitability and appropriateness.
The value of harmony advocates “harmony but not uniformity” depends on an old Chinese saying.
Confucius once said, the gentleman aims at harmony, and not at uniformity. People may hold different views, but they do not blindly follow others. Instead, they seek to coexist harmoniously with them.
Modern Chinese society tries to maintain harmony between humankind and nature, between people and society, between members of different communities, and between mind and body.
In the 1950s, the People’s Republic of China put forward the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence — mutual respect for territorial integrity and sovereignty, mutual non-aggression, noninterference in each other’ s internal affairs, equality and mutual benefit, and peaceful coexistence. These principles show how China’s diplomatic strategy embodies the value of harmony.
Over the past five decades, the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence have been widely accepted by most countries and have become important criteria for standardising international relationships.
Today, the world, times and history are changing in ways like never before, and the international community is confronted with multiple risks and challenges rarely seen before.
Regional security hotspots keep flaring up, local conflicts and turbulence occur frequently, the Covid-19 pandemic persists, unilateralism and protectionism have risen significantly, and traditional and non-traditional security threats are entwined.
The deficits in peace, development, security and governance are growing, and the world is once again at a crossroads in history.
China’s Global Security Initiative Concept Paper expounds on the core ideas and principles of the Global Security Initiative (GSI), which is rooted in the fine traditional Chinese culture that values peace above everything else, and is inspired by China’s independent foreign policy of peace and its practices.
China is committed to the path of peaceful development. No matter how much it develops, China will never seek hegemony, expansion or sphere of influence, or engage in arms race, but remain a defender of world peace.
The GSI aims to eliminate the root causes of international conflicts, improve global security governance, encourage joint international efforts to bring more stability and certainty to a volatile and changing era, and promote durable peace and development in the world.
China stands ready to work with all countries and peoples who love peace and aspire to happiness to address all kinds of traditional and non-traditional security challenges, protect the peace and tranquillity of the earth, and jointly create a better future for mankind, so that the torch of peace will be passed on from generation to generation and shine across the world.
When we seek into the value of harmony, the law of harmony also shows that all the world’s civilisations, social systems, and development modes should communicate with and learn from each other through peaceful competition.
They should pursue co-development by seeking commonalities while preserving their differences. In recent centuries, China suffered invasions, humiliation, and much interference in its internal affairs, most notably by Western powers that forced China to sign a series of unequal treaties.
Security is a right for all countries. It is not a prerogative of some, still less should it be decided by any individual country.
The value of harmony insists that conflicts should be handled through consultation, coordination, and balanced means to achieve equilibrium. But in certain cases, such as foreign invasions, one should firmly fight back in self-defence and counter injustice with a just war.
As the old Chinese saying goes, “Those who do not offend will not be offended. Those who offend will be offended. China is committed to following a Chinese approach to resolving hotspot issues. China believes in promoting peace through talks, emphasizes addressing both the symptoms and root causes, calls on the involved parties to meet each other halfway, and pursues fairness and justice.
In the face of insults, oppression, and aggression from other countries, people should be brave and succeed in their struggles by leveraging political wisdom and other means.
The ideal society according to traditional Chinese cultural values is a world for all and a world of universal harmony.
In order to realise this ideal, the value of harmony advocates mutual respect, peace, cooperation, coexistence, and win-win development, which are embodied in China’s diplomatic policies.
In a word, this is an era rife with challenges. It is also one brimming with hope.
China is convinced that the historical trends of peace, development and win-win cooperation are unstoppable. – Chinese Embassy Zimbabwe
Online Reporter