The Greater Good and Shared Interests

Since the 18th CPC National Congress, Xi Jinping has on many occasions emphasized the importance of upholding the greater good and pursuing shared interests in our foreign relations. This reflects our values. China hopes to see widely shared prosperity across the world and, in particular, accelerated development in developing countries.

The pursuit of shared interest should be aligned with the need to search for mutual benefit, rather than being turned into a zero-sum game. China has the obligation to provide assistance to poor countries within the limits of its own resources. It is sometimes necessary to work for the greater good at the expense of self-interest and fulfill this obligation despite an unfavorable calculus in financial terms.

A healthy approach to the relationship between the greater good and shared interest is a principled approach that values friendship, adheres to moral standards, refuses to succumb to the temptations of greed, encourages us to seek gain only when the greater good is not adversely affected, and embraces a readiness to sacrifice self-interest for the greater good when need arises. This approach is grounded in traditional Chinese culture and our foreign policy thinking, and embodies the values we cherish. It has won praise from the international community in general and from developing counties in particular. It is a manifestation of China’s soft power.

正確義利觀

黨的十八大以來，習近平多次強調在外交工作中要堅持正確義利觀。義，反映的是我們的一個理念。中國希望全世界共同發展，特別是希望廣大發展中國家加快發展。利，就是要恪守互利共贏原則，不搞我贏你輸，要實現雙贏。中國有義務對貧窮的國家給予力所能及的幫助，有時甚至要重義輕利、舍利取義，絕不能惟利是圖、斤斤計較。樹立和貫徹正確義利觀，就是有原則、講情義、講道義，見利思義、義利兼得，甚至必要時舍利取義；正確義利觀體現了中華民族傳統美德和中國外交優良品格，進一步豐富了中國外交的價值觀，得到國際社會特別是廣大發展中國家的普遍贊譽，成為中國軟實力的獨特標志。