December14,2014:NationalflagsofmemberstatesoftheShanghaiCooperationOrganization(SCO)flyhighinfrontofBeijingPalaceinAstana,capitalofKazakhstan.Xinhua
PromotingconstructionofacommunitywithasharedfutureforhumanitywasidentifiedasakeygoalandtaskofChina’sdiplomacyinboththereporttothe19thNationalCongressoftheCommunistPartyofChina(CPC)inOctober2017andtheAmendmenttotheConstitutionofthePeople’sRepublicofChinapassedatthefirstsessionofthe13thNationalPeople’sCongressinMarch2018.
TherotatingpresidencyoftheShanghaiCooperationOrganization(SCO)currentlyrestswithChina,whowillhostthefirstSCOsummitsincetheorganizationwasexpandedlastyearinQingdao,acoastalcityintheeasternprovinceofShandong.TheadditionofIndiaandPakistantotheSCOin2017markedanewchapterfortheregionalmultilateralorganization.ItismeaningfultolinktheSCOtothegoalofbuildingacommunitywithasharedfutureforhumanity.AsanunderlyingprincipleforgedbytheSCO,theShanghaiSpiritcallsforinclusivenessandopenness.TheenlargedSCOisstrivingtoenhancemultilateralcooperation,andChinaexpectssupportfromotherSCOmemberstatesinbuildingacommunityofsharedfutureforhumanity.
IntermsoftherelationshipbetweentheSCOandtheconceptofbuildinga“communitywithasharedfutureforhumanity,”somemisconceptionsshouldbeavoided.
First,justbecauseChinafirstpresentedtheideaofbuildingacommunitywithasharedfutureforhumanitydoesn’tmeanitintendstoimposetheconceptonotherSCOmemberstates,nordiditcauseafundamentalchangeintheguidelinesofChina’sforeignpolicy.Whilemaintainingitspreviousdiplomaticprinciples,Chinaisbecomingmoreactiveandenterprisingininternationalaffairs.Nevertheless,itstillinsistsondevelopingstate-tostaterelationswithpartnershipsorevenstrategicpartnershipratherthanalliances.Chinawillneverinterfereintheinternalaffairsofothercountries,butonlycontributethrough“constructiveinvolvement.”AlthoughChinawillneverseekhegemony,itmaystillplayaleadingroleininternationalaffairs,abandoningthe“nevertakethelead”principlethatthecountryadoptedjustaftertheendoftheColdWar.
Second,buildingacommunitywithasharedfutureforhumanitydoesn’tmeanthatChinaisattemptingtousetheSCOtoforgeanewordertoreplacethecurrentworldorder.China’sattitudetowardthecurrentworldorderisclear:Aspartoftheworldorder,Chinaisaprotectorandreformer.Thecurrentworldorderdoesn’tbelongtotheU.S.nordoesitinvolve“peaceundertheruleoftheU.S.,”butisrepresentedbytheUnitedNationsanditssystemaswellasotherintergovernmentalorganizations,especiallyinternationalfinancialinstitutionsandmultilateraltrademechanisms.Despitethefactthatthesystemremainsimperfectandhassomemajordefectsintermsofequality,representation,fairnessandefficiency,thecurrentworldorderstillhasthegreatestdegreeofopenness,inclusiveness,progressandfreedominhumanhistory.
Third,buildingacommunitywithasharedfutureforhumanity,simplyspeaking,embodiestherealizationofglobalgovernance.Globalgovernancerequiresjointeffortsfromtheinternationalcommunityaswellasinternationalcooperationbasedonmultilateralism.ThisisthefundamentalreasonChinaproposedbuildingacommunitywithasharedfutureforhumanity.Currently,Chinaisplayinganimportantroleinglobalgovernance.SincetheendoftheColdWar,multipleinternationalplatformsandmechanismshavebeenestablishedtoaddresscommonchallengesfacedbyhumankind,andtheSCOisoneofthem.
Theconceptofa“communitywithasharedfutureforhumanity”consistsofthreekeycomponents:“community,”“sharedfuture”and“forhumanity.”Bydissectingthephrase,wecanbetteranswerthefollowingquestions:WhatkindofcommunityofsharedfutureforhumanityistheSCO?WhyistheSCOacommunitywithasharedfutureforhumanity,andhowshoulditperformasone?
First,“forhumanity”meanstheSCOispeople-centered.Afreeworldordermustbepeople-oriented.However,thisdoesn’tmeanitshouldignoredifferencesbetweendifferentpeople.Presently,humanityisacommunityofmanyindividualnationswhichcomprisemanyinternationalorganizations,includingregionalandinterregionalones.Geographically,theSCOisatrans-regionalorganization,representinganewtypeofregionalorganization.Inthissense,theSCOitselfcanbeseenasanew“region.”
Second,SCOmemberstates,aswellastheirsocietiesandpeoples,areinterdependent,witha“sharedfuture.”AresultofglobalizationaftertheendoftheColdWar,theSCOisagroupofdoersintheworldinaregionwhereallcountriesdependoneachother.InterdependencebetweencountrieswasalreadyarealityinEuropebythe19thcentury,butnotuntilthesecondhalfofthe20thcenturydidhumansdevelopsystematicknowledgeaboutsuchinterdependency.Inthe1970s,AmericanpoliticalscientistsRobertKeohaneandJosephNyebothdiscussed“interdependence”fromtheangleofpower.TheSCOsetsanotherimportantexampleforinterdependencebetweencountriesandpeoples.
Finally,theSCOisanewtypeofregionalcommunity.ItsharplycontrastsotherregionalorganizationssuchastheEuropeanUnion(EU),theAfricanUnionandtheAssociationofSoutheastAsianNationsintermsoforigin,aim,structure,institutionandpriorities,butatthesametimesharessomesimilaritieswiththemfromtheperspectiveofregionalcommunity.
Overthepast17yearssinceitsinception,theSCOhasfocusedonsecuritycooperation,forginganeffectivecooperativemechanisminthefield.TheSCOhasemergedasasecuritycommunity.UnlikeeitherNATObasedonU.S.hegemonyortheEUwithcommonsecuritypolicy,itisanewtypeofsecuritycommunity.
WhatisthenatureoftheSCOasasecuritycommunity?Inmyopinion,theSCOrepresentsaregionalcollaborationmechanism—aninternationalcongresssystemledbymajorcountriessuchasRussia,ChinaandIndiaandfeaturingparticipationfrommanyothersmallernationsinCentralAsia,SouthAsiaandtheMiddleEast.Inparticular,theadmissionofIndiaandPakistantotheSCOconsolidateditsnatureasaregionalcollaborationmechanism.April24,2018:The15thDefenseMinisters’MeetingoftheShanghaiCooperationOrganization(SCO)MemberStatesisheldinBeijing,China.VCGSomeoftenconfuse“collaboration”with“coordination.”Infact,“collaboration”isfarmorecomplicatedthan“coordination”andcanexertlong-termeffectsonworldpeace.ThefirstandmostsuccessfulinternationalcollaborationsystemsofarhasbeentheConcertofEurope,whichwastheprimarydriverofa“CenturyofPeace”in19th-centuryEurope.TheessentialcomponentofthesystemwasaEuropeancongresssystem,whichwasevenacclaimedbysomeasa“civilizationalachievementofthe19thcentury.”Austro-HungarianeconomichistorianandsociologistKarlPolanyielaboratedonthetopicinhisbookTheGreatTransformation:ThePoliticalandEconomicOriginsofOurTime.
AftertheendofWorldWarII,theUnitedNations,withanaimtoeliminatewarsglobally,andtheEuropeanCommunitythateyedpreventingwarsregionally,werefoundedandquicklybecameinternationalcollaborationsystemsthatmadetheConcertofEuropeobsolete.Then,theEUwasformedonthebasisoftheEuropeanCommunity.Itstillinheritedthenatureofitspredecessor:replacingwarwithpeaceandhostilitywithsolidarity.Thelong-helddreamof“lastingpeace”inEuropeeventuallyarrivedundertheframeworkoftheEU.Forthisreason,theEUwasawardedthe2012NobelPeacePrize.
Asglobalgovernancebecomesamajortopicintheresearchofinterna-tionalrelations,somescholarsarguethattheConcertofEuropemarkedtheoriginofglobalgovernanceinthe19thcentury.TheexpansionofSCOmembershiptestifiestoaboostintheorganization’ssustainabilityandcomplexity.ItisnoteworthythattheenlargedSCOisalsofacingincreasinginternalconflictandinstability.Forinstance,conflictbetweenIndiaandPakistanremains,theU.S.armyhasyettocompletelyretreatfromAfghanistan,theIraniannuclearissueisoneoftheseverestthreatstoglobalnuclearnonproliferation(secondonlytotheKoreanPeninsulanuclearcrisisintermsofseverity)andtheworldisstillgraspingforafundamentalsolutiontothelong-termstandoffbetweenIranandtheU.S.Inthiscontext,somescholarsbelievethatthelegacyoftheConcertofEuropeshouldremaininspiringforthepromotionofworldpeaceinthe21stcentury,asatheoryonglobalgovernancetoavoidwarandpreventconflict.
TheSCO,whoserolewasonceignored,hasalsointroducednewtopicsthatdemandattentionsuchasinternationalmaritimeissues.TheChina-proposedBeltandRoadInitiativeintegrateslandandmaritimeissuesconcerningtheSCO.HoldingtheSCOsummitinthecoastalcityofQingdaoisintendedtoremindpeopleoftheimportanceofmaritimeissuesintheSCOcollaborationmechanism.
Inaddition,theSCOshouldserveasbothaneconomicandsocialcommunity.Itstillneedstodobetteratenhancingeconomiccooperation.TheSCOwillbecomeastrongerorganizationwhenitbecomesarealeconomiccommunity.Afterall,economicgrowthisthefoundationofdevelopmentforallcountries.SCOmemberstateshavealsocarriedoutcooperationintheexchangeofnongovernmentalorganizationsandonothersocialissues.Forinstance,thesecountriesregularlyparticipateintheSCOPeople’sForumandthinktankforumsonpublicpolicyandengageincooperationinareaslikeeducation,science,culture,healthandsports.AllofthesearepushingtheSCOtowardsasocialcommunity.
Positionedatanewstartingpoint,theSCOneedstoredefineitself.Withtheorganization’srotatingchairmanshipthisyear,ChinahasprovidedanewdefinitionfortheSCO:acommunitywithasharedfutureforhumanity—namely,aregionalcommunityofcommonsecurity,economiccollaborationandsocialcooperation.TheauthorisadistinguishedscholarofinternationalrelationsattheOceanUniversityofChina,presidentoftheInstituteofMarineDevelopment,directoroftheGlobalGovernanceResearchCenter,executivechairmanoftheAcademicCommitteeofGrandviewInstitutionandadoctoraltutoratMacaoUniversityofScienceandTechnology.
August9,2015:StudentsfromEastChinaNormalUniversitygiveachoralperformanceduringanexchangeeventforcollegestudentsfrommemberstatesandobservercountriesoftheShanghaiCooperationOrganization(SCO)inChangningLibrary,Shanghai.IC