Xi Jinping reiterates the "Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence", Analysts say it is intended to rationalize China's expansionist intentions

At the 70th anniversary of the "Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence" on Friday, Chinese President Xi Jinping reiterated that he hopes all countries will follow the principles of respecting sovereignty, non-interference and non-aggression, and pursue peaceful coexistence in the current chaotic international situation full of disputes. However, the outside world is concerned that China has been in constant disputes with its neighbors since Xi Jinping took office. What exactly does Xi Jinping mean by "determination to follow the path of peaceful development"?

June 28 marks the 70th anniversary of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, which were proposed by then Premier and Foreign Minister Zhou Enlai. These principles set the tone for the five foundations of China's foreign policy since then: mutual respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, mutual non-aggression, non-interference in each other's internal affairs, equality and mutual benefit, and peaceful coexistence.

In this regard, Chinese President Xi Jinping delivered a speech at the 70th anniversary of the "Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence" on Friday. He pointed out that the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence provide correct interactive guidance for countries with different social systems, and can break the confrontational thinking such as "group politics" that appears in international disputes. With the current chaotic international situation, Xi Jinping believes that the importance of the "Five Principles" is more evident at this time. He said: "Faced with the historical choice of peace or war, prosperity or decline, unity or confrontation, we need to carry forward the spiritual connotation of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence more than ever before, and work tirelessly towards the lofty goal of building a community with a shared future for mankind."

Xi Jinping stressed that the opposition camp is confronting each other, but the outside world is not optimistic about it.

When talking about non-interference in internal affairs among the five principles, Xi Jinping emphasized that this is the "golden rule". He said: "We oppose imposing one's will on others, oppose camp confrontation and various "small circles", and oppose forcing other countries to take sides." At the same time, he also called for no division and communication among the international community as the economy globalizes; no confrontation and cooperation.

Xi Jinping also said in his speech that the concept of building a community with a shared future for mankind that he proposed is consistent with the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, and both adhere to the concept of peaceful development of "being friendly to neighbors, keeping faith and building friendship". Specifically, China hopes to promote the common prosperity of people of all countries through the implementation of the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative, the Global Civilization Initiative, and the "Belt and Road Initiative".

However, Chinese netizens have doubts about the peace concept proposed by Xi Jinping . Some netizens expressed their doubts on the social networking platform Weibo: "Politically they are enemies, in propaganda they are enemies, technically they are friends, in trade they are partners... How should we deal with this kind of relationship?", "We want... and... and also...", "This is not double standards, this is multiple standards, a late-stage schizophrenia."

Scholars on China's non-interference in internal affairs: Say one thing, do another

Wang Wei, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Adelphi University and professor of political science, analyzed this in an interview with this station. He said that Zhou Enlai proposed the "Five Principles" during the Cold War and repeatedly reiterated non-interference in internal affairs. His purpose was to ally with third world countries, stand on the moral high ground, and not take sides between the United States and the Soviet Union. Now, 70 years later, Xi Jinping reiterated the "Five Principles" to rationalize China's attempt to expand its influence globally.

Wang Weizheng said: "Xi Jinping has hoped to be the hegemon of global affairs in recent years. For example, he proposed a 12-point plan for the Ukraine issue, hoping to become a great power admired by the whole world on the moral high ground. Today, he reiterated the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence and responded to the criticism of him by many countries that he did not condemn Russia for its invasion of Ukraine."

However, Wang Weizheng believes that Xi Jinping's emphasis on "peaceful coexistence" is just an attempt to stand on the moral high ground, which is quite hypocritical. First of all, Russia is the party that first destroyed the international order and attacked and occupied Ukraine. Secondly, China itself has not achieved "non-interference in the internal affairs of other countries": "China is now showing 'sharp power' in many countries, which means influencing the other party's system by destroying the other party's system, such as buying (bribing) the elites of other countries, attempting to interfere in other people's elections, etc., so he basically says one thing and does another."

Wang Weizheng also pointed out that although Xi Jinping emphasized the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence today, his actual practice has abandoned the policy of keeping a low profile during the Deng Xiaoping era and the peaceful rise during the Hu Jintao era, which has also increased the vigilance of countries in the Indo-Pacific region against China: "China's rise has become a source of instability in the world situation. For the Indo-Pacific region, China's rise is bound to prioritize monopolizing and excluding American influence in the region."

Stephen Young, a former senior U.S. diplomat, holds a similar view. In an interview, he said that although Xi Jinping shouts for peace on the surface, in fact, after Xi Jinping took office, China has had sovereignty disputes with all its neighbors, and its provocative behavior in order to expand its territory is a threat to regional peace.

Yang said: "Xi Jinping hopes to unify China during his term, including Hong Kong, which he has already strengthened, Taiwan, and provoke territorial disputes with all of China's neighbors, such as the border with India in the Himalayas... These disputed areas are usually very remote and sparsely populated, so I don't really understand why Xi Jinping has such a violent reaction to these borders."