As 2025 approaches, the accelerating pace of global change is stirring up dust. In the soon-to-end year of 2024, whether it was national or regional elections, unexpected wars, or sudden air disasters, “change” was the defining theme. While bringing uncertainty, these changes have also sparked shared aspirations and calls for action – seeking consensus amid upheaval, resonance in shared values, and coexistence in harmony.
“Even by the standards of recent years, 2024 was a year of turmoil in which new conflicts erupted, existing crises seethed, and climate-fueled disasters multiplied,” reads a summary on the United Nations’ official website. Indeed, over the past year, about 70 countries or regions, covering half of the world’s population, held leadership or parliamentary elections.
The global economy faced overlapping cyclical and structural challenges, with unilateralism and protectionism rearing their heads. In some nations, internal strife among political parties or factions intensified, with frequent leadership changes. Meanwhile, conflicts persisted, and new battles flared up in other regions. Amid these multifaceted challenges, the calls for consensus, peace, and development have grown louder.
The shared vision of human society is rooted in the simple desire to live a good life. This desire transcends borders, skin colors, and nationalities, uniting all of humanity. It is also why the concept of building a global community of shared future, along with China’s three global initiatives, has garnered enthusiastic international support. In 2024, buzzwords such as “China Travel”, “From French Farm to Chinese Dining Table”, “From Chancay to Shanghai”, and “China-Europe Freight Train Service Hits Milestone with the 100,000th Train Arriving in Germany” … highlight the opportunities that China brings to the world.
This July, the third plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China sent a strong signal of China’s commitment to deepening reforms comprehensively and advancing Chinese modernization, showcasing the values that define China in the new era. Moreover, the five principles of peaceful coexistence, announced 70 years ago, continue to resonate deeply worldwide, becoming widely recognized as fundamental guidelines in international relations. These enduring “living values,” which remain vibrant after seven decades, have expanded the spectrum of universal human values, providing inspiration and guidance for humanity’s shared future.
“As an old Chinese saying goes, ‘Passengers in the same boat should help each other.’ Today, dwellers of the same planet should help each other,” we should “encourage the international community to resolve differences through dialogue and rise above conflicts through cooperation, and build a beautiful world of harmonious coexistence together.”
To address the common challenges humanity faces, President Xi Jinping has shed light on solutions through Eastern wisdom, fostered consensus through shared values of all humanity, and interpreted the essence of building a community with a shared future for mankind.
In 2024, from Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Summit in Astana, and the 16th BRICS Summit in Kazan to the 31st APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting in Lima, and the 19th G20 Summit, Xi has discussed the rising trend of the “Global South” and guided its solidarity and cooperation with Chinese solutions, injecting continuous momentum into the promotion of a more equal and orderly multipolar world.
In a world fraught with uncertainty, China’s ability to solidify its foundation of “stability” and unleash the driving force for “progress” is inseparable from the tireless efforts of every worker and striver. This momentum is vibrant and dynamic, springing out with vitality and coalescing within every social unit. From rural fields to factory floors, from technology labs to urban streets, workers in a new era of China have developed the first domestically produced mobile operating system, the world’s first on-chip brain-machine interface intelligent interaction system and have produced the world’s most advanced and cost-effective batteries, solar panels, and components for new energy vehicles. These seemingly small yet persistent efforts, inspired by aspirations for a better life, converge into a mighty and unyielding Chinese economy river, composing the narrative of China’s economic future and also determining the important position that China occupies in the global industrial value chain. This spirit of progress and collaboration embodies the Chinese people’s pursuit of shared prosperity, extends their value-oriented vision to the global stage and writes new chapter in economic globalization that benefits all and is inclusive.
As time flows and efforts continue, China, with its proactive stance, steadfast principles, enduring values, and steady pace, is becoming a pillar of global stability and a crucial advocate for multilateralism and world multipolarity. Looking toward 2025, with its promising horizon already in sight, we have full confidence. This confidence comes from the resilience of China’s development, and the determination of more than 1.4 billion people to “create a bright future with their own hands.” As the sunlight of 2025 is about to shine, new seeds are breaking through the soil.
GT
