Interview: China's "community of common destiny" concept in line with global development trend: senior UN official

The concept of building the world into "a community of common destiny" recently put forward by Chinese President Xi Jinping represents China's contribution to international affairs and the extensive consensus of the international community on the issue of development, and it is fully in line with the current global development trend, a senior UN official told Xinhua.

"This is a very important concept, and it is the public goods that China presents to the world," Wu Hongbo, the UN under- secretary-general for economic and social affairs, said in a recent interview with Xinhua.

Xi, in several of his speeches at major international events, urged the international community to foster a sense of community of common destiny. He said our planet is home to all countries. Common development, which is the very foundation of sustainable development, serves the long-term and fundamental interests of all peoples in the world.

The concept is very crucial to the world community when dealing with global and regional challenges in order to build a new future of sustainable peace and prosperity, Wu said. "Speaking from the United Nations, I think the Chinese concept completely agrees with the development trend at this organization, particularly in the field of economic and social affairs."

At present, all the 193 UN member states are participating in discussions on how to hammer out the post-2015 development agenda, expected to be adopted by world leaders in September. During the consultations, he said, "the two very impressive points of consensus" were reached, that is, "leaving no one behind" and "for the future we want."

"These two points of consensus, seemingly simple, demonstrate an understanding that globalisation is making the Earth smaller and smaller, so that the destiny of the human beings is closely linked, and interdependence among all the countries is growing stronger," he said, adding "This calls for the creation of 'a community of common destiny'."

When talking about the development level of a region or a country, people used to look at its gross domestic product (GDP). Now, he said, "it is a totally different story."

In the process of discussing the post-2015 development agenda, which is expected to feature the global efforts for sustainable development, representatives of all UN member states came to realize that all the countries, both developed and developing, face the challenge in promoting sustainable development, Wu said.

At the same time, they all agree that sustainable development does not mean economic growth itself, but economic advancement, social progress and environmental protection, which are making headway in an all-round manner.

"When a certain country or some scholars realized the importance of sustainable development, it is not very significant, " Wu said. "However, when all the countries and all their peoples realize that all of us should embrace sustainable development, the whole world will have a better future. This will serve as the basis for creating 'a community of common destiny'."

"The change in our understanding of the development issue is unprecedented in the history of human beings, and this understanding is more scientific, compared with our past ideas," he said. "This is reflected in the Chinese effort to promote green GDP in order to leave green mountains and clean water to future generations."

In order to help build "a community of common destiny," China proposed the Belt and Road initiatives and led international efforts to establish the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank ( AIIB), Wu noted.

Put forward by Chinese President Xi during his overseas visits in 2013, the initiatives include the Silk Road Economic Belt -- from China via Central Asia and Russia to Europe, and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road -- through the Strait of Malacca to India, the Middle East and East Africa.

"With the progress of these Chinese initiatives, the concept of 'a community of common destiny' will certainly be deepened in relevant countries and regions, and this will help the Chinese concept get more and more popular," Wu said. Endite