Welcome to the 90th edition of our weekly newsletter! I’m Chenghao Sun, a fellow with the Center for International Security and Strategy (CISS) at Tsinghua University, Council Member of The Chinese Association of American Studies and a visiting scholar at the Paul Tsai China Center of Yale Law School (fall 2024).
ChinAffairsplus is a newsletter that shares articles by Chinese academics on topics such as China’s foreign policy, China-U.S. relations, China-Europe relations, and more. This newsletter was co-founded by my research assistant, ZHANG Xueyu, and me.
Through carefully selected Chinese academic articles, we aim to provide you with key insights into the issues that China’s academic and strategic communities are focused on. We will highlight why each article matters and the most important takeaways. Questions and feedback can be addressed to sch0625@gmail.com
Today, we have selected an article written by Yang Jiemian, which traces the historical evolution and theoretical development of China’s vision of ‘’community of shared future”, examining successive Chinese leaders’ approach to Asia and the Global South as central pillars of its foreign policy and global governance strategy.
Summary
Asia is the world’s largest continent and the birthplace of major civilizations. Thinkers like Marx and Lenin paid close attention to its struggles for national liberation. Building on this legacy, generations of Chinese Communist Party leaders have made important theoretical and practical contributions to Asia’s revolutionary and progressive movements.
Today, President Xi Jinping has introduced a series of initiatives—including the ‘community with a shared future for mankind’, the ‘Asian community with a shared future’, and a ‘community with a shared future in China’s neighborhood’. China is working with its Asian neighbors to build a shared future through economic cooperation, joint peacebuilding, and cultural exchange. At the same time, it is advancing similar goals globally in partnership with the international community.
These efforts provide a roadmap for reforming regional and global governance. Their close alignment ensures that the vision of a shared future translates into tangible outcomes, while keeping governance systems on a principled and stable path. Progress won’t happen overnight. Building an Asian ‘community of shared future’—and reshaping global governance—means tackling historical legacies step by step, promoting development as a basis for security amid geopolitical rivalry, and using digital transformation to upgrade economic and technological capacity. It will take sustained effort from the people of Asia and beyond, and active cooperation from the wider international community.
Why it matters
In April 2025, Beijing convened a high-level Central Conference on Work Relating to Neighboring Countries, updating its Asia and ‘’peripheral’‘ strategy just as it accelerated ‘’community of shared future’‘ agreements with Central Asia and concluded the China–ASEAN FTA 3.0 upgrade. At the same time, tensions in the South China Sea and around Taiwan have intensified. Against this backdrop, Asia is no longer just a regional theatre—it is the core of the Global South and the primary stage on which China tests its ideas about regional order and global governance. Understanding how Beijing itself conceptualizes ‘’Asia,’‘ ‘’neighbors,’‘ and ‘’communities of shared future’‘ has become essential for anyone trying to read the trajectory of Asian security, trade regimes, and development initiatives.
A Chinese perspective is particularly crucial here. Western debates often treat Asian and Global South countries mainly as objects of major-power competition. By contrast, Chinese leaders, Party theorists, and policy journals describe them as partners in concentric ‘’communities’‘ extending from the neighborhood to the global level. As Kan, Wong and Chan note in “What China Doesn’t Want”, China’s official speeches and texts are a key window into what its leaders are trying to signal about their priorities, limits, and red lines. Taking those texts seriously—rather than dismissing them as mere slogans—is indispensable for governments and scholars in Asia, Africa, and Latin America deciding how to respond.
The featured article is especially valuable because it reads this discourse historically and systematically. By tracing a line from Marx and Lenin’s reflections on Asia through Mao’s ‘’three worlds,’‘ Deng’s development-first regionalism, Jiang and Hu’s ‘’Asia rise’‘ narratives, to Xi Jinping’s layered ‘’community of shared future’‘, it shows that today’s outreach to the Global South and Asia rests on a long-evolving leadership vision. At the same time, the article largely adopts Beijing’s vantage point: regional frictions, local pushback and power asymmetries are underplayed. Readers should therefore treat it both as a rich guide to how China understands its role—and as a reminder that smaller Asian and Global South states may read the same ‘’community’‘ language quite differently.
Key Points
Historical Context, Era of Progress, and Theoretical Evolution
Asia, the cradle of ancient civilizations, long suffered under colonial oppression and imperial domination. Marx foresaw China’s revolution as the ‘’spark’‘ that could ignite Europe’s political upheaval, while exposing the hypocrisy of bourgeois civilization in its colonial brutality. Lenin later hailed Asia’s democratic awakening—from Turkey to China—as the dawn of a new global epoch. Building on this legacy, the Chinese Communist Party linked national liberation with Asia’s collective resurgence and global revolutionary progress.
Mao Zedong — Revolution and Solidarity
Mao viewed Asia as the vanguard of anti-colonial struggle. His ‘’intermediate zone’‘ and ‘’Three Worlds’‘ theories placed Asia, Africa, and Latin America at the heart of resisting hegemony. Advocating the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, he urged postcolonial nations to unite for independent development.
Jiang Zemin — Cooperation and Institutions
Jiang emphasized Asia’s economic vitality and institutional integration. In the aftermath of the 1997 Asian financial crisis, China’s stability and engagement through APEC, SCO, and Boao Forum deepened regional trust and built frameworks for collective resilience.
Hu Jintao — Integration and Shared Prosperity
Building on the ‘’scientific outlook on development,’‘ Hu advanced political equality, economic interdependence, and cultural exchange. His leadership saw the establishment of the China–ASEAN Free Trade Area and new crisis-management models, embedding China’s growth within Asia’s broader path toward common prosperity.
The Synergistic Resonance and Mutual Reinforcement of the Three Communities of Shared Future
Since the 18th Party Congress, facing profound global changes, Xi Jinping has proposed three interlinked visions—a community of shared future for mankind, for Asia, and for neighboring countries—forming concentric circles that offer China’s integrated wisdom and solutions to global challenges.
Human Community: China’s Global Response to a Century of Change
Entering the 21st century’s turbulent second decade, Xi Jinping positioned China as a responsible power confronting global uncertainty. In his 2013 Moscow address, he articulated the idea of a ‘’community of shared future for mankind,’‘ later expanded at the 2015 UN General Assembly into a comprehensive framework encompassing five pillars: partnership, security, development, cultural dialogue, and ecological harmony. Through subsequent global development, security, and civilization Initiatives, China has proposed an alternative to zero-sum geopolitics—one grounded in shared values, cooperative governance, and inclusive modernization. This vision fused Marxist internationalism, UN principles, and traditional Chinese thought, defining China’s new global identity as a ‘’builder and contributor’‘ of world order.
Asian Community: Regional Governance through Interdependence and Inclusion
Facing fragmentation in Asia’s governance architecture, China advanced the concept of an ‘’Asian community of shared future’‘ to operationalize global ideals within regional realities. From Xi’s 2013 APEC address to the 2014 CICA summit, the notion emphasized mutual respect, win-win cooperation, collective security, and cultural inclusiveness. The initiative deepened through the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, and the ‘’China + Central Asia’‘ cooperation model, promoting ‘’open regionalism’‘ distinct from bloc politics. It also cultivated shared ‘’Asian values’‘ of peace, openness, and coexistence, reshaping regional norms on development, digital sovereignty, and counterterrorism coordination—turning Asia into both a testbed and driver of new global governance.
Neighborhood Community: Shared Modernization and Regional Stability
Surrounded by over twenty neighboring states, China framed its periphery as the cornerstone of peace and prosperity. Since Xi’s 2013 Peripheral Diplomacy Conference, the ‘’Neighborhood community of shared future’‘ has guided policies based on amity, sincerity, mutual benefit, and inclusiveness. By 2025, China had reached consensus with seventeen neighboring countries, forming ‘’two regional clusters’‘ across Central and Southeast Asia. This framework integrates connectivity, economic integration, and joint security, embodying the ‘’China–Central Asia Spirit’‘ of mutual trust and shared modernization. As a laboratory for global community-building, it anchors China’s regional diplomacy while demonstrating how cooperative modernization can reinforce peace and collective progress.
Building Regional and Global Governance Systems Oriented Toward a Community of Shared Future
China’s vision of various communities of shared future provides both direction and impetus for building regional and global governance systems, ensuring that lofty goals translate into concrete progress guided by a shared path forward.
Rethinking Global Governance: Continuity and Constraints
China views existing regional and global governance systems as both historically significant and structurally flawed. Institutions such as the UN, IMF, and WTO have long upheld peace and development, yet they struggle to reflect a multipolar reality. Western dominance in agenda-setting and the rise of unilateralism—particularly under Trump—have eroded balance and inclusivity. As Oxford’s Ngaire Woods and Chatham House’s Samir Puri note, the world faces a governance gap: outdated institutions risk irrelevance amid shifting power and accelerating crises.
Reforming from Within: Pragmatic Gradualism
Rejecting both rupture and inertia, China advocates reform through adaptation, not replacement. Guided by the UN Charter and the principles of fairness and shared benefit, Beijing calls for ‘’incremental correction’‘ to enhance representation for developing nations and rebalance rule-making power. Echoing Lula da Silva’s remark that China stands with the Global South against structural inequality, this approach fuses realism with reform—preserving systemic stability while pursuing justice and inclusivity.
Advancing Asian Cooperation: Regional Foundations for Global Order
Asia remains China’s testing ground for cooperative governance. By engaging existing platforms—APEC, ADB, CICA—and building new ones such as the SCO, AIIB, and the Lancang–Mekong Framework, China promotes dialogue, connectivity, and economic integration. As Carnegie’s Evan Feigenbaum observes, most Asian states seek growth and stability, not confrontation. China’s region-first diplomacy thus aligns with regional aspirations, anchoring Asia’s rise as a cornerstone of a more balanced global governance architecture.
Asia’s Pursuit of Community and Governance Amid Shared Challenges
Amid global upheaval, many nations commend China’s shared-future vision and expect greater leadership in shaping governance. UN Secretary-General António Guterres calls China ‘’a vital pillar of global governance,’‘ while Singaporean scholar Kishore Mahbubani urges Asia to build a fairer, more sustainable order—fulfilling the shared-future ideal’s historic mission.
From Bilateral Ties to Multilateral Networks
Since the 1950s, China has steadily upgraded its regional diplomacy—from friendly neighborliness to strategic partnerships and, now, shared-future communities. By April 2025, China had reached bilateral ‘’Community of Shared Future’‘ agreements with nearly all of its Asian partners, spanning Southeast, South, and Central Asia. Landmark agreements include the 2024 China–Indonesia joint declaration and the 2025 China–Thailand partnership framework. Beijing has also expanded this vision multilaterally: the 2023 Xi’an Declaration established the China–Central Asia mechanism, while ASEAN and Gulf partners endorsed joint commitments to deeper regional integration. Together, these initiatives signal Asia’s transition from bilateral cooperation toward a more cohesive regional architecture.
Peace, Prosperity, and Cultural Connectivity
Against the backdrop of U.S.-led bloc politics, China and its Asian partners have invoked the shared-future vision to preserve regional stability and promote growth. The China–Central Asia Summit reaffirmed collective commitment to peace and UN goals, while China–ASEAN trade reached 6.99 trillion yuan in 2024, with the completion of the China–ASEAN FTA 3.0 underscoring rule-making equality among developing nations. Meanwhile, cultural and educational exchanges—from the Asian Civilization Dialogue Conference to Silk Road heritage projects—have deepened mutual understanding, building the human foundation of an Asian community rooted in coexistence and shared progress.
Navigating Diversity and Emerging Challenges
The realization of a true Asian community faces enduring tests—cultural diversity, geopolitical rivalries, and digital divides. China and its partners advocate phased solutions to historical tensions, prioritize ‘’development for security,’‘ and pursue digital transformation through initiatives like Thailand 4.0 and Vietnam’s 6G program. As Asia’s digital economy surpasses $12.8 trillion, regional innovation hubs are reshaping global production and technology flows, anchoring Asia as a central force in the world’s next governance transformation.
Conclusion
Ultimately, building an Asian community with a shared future is not a slogan but a century-long endeavor—one that demands sustained commitment, pragmatic cooperation, and the courage to overcome both historical and structural divides. Peace remains its precondition: as the wars of the past eight decades remind us, regional prosperity cannot take root amid conflict. Yet stability alone is insufficient. Asia must strengthen its collective capacities—bridging economic disparities, enhancing institutional coordination, and cultivating a shared sense of regional identity.
Unlike Europe or Africa, Asia still lacks a comprehensive framework for integration. Its vast cultural diversity, persistent territorial disputes, and uneven digital development expose deep fissures in political trust and cultural dialogue. Overcoming these divides will require not only material power but also the softer foundations of mutual understanding and respect. At the same time, Asia’s future cannot be built in isolation. Its community must engage the wider world while resisting external pressures that seek to fragment it. If successful, this vision could transform global governance itself—moving it beyond the Western-centric order toward a system that values inclusivity, cooperation, and balance. Whether Asia can realize that promise will shape not only its own destiny but the future of the international system.
About the Author
Dr. Yang Jiemian is a Senior Research Fellow at the Institute for Foreign Policy Studies and the Center for the Study of Chinese Diplomatic Theory and Practice, as well as Chairman of the Academic Affairs Council at the Shanghai Institutes for International Studies (SIIS). He serves as Counsellor to the Shanghai Municipal People’s Government and sits on multiple national and municipal associations related to international studies and U.S. relations. His research focuses on international relations, Chinese diplomacy, and U.S. foreign policy. Major works include “China-U.S. Relations in the Post–Cold War Era”, “Grand Cooperation: The Changing World and China’s Global Strategy”, “Grand Integration: Trends of Asian Economic Cooperation”, and “China’s Expo Diplomacy: Theory and Practice”.
About the Publication
The Chinese version of the article was published by International Prospects (《国际展望》). This academic journal is published by the Shanghai Institutes for International Studies (SIIS) and is co-organized by the Shanghai International Relations Association. It is China’s first bilingual (Chinese bi-monthly and English quarterly) journal on international relations. International Prospects aims to provide a new academic platform for international relations research, bringing together experts and scholars from both domestic and international circles. The journal serves the development of China’s international relations theory and offers advice and recommendations for China’s diplomatic strategy and policies.
