On March 6, Consul General Li Nan published a signed article titled “One world, one family: Together to build a community with a shared future” in the Northern Ireland mainstream media the Irish News. The full text is as follows:

As people around the world are greeting each other with heartfelt hopes and blessings for peace and development at the beginning of 2026, the year of 2025, which marked the 80th anniversary of the victory of the World Anti-Fascist War and the founding of the United Nations, witnessed a critical watershed moment in the international landscape.

The tariff wars in April 2025 dealt a heavy blow to the international trading regime, disrupted the global economic order, and set back economic globalisation. As the Ukraine-Russian war lingered into the fourth year, local wars and cross-border conflicts in Mid-East and Asia flared up more often than at any time since the end of WWII.

Geopolitical turbulence is also rising in an unexpected manner following the US’s “capture” of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro on January 3 and US-Israeli strikes on Iran starting from February 28, blatantly violating international law. All these developments have once again reminded us that our world is still at the crossroads of progress or regression, openness or isolation, peace or war.

“What is happening to the world, and what should we do?” At this pivotal moment in the course of history, confronting with an array of complex global challenges, China, a builder of world peace, contributor to global development, defender of the international order, and provider of public goods, has articulated its resounding answer: All countries should uphold mutual respect, fairness and justice, and win-win cooperation, and work together to build a community with a shared future for humanity.

Why should we build a community with a shared future for humanity?

Chinese President Xi Jinping has pointed out that countries today are more connected and interdependent than ever before. Humanity lives in the same global village and has increasingly become a community with a shared future, in which we are closely intertwined.

We should stand together through thick and thin, share both honor and hardship, and strive to build the planet on which we are born and raised into a harmonious global family, turning the aspirations of people around the world for a better life into reality.

In short, it means working together to build “one world, one family” and to realise the ideal of “universal harmony under heaven”.

What kind of community with a shared future for humanity?

We should strive to build ‘five worlds’. We should build a world of lasting peace. Peace is the enduring aspiration of all humanity and the foundation for all good lives. History shows that war and turmoil bring immense suffering, while peace drives the progress of human civilisation. Conflicts around the world remind us that the hard-won peace must be collectively safeguarded, and war must be resolutely opposed.

We should build a world of universal security. Building a safer world is the strong aspiration of all peoples and a shared responsibility of all countries. It requires respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of every nation, resolving disputes peacefully through dialogue and consultations, and abiding by the purposes and principles of the UN Charter.

We must surpass the traditional “security dilemma” mindset and stay committed to the vision of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security. The security of one nation should never be achieved at the expense of that of others.

We should build a world of shared prosperity. All countries should share the benefits of globalisation fairly and pursue sustainable growth, while respecting the diversity of development paths. Through mutually beneficial cooperation, we can achieve common development and prosperity. It is imperative to prevent the rich from getting richer while the poor get poorer. The prosperity of one nation cannot be built on the extreme poverty of others.

We should build an open and inclusive world. We must uphold cultural diversity, recognise the uniqueness of different civilisations, religions, and social systems, and oppose cultural hegemony or imposing a single standard for all.

All countries, large or small, strong or weak, rich or poor, should have an equal say in international affairs, and all hegemonic and bullying practices must be rejected. Mutual benefit should be pursued through inclusive economic cooperation, while zero-sum competition should be avoided.

We must oppose the establishment of exclusive blocs, the “small yard and high fence” mentality, the decoupling attempt or the severing of industrial and supply chains. Countries should help one another succeed rather than undermine each other. One will not be seen in a more favourable light after blowing out others’ lamp; nor will they go farther by blocking others’ advancing paths.

We should build a clean and beautiful world. The earth’s resources are finite, and a clean and beautiful environment is a shared well-being for all humanity. In the face of overexploitation of limited natural resources, global warming, extreme weather occurrences, and various natural and ecological crises, protecting Mother Earth has become an urgent imperative. We must adhere to green development, promote harmonious coexistence between humans and nature, and work together to safeguard our home planet.

How to build a community with a shared future for humanity?

The pathway is to promote global governance featuring extensive consultation, joint contribution, and shared benefit. International affairs cannot be dictated by one or two countries alone, and each nation has the right to participation, regardless of its size, wealth, or status.

The guiding principle is to apply the common values of humanity. Peace, development, fairness, justice, democracy and freedom are the common values universally recognised by all nations. They represent the shared aspirations of people worldwide and determine the orientation of building a community with a shared future for humanity.

The basic underpinning lies in building a new type of international relations. We should uphold mutual respect, fairness and justice, and win-win cooperation, and steadfastly promote greater democracy in international relations.

The strategic guidance comes from the implementation of the four global initiatives. The Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative, the Global Civilization Initiative and the Global Governance Initiative together contribute China’s vision, wisdom and solutions to building a community with a shared future for humanity, widely welcomed and supported by more than 140 countries and international organisations.

The platform for action is to pursue high-quality Belt and Road cooperation. Since the initiative was proposed in 2013, China had signed more than 200 BRI cooperation agreements with over 150 countries and 30 international organisations. Over the past decade, it has advanced from “hard connectivity” of infrastructure, to “soft connectivity” of rules and standards, and further to “heart connectivity” of people-to-people, promoting economic growth, trade expansion, investment integration and job creation, etc. BRI cooperation is becoming a path of peace, prosperity, openness, green development, innovation, cultural exchange, and cooperation.

A community with a shared future for humanity is not only a community of shared interests, but also shared responsibilities and sentimental bonds, forming a new shape of people-centred civilisation for coordinated development and common prosperity.

What does it mean for the world to build a community with a shared future for humanity?

Building a community with a shared future for humanity captures the reality that all countries have a shared future and intertwined interests. It unequivocally champions the spirit of global solidarity, openness, inclusiveness and the prospects of win-win cooperation, and steers state-to-state relations beyond peaceful coexistence to a shared future, injecting greater certainty and stability to this changing and turbulent world.

It also brings countries together to meet challenges and achieve prosperity for all, and usher in a bright future of peace, security, prosperity and progress. This stands in stark contrast to the approach of certain countries that pursue “we first” approach, frequently launch tariff and trade wars, interfere in others’ internal affairs under the pretext of “rules”, and create confrontation in the name of “national security”.

Therefore, building a community with a shared future for humanity responds to the universal aspirations of all peoples around the world. It transcends differences in social systems and ideologies, evolving from proposals to practices.

China has built various forms of bilateral communities with a shared future with dozens of countries and regions, and established regional-level communities with a shared future with Southeast Asia, Central Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Latin America, and beyond. Steady progress has also been made in spreading this vision to cyberspace, nuclear safety, public health, etc.

The vision has been written into UN General Assembly resolutions for eight consecutive years, as well as resolutions and declarations of the SCO, BRICS and other multilateral mechanisms. It embodies the broadest common expectations of people around the globe for a better world, showing stronger influence, vitality and appeal.

Looking ahead, the world still faces many uncertainties and instabilities. Yet the historic trend of peace, development, cooperation and mutual benefit remains irresistible. The recommendations for China’s 15th Five-Year Plan, adopted at the fourth plenary session of the 20th CPC Central Committee held late last year, is actively striving toward the noble goal of building a community with a shared future for humanity through concrete efforts to advance Chinese modernisation.

The path to greatness is endless, but many walk it together. China will work relentlessly with all international partners, including UK/Northern Ireland, to promote friendship and cooperation, enhance mutual learning among different cultures, and advocate and participate in building a community with a shared future for humanity.

Together, let us strive to create a better future for the world. One world, one family.