This year marks the 70th anniversary of the publication of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, and Huang Huikang, a member of the United Nations International Law Commission and a distinguished professor at Wuhan University, was interviewed by Yangcheng Evening News
Text/Yangcheng Evening News all-media reporter Dong Liu
Photo / provided by the interviewee
Seventy years ago, the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence came into being at the right time and became the basic norms for the development of a new type of international relations that transcend social systems and ideologies.
This year marks the 70th anniversary of the publication of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence. On June 28, the 70th anniversary of the promulgation of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence was held in Beijing. President Xi Jinping attended the conference and delivered an important speech, saying: "Faced with the historical choices 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 and make unremitting efforts towards the lofty goal of building a community with a shared future for mankind." ”
Today, 70 years later, how should the international community better promote the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence? In this regard, Huang Huikang, a distinguished professor of the Institute of International Rule of Law of Wuhan University, accepted an exclusive interview with Yangcheng Evening News. Huang Huikang has been engaged in diplomacy for more than 30 years, is a senior member of the United Nations International Law Commission, and has attended the sessions of the United Nations General Assembly, the Special Committee on the Charter, the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space and other United Nations bodies as a representative of China, as well as multilateral treaty negotiations under the auspices of the United Nations. On November 27, 2023, the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China held the 10th collective study on strengthening the construction of foreign-related legal systems, and Huang Huikang explained this issue and put forward work suggestions.
The Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence: The Response of the Times and the Necessity of History
Yangcheng Evening News: On June 28 and 29, 1954, China and India and China and Myanmar issued joint statements respectively, affirming that the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence would be applied to each other and to the rest of Asia and the world. Now that 70 years have passed, what do you think of this move 70 years ago?
Huang Huikang: The year 2024 marks the 70th anniversary of the birth of the Five Principles of Mutual Respect for Sovereignty and Territorial Integrity, Mutual Non-aggression, Non-interference in Mutual Affairs, Equality and Mutual Benefit, and Peaceful Coexistence, which were first initiated by China and included in the China-India and China-Myanmar Joint Statements (referred to as the "Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence"), and the 70th anniversary of the birth of the first Constitution of the People's Republic of China, which clearly stipulates that "the mainland shall establish and develop foreign relations with any country in accordance with the principles of equality, mutual benefit, and mutual respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity". As the basic foreign policy of the People's Republic of China and the first public good to be contributed to the international community, the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence have made historic contributions to promoting the establishment of a fair and rational new type of international relations, enriched and developed the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, and have become an important basic principle of international law and a basic norm governing international relations.
The Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence are rooted in the excellent traditional Chinese culture. "Guihe" is an excellent tradition of Chinese culture, and the pursuit of "harmony" runs through the whole process of thousands of years of Chinese ideological and cultural development, and has accumulated in the ideas of all times and schools. For example, Confucianism advocates "the use of courtesy, harmony is precious", pursues "harmony but difference", opposes "the same but not harmonious", and emphasizes that "the husband and the thing are not even, and the affection of the thing is also"; Mohists advocate "mutual love, mutual benefit" and the pursuit of "non-attack"; Taoism advocates "Baohe Taihe" and "Xianning of all countries", and advocates "not strengthening the world with soldiers". Ideas such as "harmony among all nations", "good-neighborliness" and "harmony without difference" have laid a solid cultural foundation for the birth of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence.
From a domestic perspective, the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence are the response of the times for New China to properly handle its peripheral relations and break through the blockade and containment of the West. From an international perspective, the proposition of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence is a historical necessity for emerging countries to pursue independence and develop their national economies. It is precisely in response to the historical needs of New China to improve the surrounding and international environment, and to the general aspirations of the vast number of emerging countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America to defend peace, pursue independence, and oppose interference and aggression, that the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence came into being.
The way of all benefits is to walk with the times. The spirit of sovereignty, justice, democracy and the rule of law embodied in the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence still shines brightly today. In the context of the accelerated evolution of major changes unseen in a century, re-examining the connotation and practical value of international law of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence and exploring the practical path to carry forward their spiritual core is a feasible way to consolidate and enhance the discourse power of international law on the mainland and enforce the international rule of law as a responsible major country, and it is also an inherent requirement to adhere to true multilateralism and promote the building of a community with a shared future for mankind.
Yangcheng Evening News: In the process of forming the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, what are the little-known stories?
Huang Huikang: The Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence were finally established with the development of China's diplomatic practice, and they have been revised and improved twice from the time they were first proposed to the time they were finally established.
The initial expression of these five principles were: mutual respect for territorial sovereignty, mutual non-aggression, non-interference in each other's internal affairs, equality and reciprocity, and peaceful coexistence. In 1954, when the Sino-Indian Agreement on Trade and Transportation between Tibet and India was officially enshrined, the fourth principle of "equality and reciprocity" was revised to "equality and mutual benefit" at the suggestion of Mr. Zhou Kunsheng, then an adviser to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and a grandmaster of China's international legal circles, and with the consent of Premier Zhou Enlai. Because the mutual reciprocity given by countries is generally subject to consultation and agreement of all parties, it cannot be regarded as a principle of general application, and it is more accurate in law to change to "mutual benefit". Later, these five principles were formally enshrined in the June 1954 Sino-Indian and China-Burma Joint Declaration.
Since then, Mr. Zhou Kunsheng has continued to ponder and feels that the first principle, "mutual respect for territorial sovereignty", is not very appropriate, because only mentioning "territory" is likely to be understood as the territory under actual control now, and combining "territory" and "sovereignty" into one word is likely to be understood as "territory" as an adjective of "sovereignty", which is also inappropriate. Therefore, Mr. Zhou Kunsheng suggested that the first principle should be changed to "mutual respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity". In April 1955, Premier Zhou Enlai used a new formulation when he mentioned the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence at the Bandung Conference. This change was first reflected in the Joint Declaration of the Government of the People's Republic of China and the Government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, signed on 12 October 1954.
So far, the expression of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence has been solidified as follows: "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." This was confirmed in the 1978 Constitution and has been used ever since.
It has become a basic norm of international relations and a basic principle of international law
Yangcheng Evening News: The Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence have a great international impact.
Huang Huikang: Over the past 70 years, the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence have gone to Asia and the world, withstood the test of international changes, and have not only been embodied in a large number of bilateral treaties between countries, but also confirmed by many international multilateral treaties and international legal documents, and have become the basic norms governing international relations and international law. The Declaration on Principles of International Law concerning Friendly Relations and Cooperation among States in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations (hereinafter referred to as the Declaration on Principles of International Law) adopted by the 25th session of the United Nations General Assembly in 1970 and the Declaration on the Establishment of a New International Economic Order adopted by the 6th special session of the United Nations General Assembly in 1974 explicitly included the five principles of peaceful coexistence.
Under the guidance of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, New China has devoted itself to properly handling problems left over from history, developing good-neighborly and friendly relations with India, Burma, and other neighboring countries, and deepening mutual understanding and trust with the vast number of emerging countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America.
In addition, the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence embody the ideas of sovereignty, equality, mutual benefit, and peace in a new type of international relations, and are a declaration for the establishment of a new type of international relations by newly independent countries. It has provided a useful mirror for the establishment and development of normal diplomatic relations between countries with the same or different social systems, and has been recognized and accepted by more and more countries, international organizations, and international conferences, and has laid an ideological foundation for promoting the establishment of a just and rational new international political and economic order.
Yangcheng Evening News: What is the relationship between the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence and international law?
Huang Huikang: The Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence are highly compatible with the UN Charter.
The principle of "mutual respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity" is the primary principle and fundamental requirement of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence. The principle of national sovereignty was enshrined as early as the Peace of Westphalia in 1648. For a long time, however, traditional international law applied only among so-called "civilized nations". It was not until the enactment of the Charter of the United Nations in 1945 that modern international law, which is equally applicable to all members of the international community, was established, and the vast number of countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America changed from the "object of application" of international law to the "subject of use". The principle of mutual respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity is highly consistent with the relevant provisions of the Charter of the United Nations on the "sovereign equality of all Member States" and "shall not infringe upon the territorial integrity or political independence of any Member State or State", which requires all countries to respect each other's sovereignty, security and core interests, each other's natural right to safeguard national unity and territorial integrity within the limits of international law, and mutual respect for each other's independently chosen social system, ideology and development path.
The principle of "mutual non-aggression" is an important part of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence and an inherent requirement of the principle of mutual respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity. Traditional international law recognizes war as a tool for states to pursue their policies, but with the establishment of modern international law, the so-called "right to resort to war" of states has been gradually restricted and abolished. In the Charter of the United Nations, the Member States agreed that "in order to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war, which has twice brought untold sorrow to mankind in this generation", the United Nations "undertakes not to use force except in the public interest"; Article 2 expressly prohibits Member States from using the threat or force in their international relations. The principle of non-aggression is closely linked to the basic principles of international law, such as the prohibition of the use of force or the threat of force and the peaceful settlement of international disputes.
The principle of "non-interference in each other's internal affairs" and the principle of non-aggression complement each other and are also part of the principle of mutual respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity. Article 2, paragraph 7, of the Charter of the United Nations clearly states that "nothing in this Charter shall be deemed to authorize the United Nations to intervene in matters which are essentially within the domestic jurisdiction of any State, nor shall it require Member States to refer such matter for settlement in accordance with this Charter", thus delineating the jurisdiction of the United Nations and its Member States. This principle is a solid barrier against hegemonism and power politics, and is also an extension of the principle of national sovereignty.
The principle of "equality and mutual benefit" is the direct embodiment of the sovereign equality of states in the economic field and the inevitable result of the establishment of substantive and fair economic exchanges. The concept of equality appears many times in the Charter of the United Nations, and the equality of nations, peoples, and nationals runs through the Charter. The principle of equality and mutual benefit requires the establishment of an international economic order that is substantially equal, protects free investment and fair trade carried out by all countries on a voluntary basis, and protects them from economic exploitation and oppression by other countries, so as to ultimately achieve a win-win, multi-win, and win-win situation.
"Peaceful coexistence" is a necessary condition for maintaining world peace and promoting common development, and is the fundamental pursuit of the international rule of law. The maintenance of international peace and security is the primary purpose of the United Nations. The preamble to the Charter of the United Nations declares that the peoples of the United Nations "wish to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war, which has twice brought untold sorrow to mankind in this generation", and resolves to "concentrate their energies on the maintenance of international peace and security" and "to live in tolerance and good neighbourliness with one another", which is set forth in a number of official articles.
The Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence are not a simple repetition of the existing basic principles of international law, but are directly inspired by the principles of the Charter, and on this basis, they supplement and elaborate a number of important legal principles, embodying integrity and innovation. In terms of wording, the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence were the first to refer to "sovereignty and territorial integrity" and "equality and mutual benefit". In terms of content, the principle of "non-interference in each other's internal affairs" in the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence affirms the "principle of non-interference" in the Charter of the United Nations, which not only divides the respective jurisdictions of the United Nations and its Member States, but also establishes the mutual relations between Member States. From a conceptual point of view, the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence confirm the coherence and unity of the rights and obligations of States. On the whole, the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence concisely and concisely express the basic principles of international relations.
Since its promulgation, the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence have been confirmed, reaffirmed and even directly incorporated in many international legal documents, and have been widely recognized by the international community. From the perspective of international practice, these five principles are not only the basic principles for China to establish bilateral diplomatic relations, but have also been confirmed in the communiqué on the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and more than 180 countries, and have also been widely followed by the vast majority of countries in the world. It can be said that the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence themselves form part of the basic principles of international law and the basic norms governing international relations.
"It is a realistic way for countries to work together to address global challenges"
Yangcheng Evening News: Time flies. This year marks the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China and the 70th anniversary of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence. Over the past 75 years, China has experienced a great leap from standing up, getting rich to becoming strong, and major-country diplomacy with Chinese characteristics has also entered a new stage in which it can do more. Under the new historical conditions, how do we view the necessity and significance of practicing the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence?
Huang Huikang: In the context of the new era, the continuous practice of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence is not only an inevitable requirement for consistently adhering to an independent foreign policy of peace, but also an integral part of the overall promotion of domestic and foreign-related rule of law, and a realistic path for the international community to work together to address global challenges.
This is an inevitable requirement for China's consistent and independent foreign policy of peace. Since the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence were formally put forward in 1954, successive Chinese leaders have unswervingly pursued these five principles in their foreign exchanges, and have continued to enrich their connotations and practices. Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has injected fresh blood into the development of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence. The concept of "community with a shared future for mankind" and "amity, sincerity, benefit and tolerance", and the joint construction of the Belt and Road Initiative, the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative and the Global Civilization Initiative are the continuation and creative development of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence in the new era.
This is the proper meaning of China's overall promotion of domestic and foreign-related rule of law in the new era. Domestically, the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence are not only China's consistent foreign policy, but have also been written into the Constitution, the Foreign Relations Law and many other laws, and have become a domestic legal principle. From an international point of view, the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence are not only the basic norms governing international relations, but also constitute one of the important basic principles of modern international law and constitute the source of international law. Continuing to adhere to the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence is an inevitable requirement for China to practice the rule of law and to promote the rule of law at home and abroad.
This is a practical need for the international community to overcome the difficulties and meet the challenges together. At present, the international security situation is grim and complex, the world economic recovery is sluggish and slow, and the global order is facing many challenges. However, the international community does not lack rules, but rather a lack of compliance with them; There is not a lack of flags, but a lack of reverence for them. Continuing to practice the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence is a practical need for all countries to work together to address global challenges.
Yangcheng Evening News: At present, we are jointly responding to the multiple crises and challenges in the world today, and responding to the call of the people of all countries for peace, development and cooperation. How should the international community better inherit and promote the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence?
Huang Huikang: At present, the world has entered a new period of turbulence and change. Hegemonic and bullying behaviors such as bullying the weak, taking advantage of the weak, and zero-sum games are deeply harmful, and the deficits in peace, development, security, and governance are aggravated, and human society is facing unprecedented challenges. Continuing to advocate and uphold the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence in the new situation is a realistic way for all countries to work together to address global challenges, and it is also the best commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence.
On the premise of mutual respect, we should advocate an equal and orderly multipolar world. Sovereign equality remains the most important norm and the basic principle of international law governing relations between States. On the basis of sovereign equality, all countries should respect each other, including each other's sovereign independence, territorial integrity and political independence, respect the development path and social system independently chosen by the people of all countries, respect the efforts made by all countries to safeguard their own political security and social stability, respect the practice of all countries in promoting economic and social development and promote people's livelihood and well-being, respect the right of all countries to choose their own dispute settlement methods, and respect the legitimate security concerns of all countries. Equal multipolarization means that all countries, big or small, strong or weak, are equal subjects in law, have equal rights, equal opportunities, equal rules, and participate in the process of multipolarization, enjoy rights, and play a role on an equal footing. Orderly multipolarization means jointly abiding by the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, jointly adhering to the universally agreed basic norms governing international relations, and cooperating with each other in the process of global governance.
It is necessary to pursue win-win cooperation and promote economic globalization that is inclusive and inclusive. Mankind is a community with a shared future, and win-win cooperation should become the basic policy orientation of all countries in handling international affairs. It is necessary to establish a new concept of win-win, multi-win, and win-win, abandon the old thinking that you lose and I win, and the winner takes all, adhere to the correct concept of justice and interests, and maintain a fair and reasonable international economic order. Inclusive globalization means properly resolving the imbalance in development between and within countries brought about by the global allocation of resources, so that the fruits of economic and social development can benefit the people of all countries. Inclusive globalization means supporting the development model that countries choose independently based on their national conditions, refraining from unilateralism and protectionism that harms others and themselves, or even harms others and themselves, and opposes all forms of "anti-globalization".
We should aim for peaceful coexistence and support the diversity of civilizations based on inclusiveness and mutual learning. We should not only respect the different civilizations nurtured by different histories, national conditions, nationalities and customs, but also work together to promote the mutual learning and integration of different civilizations in exchanges, and adhere to the concept of civilization based on equality, mutual learning, dialogue and inclusiveness, so as to promote the creative development of human civilization. We oppose the "clash of civilizations" and "the superiority and inferiority of civilizations", oppose the exclusion and suppression of dissidents, oppose the export of "democracy" and "freedom" values to intensify confrontation, and oppose linking terrorism to specific ethnic groups and religions.
It is necessary to rely on the international rule of law to promote democracy and the rule of law in international relations. The international rule of law is the common pursuit of mankind and an important guarantee for the democratization of international relations. It is necessary to strengthen international legislation, promote global good governance with good international law, ensure that all countries participate in the formulation of rules on an equal footing, ensure that international rules comprehensively, balance and fairly reflect the rights, obligations and responsibilities of all countries, and balance the interests of all countries and the common interests of the international community, so as to continuously consolidate and develop a universally recognized system of international law based on the Charter of the United Nations. In order to impartial international justice, international judicial institutions should uphold an objective and impartial position, interpret and apply the rules of international law in a comprehensive, accurate, equal and uniform manner, carry out judicial activities strictly within the scope of the authorization of the international community, and avoid exceeding their powers or expanding their powers. States should also continue to create an international environment in which they can perform their duties independently and without interference. To deepen law enforcement and judicial cooperation, all countries should carry out cross-border pursuit of fugitives and recover stolen goods in accordance with universally recognized international law, crack down on drug crimes, cyber crimes, terrorist crimes, etc., and resolutely oppose acts that infringe on the sovereignty of other countries under the pretext of fighting crimes.
It is necessary to take multilateralism as the banner and firmly establish the image of a fair and just major country. The evolution of the international situation has repeatedly shown that sharing a common destiny and being closely related is the greatest reality in today's world, and that solidarity and win-win cooperation are the only way to meet challenges. All countries should firmly uphold the authority of the United Nations, take a clear-cut stand against the practice of closed bloc politics under the guise of multilateralism, or the imposition of "family laws and regulations" on the international community by a few countries, and personally resist the ideologization of multilateralism. We should firmly uphold international law based on the Charter of the United Nations, guard against the erosion of universally recognized international law and basic norms governing international relations by the remnants of hegemonist and colonialist international law, and use uniformly applicable international law to guide the practice of international relations.
In today's world, the international order based on international law and the international system with the United Nations at its core have been severely impacted, and true multilateralism has been challenged by various forms of pseudo-multilateralism. Seventy years ago, the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence made a historic contribution to the establishment of a new type of international relations that are just and reasonable. Today, the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence remain of great normative value over time. Taking the 70th anniversary as an opportunity to dig deep into the connotation of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence and continue to carry forward its spiritual core, continue to contribute more Chinese wisdom to the international community under the guidance of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, and help realize true multilateralism and good law and good governance in the international community, it is also the historical mission of major-country diplomacy with Chinese characteristics in the new era.
Editor: Wu Jiahong
Source: Golden Sheep Network