President Xi Jinping often tells international friends and Chinese diplomats that “China will uphold the right concept of morality and benefits.”

On September 2013, Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi published an article on the People’s Daily, in which he quoted President Xi’s interpretation of “the right concept of morality and benefits” as follows:

 “Morality reflects our ideals, the values of communists and socialist countries. China wishes the whole world to develop together and developing countries to develop even faster. All countries should abide by the principle of seeking mutual benefit rather than taking a zero-sum approach.”

Why should we adhere to the right concept of morality and benefits?

 “Currently, with the rapid development of economic globalisation and regional integration, different countries and regions have formed a relationship of mutual integration and shared stake. It has been determined that we must abandon the outdated zero-sum thinking in dealing with international relations. We should not harm others to benefit ourselves, and we must get rid of the old mentality of winner taking all. Only by giving consideration to both interests and brotherhood can we obtain both. And only by striking a balance between both can we achieve win-win results, ”said President Xi in July 2014 in his speech at Seoul National University of South Korea.

In modern times, according to Prof. Qin Yaqing, president of China Foreign Affairs University, western countries have been following the philosophy that “nations have no permanent friends or allies; they only have permanent interests.” They contend for power and profit and form alliances with some countries to confront other countries, leading to frequent wars. “China promises to adhere to the right concept of morality  and benefits. It indicates that China is an important force in safeguarding world peace, and it reflects China’s determination to stick to the road of peaceful development and its willingness to avoid wars between great powers.”

In reality, China has been adhering to the right concept of morality and benefits for decades. In the 1960s and 1970s, China sent tens of thousands of builders and technicians to aid in the construction of the Tanzania-Zambia railway in Africa—dozens of them lost their lives. In the past fifty years, China has sent 23,000 medical workers to 66 countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America. They have cumulatively treated 270 million patients and have won widespread praise among the people in these countries.

As China’s overall national strength increases since the reform and opening-up period, it is providing more foreign assistance and assuming more international responsibility than in the past.

China has forgiven the debt of the least developed countries, pledged RMB 20 billion (about USD 3.1 billion) to the South-South Cooperation Fund on Climate Change, and has provided USD 60 billion for 10 major China-Africa cooperation projects. By upholding the right concept of morality and benefits, China now has a louder say in international affairs.(Abridged from an article on People’s Daily Overseas Edition of August 11, 2016)