President Xi Jinping presents the five attributes of Chinese Civilization; continuity, creativity, unity, inclusiveness and peacefulness. These five guiding principles also fulfill the core ideas, essence and execution strategy of the Global Civilization Initiative. This article will examine the essential parameters of the initiatives, incorporating mutual respect between civilizations, transculturation, common development and intergovernmentalism. This initiative will elaborate the crucial development in China’s foreign policy approach, reflecting its increasing involvement in the global affairs and its desire to present a new form of world order particularly based on Chinese cultural values and modernization policy.
GCI ACT AS ‘FILTER’
In 2023 an online meeting hosted by Beijing, in which the Chinese officials gathered the political leaders from across the world for huge teleconference, where President Xi Jinping launched the Global Civilization Initiative. It is an attempt by the Peoples Republic of China to foster their relations with other countries around the world where GCI plays a formal role to interact the individuals from different cultures and convincing them that the Chinese way of running a country is a good one, even better then western democracy. Moreover, The International Department of the Communist Party of China (IDCPC) maintain frequent diplomatic engagements with foreign government officials which involves the training session of foreign political leaders and sending policy explanation delegations overseas. The most common example of this effort is the Nyerere Leadership School in Tanzania, backed by the CCP’S central party school in order to influence the China’s political models.
AMPLYFYING SIGNAL
Additionally, GCI also serves as a platform for dialogue and exchange programs, along with the political parties and foreign-based think tanks. This is done in order to conduct coordinated influence campaigns and to promote its own sphere of interest. Furthermore, it involves organizations such as those are linked to the United Front Work Department (UFWD) or The Ministry of State Security (MSS). This involvement provides a leverage to identify those individuals who may be considered as the useful assets later.
OPERATIONALIZING THE FILTER (CHINAS INSTITUTIONAL AND NETWORK PLATFORMS)
Likewise, China is enthusiastically working to enhance its global influence and leadership via a multi-faceted strategy. Beijing is playing an active role in shaping agendas and operation of international organizations like the United Nations. It also presented a proposal of co-led initiatives partner countries within the forums like The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and BRICS. In addition, China has chartered new, China-led multilateral platform including the forum on China-Africa cooperation (FOCAC) and the China-CELAC forum (with Latin America and Caribbean states). China is not only focusing on the development of formal relations but is also establishing informal relations through ‘circle of friends’ networks and party-to-party relations.
INTER-CIVILIZATIONAL COUNSTRUCTIVISM
The theory of constructivism explains that the interests and identities of the country are determined by shared ideas, norms, and social relations not only by just hard power. The concept of inter-civilizational constructivism further expands this theory by explaining that how the historical perspective of different nations plays a vital role in shaping the international norms. By referring the case of ‘century of humiliation’ China utilizes this historical narrative and considered as a peaceful continuous civilization as a step forward to establish an identity that justify its foreign policy. Where as the GCI represents a proactive effort to build a new global standard. it questions the norms of the current western-liberal order by introducing a new, multipolar and pluralistic framework grounded in civilizational equality. This initiative to promote and propose the GCI exemplifies constructivism in action. Seeking to reshape the intersubjective meanings of global politics.
CONCEPT OF TIANXIA
In China, the concept of governance is well-explained by the traditional Chinese concept ‘Tianxia’ meaning ‘all under heaven’, it basically glorifies a vision of unified world where all the countries and their corresponding cultures coexist in balance and prosperity. The main focus of this concept was that the leaders should encourage friendly-relations, trade and should influence the conception of diplomacy in order to balance in the world. In practice, it is considered as an attempt by China to establish alliances and friendly relations with the neighboring states as well as with the distant states based on the principal of mutual benefit. It also focuses on cultural engagement between the individuals of the two nations. This concept of Tianxia was not only limited for Chinese governance but can also be utilized by other foreign states. This concept further emphasis the importance of global collaboration to address common challenges like climate change, poverty, conflict and inequality. It in seemed to be in favor of a multipolar system rather than unipolar and bipolar world order, where all the countries have equal rights to participate on the global stage and can present their beliefs and agendas regarding to the formation of better world order. However, this concept also faces hurdles during the process of its implication due to the diverse cultural, political, and economic barriers between the nations of the world can make it difficult to build consensus and promote global cooperation. Despite of these challenges the concept of tianxia plays a very crucial role in promoting the world order entirely based on cooperation and mutual respect between the states of the world.
CSFM (COMMUNITY WITH SHARED FUTURE FOR MANKIND)
This principle of CSFM is considered as the first step of China towards the ‘interdependence’ in the international community. Under this perspective China is offering win-win cooperation to their partner countries including the projects such as BRI, GDI, GSI, GCI. These initiatives are referred as the major pillars of Chinese foreign policy, outlining China’s vision for a future world order. This vision further incorporated the five core components; New Security Architecture, Common development, Inter-civilizational exchanges, equal partnerships, green development.
CONCLUSION
China with the help of its Global Civilization Initiative aimed to promote its deeply-rooted cultural narratives in order to enhance the existing world order. They are actively participating in cultural exchange programs to promote their ideas and subtly recognize individuals who might be sympathetic to their views. they envision a world what they call tianxia where all cultures and countries coexist peacefully, they want truly a multipolar world where every individual of the world has equal rights. According to them their historical perspectives and cultural norms are very essential for the proper governance and they offer the whole world to adopt their style of governance which will be very helpful for all nations.
Participant of ICSF-UoS Fellowship Program 2025-26 at University of Sargodha.
