by Essam Sharaf

China's vision for modernization and building a community with a shared future for mankind represents a unique model for simultaneously achieving domestic development and promoting global cooperation.

Currently, China seeks to achieve domestic prosperity through Chinese modernization, which includes comprehensive and deep reforms, high-quality development and high-standard opening-up. On the other hand, China seeks to achieve global prosperity through building a community with a shared future for mankind.

Through the process of Chinese modernization, China seeks to achieve harmony between material civilization and spiritual civilization. Chinese modernization, in my view, covers four parallel aspects: political, economic, social and cultural.

High-quality development, a key component of the Chinese modernization process, means achieving comprehensive and sustainable economic growth based on innovation, green technologies and the highest added value.

Moreover, China has launched four global initiatives as part of its mechanisms to build a community with a shared future for mankind: the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative and the Global Civilization Initiative.

We all seek prosperity, and there can be no prosperity without development, no development without peace, no peace without trust and understanding, and no understanding without a platform for cooperation. This is the philosophy behind China's four initiatives.

The BRI represents a platform for international cooperation, and as far as I understand, it is based on two fundamental principles: connectivity and partnership.

The principle of connectivity includes hard connectivity, in fields such as infrastructure, roads, electricity, transportation and others, as well as soft connectivity through cultural exchanges and dialogue among civilizations.

The principle of partnership is based on joint planning, joint implementation and joint benefit, without political dictations.

China is a strong, civilized and peace-loving country. It seeks to achieve domestic development while simultaneously promoting cooperation with other countries to realize global development and build a community with a shared future for mankind.

Striking a balance between its growing internal strength and its expanding cooperation with the world, China continues to become increasingly prosperous. This balance defines China's character.

Building a community with a shared future for mankind does not mean imposing a single cultural or civilizational model on the world, but rather requires respecting the diversity of civilizations and cultures.

The world is home to many ethnicities, languages and traditions; thus, understanding and dialogue among civilizations form the foundation for achieving harmony among different cultures.

Major global challenges such as poverty, climate change and health crises cannot be overcome through arms races or bloc politics, but rather through genuine international cooperation that promotes sustainable development and shared prosperity.

Transforming security concerns into cooperation and partnership projects is the way to build a safer, fairer and more equitable world for all people.

When we believe in the concept of building a community with a shared future for mankind, all security and war-related concerns are transformed into cooperation, so that we could confront the major challenges facing the world through win-win economic cooperation instead of zero-sum commercial or technological competition.

Many people have grown up believing that everything good comes from the West and that Western democracy is the only model.

However, there is also the Global South, which represents about 85 percent of the world's population. Hence, international values should be inclusive, with all peoples participating in building a unified global order.

The Chinese modernization has been extended to the world through China's global initiatives. Achieving global prosperity requires convergence and harmony that lead to peace, development and positive cooperation among nations.

Civilizations that face challenges with a spirit of positivity, adaptability and innovation continue to advance, while those that fail to do so decline. Believing in the concept of building a community with a shared future for mankind represents a noble civilizational response to the current global challenges.

Our world faces two choices: Either we continue down the path of hostility, bloc formations and global chaos, or we cooperate and move toward security and peace, shaping a better world. Ultimately, only through positive cooperation can we overcome hardships and shape a shared future for all humanity.

Editor's note: Essam Sharaf is former Prime Minister of Egypt.

The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of Xinhua News Agency.