Experts and scholars had in-depth discussions on the role of Asia in shaping global governance and development on Friday, at a commemorative sub-forum on the 70th anniversary of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence.
The sub-forum focusing on the Contemporary Value of Asian Wisdom was one of the commemorative events under the theme of "From the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence to Building a Community with a Shared Future for Mankind."
Seventy years ago, as newly independent countries aspired to safeguard their sovereignty and grow their national economy, the Chinese leadership specified the Five Principles in their entirety for the first time, namely, mutual respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, mutual non-aggression, mutual non-interference in each other's internal affairs, equality and mutual benefit, and peaceful coexistence.
"The Five Principles were extremely advanced thinking for the period, because they actually captured at that historic moment what was going to be the big problem, which is, they were now independent, was their independence going to be respected, was their sovereignty going to be violated, and so on. So, this was absolutely critical framework for their development," said Martin Jacques, former Senior Fellow at the Department of Politics and International Studies, Cambridge University.
Seventy years on, experts said, China plays a crucial role in global governance in a world facing increasing uncertainties.
"The world has changed, and China is now no longer... although it is a developing country, it is a highly well-developed global influence that has transformed its development in the last 40 years, has transformed the possibility for nations in the areas which included the original agreements for the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence," said Stephen Brawer, chairman of the Belt and Road Institute in Sweden.
Confirming Asia's key role in global development, Jacques said the process of addressing common challenges has been driven from Asia.
"Asia is over half of the world's population. The transformation that has taken place, global transformation since 1954, is above all about Asia. I mean it's also about Africa, it's also about Latin America and so on, but Asia is where China is, India is, ASEAN is, so we are talking about big and powerful entities," said the expert.
Scholars, experts discuss Asian wisdom in global governance
China has intensified its flood control efforts as the country's Yangtze River is experiencing its 2024 "No.1 Flood".
Due to continuous rainfall, the water level of Taihu Lake has risen to 3.81 meters as of Sunday afternoon, with 24 monitoring stations exceeding the warning level. Currently, Suzhou City of east China's Jiangsu Province has raised the emergency flood response level to Level III.
"In just a short span of 15 and a half hours, the water level [at Taipu sluice gate] rose by 21 centimeters. At present, Taipu sluice gate is discharging water downstream in accordance with the instructions from the Taihu Lake Basin Authority," said Ze Zhenrong, director of the Taipu River Management Office, Taihu Lake Basin Authority.
According to meteorological forecasts, the Taihu Lake Basin will continue to experience rainfall in the next three days, leading to a continued rise in the water level of the lake. It is possible that the water level may exceed four meters, indicating a severe flood control situation.
Affected by persistent heavy rainfalls, multiple tributaries connected to Dongting Lake and Poyang Lake, China's two largest freshwater lakes, have seen major flooding.
At 09:00 on Sunday, the water level at the Chenglingji hydrological station of Dongting Lake, in central China's Hunan Province reached 33 meters, surpassing the warning line.
The city of Yueyang has mobilized over 3,000 grassroots Party organizations and more than 80,000 Party members and officials to conduct 24-hour patrols.
Due to rainfall, a road collapse occurred on the Yueyang section of Pingjiang-Dongko Expressway at 08:00 on Sunday. The traffic police implemented temporary traffic control measures. Thanks to a timely response, there were no vehicles falling or casualties at the scene. Currently, the site of the collapse is still undergoing emergency repairs.
Also, starting from Saturday, the water level in the Wushui River section of Xinhuan County in Hunan's Huaihua City has been continuously rising. Local authorities immediately began relocating affected residents to safe areas. By the early morning of Sunday, a total of 28,000 people had been relocated in the area.
In addition, the education bureau of Huaihua issued a notice on Sunday, suspending all offline educational activities in primary and secondary schools, kindergartens, and extracurricular training institutions throughout the city.
Due to continuous rainfall and upstream inflows, the water level of Poyang Lake in east China's Jiangxi Province continues to rise even after surpassing the warning level. As of 09:00 on Sunday, the water level at the lake's landmark Xingzi hydrological station had exceeded the warning level by 1.69 meters.
China intensifies disaster control efforts as Yangtze River sees first flood of 2024
