The United States and China in Power Transition - Strategic Studies ...

opposed Soviet hegemony over the communist world
during the latter part of the Cold War). In recent years,
China has taken a step forward to propose change to
the U.S.-led hegemonic order. China’s alternative is
a “harmonious world construct,” 34 an idea based on
a combination of Confucius’ teaching, China’s longheld
Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, 35 and
other Chinese views. On September 15, 2005, Chinese
President Hu Jintao took the opportunity of the 60th
anniversary of the United Nations (UN) to present this
call to the world leaders gathering at the UN headquarters
in New York. In his speech, Hu also rolled
out a roadmap for the construction of this harmonious
world:
• uphold multilateralism and strengthen the UN,
the collective security mechanism, and the authority
of the UN Security Council to realize
common security;
• uphold mutually beneficial cooperation to
achieve common prosperity, reduce the uneven
economic development between the rich and
the poor countries, and establish a new international
economic order that is fair for all, but not
just for the rich Western nations (with expected
reforms in international commercial, financial,
trading, and natural resources-development
systems);
• uphold the spirit of inclusiveness to build a
harmonious world in which different political
and cultural entities can co-exist; and,
• promote UN reform actively and prudently. 36
Chinese leaders celebrate the promulgation of this
harmonious world construct as a shining milestone in
China’s foreign policy and in world affairs. Indeed,
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