A military band plays at the grand parade marking the 80th anniversary of victory in the Soviet Union's Great Patriotic War in Moscow, Russia, May 9, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua]
ByStephen Ndegwa
With the 80th anniversary of victory in the Soviet Union's Great Patriotic War upon us, China's enduring commitment to the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence offers an alternative vision for global peace. Both China and Russia's role in the victory that ended World War II (WWII) has come into focus with Chinese President Xi Jinping's state visit to Russia, where he attended the grand parade marking the 80th anniversary in Moscow. The trip also consolidated bilateral ties with more than 20 cooperation documents signed.
When China articulated the Five Principles in the early 1950s – which pledge mutual respect for each other's territorial integrity and sovereignty, non-aggression, non-interference in each other's internal affairs, equality and mutual benefit, and peaceful co-existence – it did so not from a position of strength but of vulnerability. Surrounded by hostile powers, emerging from civil war, and confronting isolation by the Western bloc, China opted for a diplomatic doctrine that prioritized coexistence over confrontation. This was a strategic foresight.
Unlike Western-led frameworks which often blend political conditionality with aid, security guarantees, or military alliances, the Five Principles emphasize non-interference and mutual benefit. These are functional necessities in a world of uneven development, post-colonial sensitivities and multipolar aspirations. At a time when U.S.-led alliances are becoming more ideologically rigid, from AUKUS, the trilateral security partnership between Australia, the UK and the U.S., to Quad, the security and diplomatic alliance of Australia, India, Japan and the U.S., to NATO's expanding footprint in Asia, China's model offers a non-coercive alternative.
Crucially, these principles have not remained stuck in the past. They have evolved into major global initiatives, such as the Global Development Initiative (GDI) and the Global Security Initiative (GSI), which respond directly to today's governance gaps. The GDI, for example, reframes development as the core of security, an insight validated by crises from the Sahel, the geographic region in north-central Africa, to Gaza in the Middle East.
The GSI challenges the dominance of alliance-based security by advocating for indivisible, inclusive, and common security, a concept strikingly absent in many Western doctrines that see stability primarily through the lens of deterrence and force projection.
In today's global discourse, the memory of WWII is often invoked selectively. In some quarters, it is used to legitimize militarized postures under the guise of resisting "aggression," while ignoring their own history of invasion, regime change, and proxy warfare. The post-war liberal order, once a platform for dialogue and reconstruction, is increasingly being used as a tool of exclusion.
This weaponization of historical memory is particularly dangerous when it distorts the role of countries like China. For instance, the narrative that paints China's rise as inherently revisionist ignores decades of restraint. China has not fought a war in over four decades, nor overthrown foreign governments. It has pursued its interests through trade, infrastructure investment, and diplomatic forums.
Even in its assertiveness over territorial issues, China has pursued legal and multilateral avenues, such as negotiations within the ASEAN framework and references to historical treaties. The tensions in the South China Sea and Taiwan Strait must be understood within a broader context of pressures to contain China, arms sales to the region, which threaten stability, and blatant external interference.
Commemorating the end of war must not be confused with the absence of open conflict. True peace requires the institutionalization of trust. It requires not just disarmament agreements or military de-escalation, but inclusive development, cultural exchange, and mutual recognition of political systems and historical experiences.
The Chinese People's Liberation Army Guard of Honor at the grand parade for the 80th anniversary of victory in the Soviet Union's Great Patriotic War in Moscow, Russia, May 9, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua]
China's diplomacy, though not without challenges, has consistently worked toward such peace-building mechanisms. From the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank to its active role in UN peacekeeping missions, China has offered public goods without demanding political alignment. It has mediated in Middle Eastern disputes, facilitated talks between Saudi Arabia and Iran and remained engaged with both Russia and Ukraine, a balancing act few Western powers can claim.
The global order emerging today is not a simple return to Cold War bipolarity. Instead, we are seeing the rise of a complex multipolarity, where non-alignment becomes a strategic choice. In this landscape, China's emphasis on peaceful coexistence resonates with many countries that reject binary alliances and yearn for stability without submission.
Rather than viewing China's global role with suspicion, the international community would do well to engage with its proposals on their own terms. Peaceful coexistence is not a panacea, but it is a necessary foundation, one built not on dominance or deterrence, but on dignity and dialogue.
As we commemorate the 80th anniversary of the end of WWII, we face a stark choice. We can let history calcify into myth, serving only to justify present power plays. Or we can treat history as a living guide, an urgent call to build structures that prevent war, rather than just avenge it.
China's diplomatic tradition, shaped by suffering and anchored in principles, offers a distinct and credible path forward. In revisiting the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, we are not indulging in nostalgia. We are recovering a framework that, if taken seriously, can help steer the 21st century away from the precipice, and toward a more stable, equitable and truly peaceful international order.
Stephen Ndegwa, a special commentator for CGTN, is the executive director of South-South Dialogues, a Nairobi-based communications development think tank.