Theoretical Composition and Pluralistic Practice of China’s View of International Law in the New Era

In the new historical era, China’s view of international law presents a dichotomous structure in which the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence and the concept of building a community of shared future are mutually supportive and intrinsically connected. This pattern stems from China’s “middle way” strategy of “inclusive improvement” of the current rule-based international order. In the “inclusive” dimension, China firmly upholds the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, while in the “improved” one, China advocates more the idea of community of shared future. A systematic review of China’s pluralistic practice of international law in the post-Cold War era reveals that the practice and the concept of international law do not “echo” each other as a whole, and there is even still a considerable internal tension between them. In the field of international law practice focusing on the Five Principles, the reason for the uneven prominence of the concepts is that the traditional international order based on the concept of sovereignty is an effective hedging mechanism for China to alleviate its upward pressure; In the field of international law practice, which focuses on the concept of a community of shared future, the current international order is not conducive to the objective construction of a new concept by latecomers, the concept itself needs to be refined, and China’s comprehensive capacity in international law is still relatively weak, which together limit the effective transformation of the concept.