China's road map for development worth studying, says Japan's Fukuda

Former Japanese prime minister Yasuo Fukuda has spoken highly of President Xi Jinping's proposal for building a community with a shared future for mankind and creating a better world.

Xi, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, expounded on the idea while delivering a report at the 19th National Congress of the CPC in Beijing in October.

Fukuda, who was prime minister from 2007-08, told participants at the third round of the annual dialogue between Chinese and Japanese business leaders and former high-ranking officials in Tokyo last month that Xi's road map for China's development deserves intensive study in Japan.

"Above all, China is committed to working together with the rest of the world to build a brand new world order based on respect, fairness and reciprocity," said Fukuda, who made a secret visit to Beijing in 2014 as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's special envoy to mend ties with China.

Liu Di, professor of political science at Tokyo-based Kyorin University, said the proposal to build a community with a shared future for mankind is of great significance to China and the world.

"There are many communities in the world's history. But all of them have a problem: coordination within each of the communities and among different communities," Liu said.

In the past, there were people who came up with the idea of building universal harmony in the world, but their ideals ended up being wild fancies, the professor said, thanks to outmoded technology and productivity.

Xi's proposal has come at the advent of an unprecedented technological revolution, which is transforming people's existence and way of life, bringing positive factors and dangers alike.

"On the one hand, humans have never needed solidarity and close cooperation like today," Liu said. "On the other, we can't take it for granted that all is right with the world because of the grand proposal."

Because crises have put the world to a severe test, the international community needs to be farsighted and have the courage to break the barriers caused by racial, cultural and ideological differences and conflicts, the professor said.

He suggested that all countries, civic groups and individuals change their mindset and behavior in order to coordinate and safeguard human civilizations.

Noriyoshi Ehara, chief economist at the Institute of International Trade and Investment in Tokyo, said China's proposal for building a community with a shared future for mankind is in keeping with a world trend.