Then Premier Zhou Enlai speaks at the Bandung Conference. [Photo/Xinhua]

Bandung spirit

That conference gave birth to the Bandung Spirit, calling for solidarity, friendship and cooperation, seeking common ground while shelving differences and pursuing common development.

The Bandung Spirit served as an important foundation for building a new international political and economic order that is just and equitable, and provided guidance for developing countries to seek strength through unity and cooperation.

Containing the Ten Principles of Bandung on handling state-to-state relations and the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, the Bandung Spirit became a widely recognized set of norms for international relations.

The Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence are: mutual respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, mutual non-aggression, non-interference in each other's internal affairs, equality and mutual benefit, and peaceful coexistence.

Those principles represented a just call for independence, dignity and equality for oppressed nations, serving as a guiding principle for countries with the same or different social systems to build and grow friendly relations.

The principles also pointed out an effective way for seeking peaceful solutions to outstanding historical issues and disputes in the world, thus making historic contributions to the solidarity and cooperation among Asian and African countries.

Over the past 60 years, the basic principles set forth during the conference have been embraced by more and more countries in the world and the Bandung Spirit still holds great significance in guiding relations between nations, settling international disputes and maintaining world peace.