XI JINPING’S FIVE PRINCIPLES OF PEACEFUL COEXISTENCE IN THE CONTEXT OF THE YIN-YANG SCHOOL OF THOUGHT

Abstract

China is being characterized as the sleeping dragon that has been awakened and is starting on its quest on world domination. The rise of China and strengthening of its economic power and military prowess are seen to be a result of this awakening. Given the burgeoning role of China in the global arena, understanding its foreign policy is integral in predicting and observing how it operates and propels itself to be a global power. This paper will be two-pronged in analysis as it will first [1] focus on President Xi Jinping’s Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, which 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; and [2] see how the principle of five elements (wood, water, fire, metal, and earth) is represented and employed within these policies. Each principle will be dissected using the Yin-Yang school of thought as apparatus, since understanding that these are premised on Chinese philosophical thought will deepen the overall understanding of the said policies. The Yin-Yang school of thought will be employed through determining which of the five principles in the foreign policy represent and correspond to the five elements. In this identification of the five elements in the principles, there will also be a synthesis of how the policy can be seen as a whole and as parts, that will contribute to the overall understanding of how China makes sense of being a global power in the 21st century.