GENEVA, March 7 (Xinhua) -- The concept championed by Chinese President Xi Jinping of building "a community with a shared future for mankind" corresponds to the situation in today's world, where nobody can prosper alone, said the chief of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU).
In the current world, "you can only prosper if those around you are prospering," IPU Secretary-General Martin Chungong said in a recent interview with Xinhua.
Since Xi expounded the idea in a landmark keynote speech at the United Nations Office at Geneva in January 2017, the vision has gained broader international recognition for offering Chinese solutions to global challenges.
"This concept is commensurate with the global thinking today," Chungong told Xinhua at the Geneva headquarters of the IPU, a long-standing international organization that will mark the 130th anniversary of its founding next year.
"The world is no longer a conglomerate of individual countries or nation states. We all belong to one community today," he said. "When we look at the challenges that are facing us today, we cannot say they are particular to China, or Switzerland or Cameroon or other countries."
For instance, what is happening in Cameroon may have ramifications in China or in Europe, said the IPU chief, a national of the west African country of Cameroon.
He pointed out that there are many problems that concern all nations, such as migration and the fight against terror, and that must be taken as global issues instead of local ones.
"When you look at climate, I think of a former UN secretary-general who said climate change has no national passport. It has no borders. So, I am very supportive of this notion," said Chungong.
The China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative, he said, is consistent with the concept of building a community with a shared future for mankind.
"If you build a railway that goes from Europe to eastern Asia and people along the route can benefit from this, why not?" he said.
Brushing away allegations that the rise of China might be a threat to the outside world, the IPU head said the ascent of China as a major global player is a "legitimate ambition."
"It is legitimate for any country or for any leaders to make their country great," he said. "What is important here is to promote cooperation in a win-win environment, as President Xi has promised."