The 54th annual session of the Asian-African Legal Consultative Organization (AALCO) was held in Beijing from April 13 to 17. It was attended by Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and more than 200 representatives from member and observing states and important international organizations such as UN agencies and the International Court of Justice.

He Wenping, senior researcher at the Charhar Institute and senior research fellow of the Institute of West-Asian and African Studies, the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, thinks China hosting the AALCO annual session has given special significance to strengthening Asia-Africa legal cooperation and increasing the two continents' international discourse power as well as influence on international laws. Excerpts of He's views follow:

The year 2015 marks the decade anniversaries of two important historical events: the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II in September and the 60th anniversary of the Asian African Conference (also known as the Bandung Conference) in April. The Bandung Conference is an important international conference independently held by 29 Asian and African countries after World War II, marking the debut of developing countries on the world stage as an emerging force.

As an outcome of the Bandung Conference, the Asian-African Legal Consultative Organization (AALCO) was established in November 1956, serving as the only platform for legal consultation and cooperation across the two continents.

The Bandung Conference was an important international event attended by the Chinese Government after the founding of the People's Republic in 1949. Following the principle of seeking common ground while reserving differences, the conference enabled Asian and African countries to understand, learn more about and respect one another. The Bandung spirit characterized by mutual understanding, mutual respect, mutual tolerance, and learning from one another not only strengthened unity among Asian and African countries, but also constituted the basic spirit of the rule of law in the international community.

The Bandung spirit should be carried forward to improve the sole platform of international legal exchange and cooperation across Asia and Africa. In his keynote speech at the opening ceremony, Premier Li Keqiang pointed out, "the rule of law and order is indispensable for world peace, Asian and African progress, as well as the development of all countries." Li proposed that legal cooperation among Asian and African countries be strengthened in five ways: promoting the international political order in a more just and reasonable way; promoting the world economy in a more open and orderly way; endeavoring to maintain global and regional peace and stability; jointly addressing global non-traditional security challenges; and actively deepening exchanges and cooperation in the rule of law in the international community.

To promote legal cooperation, Asian and African countries should improve governance capacity, increase anti-graft efforts, and cooperate in anti-graft campaigns. At a practical level, Asian-African legal cooperation can be improved by cooperating to track down fugitives suspected of crimes and repatriating them. At the academic level, it can be done by strengthening legal research.

The AALCO should be developed into a more extensive and solid platform. China has expressed its willingness to contribute to that. Li told the session that China will fund an exchange and research program on international law with the AALCO to help the organization's development and promote cooperation in the rule of law in the international community.

Improving discourse power 

For a long time, Western countries, due to their political, economic and military advantages and cultural hegemony, have been occupying the moral high ground. They have been controlling discourse in the international community under the guise of upholding democracy, freedom and human rights. International structures reflect the wills and interests of developed countries in value orientations, legal systems and institutional arrangements.

Many Asian and African countries with the painful history of being colonized or semi-colonized lost valuable resources and were deprived of the right to development. As a result, they are now facing unprecedented development challenges.

After winning independence and national dignity following decades of struggle, Asian and African countries especially value national sovereignty and are averse to interfering in other countries' internal affairs, provoking secession, or even subverting legitimate governments under the pretext of humanitarianism. The governments and academic circles of Asian and African countries should raise their collective voices on multilateral international platforms and forums to increase their discourse power and influences.

Asia and Africa are the two fastest growing economies with abundant experience in economic development and governance for transitional countries. Such experience can help persuade international society to focus more on development issues, help developing countries reduce poverty, and realize sustainable development. It can also promote UN discussions on development programs after 2015 (when the Millennium Development Goals deadline ends).

For this purpose, the Chinese Government initiated the Belt and Road Initiatives (the plan for multinational economic development through the land-based Silk Road Economic Belt and the Maritime Silk Road) and proposed an Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.

Against this backdrop of international political and economic cooperation, international law involving international relations, financial cooperation and development is in a dynamic process of replacing old contents with new. The AALCO can play a unique role to improve Asian and African countries' discourse power and influence in international law.