Do not do unto others what you would not have others do unto you.

This is a line in The Analects of Confucius. It advises one to show empathy toward others, put oneself in another's shoes, and be generous and tolerant. Anyone who imposes their will on others will see their relationships founder. This is an important Confucian principle for handling inter-personal relations. The core values are respect, benevolence, equality and tolerance.

Xi Jinping cited this quotation at the Mexican Senate in June 2013, the German K?rber-Stiftung in March 2014, the UN Office at Geneva in January 2017, and the Special Summit to Commemorate the 30th Anniversary of the China-ASEAN Dialogue Relations in 2021, thereby reiterating that China will never waver in its pursuit of peaceful development, and never seek hegemony, expansion or spheres of influence.

己所不欲，勿施于人

“己所不欲，勿施于人”，出自《論語》，意為自己不喜歡的，也不要強加給對方。這一箴言強調設身處地、換位思考，認為人應該以對待自身行為的態度為參照物來對待他人，要寬宏大量，寬恕待人。倘若把自己不喜歡的硬推給他人，不僅會破壞彼此關系，還會讓事情變得僵持而不可收拾。這是儒家處理人與人關系的重要原則，體現了尊重、仁愛、平等和寬容的基本精神。

習近平于2013年6月在墨西哥參議院的演講、2014年3月在德國科爾伯基金會的演講、2017年1月在聯合國日內瓦總部的演講、2021年在中國—東盟建立對話關系30周年紀念峰會上的講話等多個場合，均引用了“己所不欲，勿施于人”這一箴言，闡明中國堅持和平發展道路，永不稱霸、永不擴張、永不謀求勢力范圍。