The new form of international relations advocated by China is different from the old practices driven by the Cold War mentality and the zero-sum game.

The formation of this concept has evolved over a couple of years. A similar term first appeared in the report to the 18th National Congress of the CPC, which proposed "a new type of global development partnership that is more equitable and balanced".

When addressing the Moscow State Institute of International Relations in March 2013, Xi Jinping brought up the idea of "building a new form of international relations characterized by cooperation and mutual benefit".

At the Central Conference on Work Relating to Foreign Affairs in November 2014, he instructed, "We should pursue cooperation for mutual benefit, promote the building of a new form of international relations characterized by cooperation and mutual benefit, implement a mutually beneficial strategy of opening up, and apply the idea of win-win cooperation in every aspect of our foreign cooperation in politics, economy, security and culture."

In his report to the 19th National Congress of the CPC in October 2017, Xi stated that "China remains firm in its commitment to forging a new form of international relations featuring mutual respect, fairness and justice, and win-win cooperation." Of all these elements, "win-win cooperation" is the core and basis of "mutual respect, fairness and justice".

A new form of international relations is a major vision developed by Xi Jinping and an important component of Xi Jinping thought on foreign affairs.