独善其身

dú shàn qí shēn

 

Meaning: to go it alone

 

In his speech on May 15 to the Belt and Road Summit, Xi Jinping used this chengyu to explain that in the face of global challenges, no country has the power to solve these problems on their own; cooperation is critical. This is a tough chengyu to translate, as it can mean different things depending on the context. It is a dependable one to use, however, when trying to get across this idea of the need for cooperation when facing global challenges.

 

Original: 面对挑战，各国都在探讨应对之策，也提出很多很好的发展战略和合作倡议。但是，在各国彼此依存、全球性挑战此起彼伏的今天，仅凭单个国家的力量难以独善其身，也无法解决世界面临的问题。只有对接各国彼此政策，在全球更大范围内整合经济要素和发展资源，才能形成合力，促进世界和平安宁和共同发展。