Initiated in 1954, the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence is an important international relations tenet created by the three Asian countries, which includes mutual respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, mutual non-aggression, non-interference in each other's internal affairs, equality and mutual benefit, and peaceful coexistence.

In the early 1950s, late Chinese leader Mao Zedong announced that China should fight for lasting world peace, that Beijing would never be aggressive toward any countries, and that it would not permit imperialism and aggression against China. He also said the Chinese people have the right to decide their country's affairs and China would not allow any other country to interfere in its internal matters. Mao added that China will also never interfere in the internal affairs of other countries. These ideas formed the rudiment of the Five Principles.

The Five Principles were first put forward by then Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai at a meeting with the Indian delegation for negotiations on bilateral relations in China's Tibet region in December 1953. The principles were later incorporated into the Agreement on Trade and Intercourse Between the Tibet Region of China and India released on April 29, 1954. In June that year, Premier Zhou visited India and Myanmar, then known as Burma. The joint statements issued between Zhou and his Indian and Burmese counterparts affirmed the Five Principles as guiding principles for China-India and China-Burma relations.