Harmony Under Heaven
Closely related to the idea of harmony between the upper and the lower, this notion extends the status of harmony to relations among different states and further to all under heaven. Harmony among all states or harmony under heaven was the most ideal social state in the eyes of the ancient Chinese.
The ancient Chinese had a grand world view, rather than confining themselves to narrow nationalism. The ideas such as "bringing peace to all states" and "realizing the ideal of universal harmony" all embody their pursuit of a harmonious world, and manifest their ideal design of the world order and basic orientation toward harmony and mutual benefit. This fully shows that dealing with international relations according to the Hehe philosophy has always been China's consistent position since ancient times.
和合天下
和合天下，是在上下和合基础上，进一步把和谐状态拓展到国与国之间，进而推广到整个天下。和合天下、和合万国，是古人心目中最理想的一种社会状态。
中国古人对于世界的看法是一种宏大的天下观，而非狭隘的国家主义。“协和万邦”“大同理想”等，都体现了和合天下的思想境界，表达出古人对于世界秩序的理想设计，强调了和谐互利的基本取向。这充分表明，秉持和合理念处理国际关系，是中国自古以来的一贯立场。
