In China, liberalism refers politically to Western democracy and economically to a market economy. Despite the above differences, the liberalism in any country generally affirms the principles of equality, freedom, democracy, civil rights, secular government, international cooperation, and the resultant programmes in support thereof. Liberalism first became a distinct political movement after achieving a degree of popularity among Western philosophers and economists during the Age of Enlightenment. In the first half of the 20th century, Western liberalism spread from European democracies to other parts of the world, mainly due the dominance afforded by their victories in both world wars. In the aftermath of WWII, the United States became the de facto leading exponent of liberalism, and its hegemonic power signified the influence on international norms of the American liberalist values of equality and freedom. This is exemplified in Chapter I, Article 1, Clause 2, of the United Nations (UN) Charter reflecting the UN directive: 『To develop friendly relations among nations based on respect for the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples, and to take other appropriate measures to strengthen universal peace.』5
在中國，自由主義在政治上指的是西方民主，在經濟上指的是市場經濟。儘管有上述差異，但任何國家的自由主義都普遍肯定了平等、自由、民主、公民權利、世俗政府、國際合作以及由此產生的支持這些原則的方案。在啟蒙時代，自由主義受到了西方哲學家和經濟學家一定程度歡迎，成為一種獨特的政治運動。在20世紀上半葉，西方自由主義從歐洲民主國家蔓延到世界其他地區，這主要是因為他們在兩次世界大戰中的勝利使其佔據了主導地位。二戰後，美國成為自由主義事實上的主要倡導者，其霸權標誌著美國平等自由價值觀對國際規則的影響。《聯合國憲章》第一章第一條第二款，"在尊重各國人民平等權利和自決原則的基礎上發展各國之間的友好關係，並採取其他適當措施加強普遍和平」，這一對聯合國指令的反映就印證了這一點。