H.E. Chinese Ambassador Qi Zhenhong published the Fourth in a series of signed articles titled “Acting on the Global Security Initiative to Safeguard World Peace and Tranquility”, in the English-language mainstream media Daily News. Full text is as follows:
Security is the prerequisite for development. In the era of globalization, humanity is an indivisible security community. Today’s world is all in turmoil, with persistent global security challenges unseen before, regional clashes and crisis ceaselessly arising, geopolitical conflicts constantly escalating, and traditional and non-traditional security threats intertwining. Unfortunately, the existing global security governance architecture has proven inadequate in addressing these accumulating deficits of peace and security. “What kind of security concept does the world need and how can all countries achieve common security?” has become the task of the times for everyone.
In this context, President Xi Jinping proposed for the first time the Global Security Initiative (GSI) at the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference, stressing that we should stay committed to the vision of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security; stay committed to respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries; stay committed to abiding by the purposes and principles of the UN Charter; stay committed to taking the legitimate security concerns of all countries seriously; stay committed to peacefully resolving differences and disputes between countries through dialogue and consultation; stay committed to maintaining security in both traditional and non-traditional domains. The GSI offers an alternative revealing perspective on international relations to such current dominating western security conceptions as Thucydides Trap or Clash of Civilizations. It answers the calls of present-day international community, and provides China’s solution to global security challenges.
China officially released the GSI Concept Paper in February of 2023，which expounds the core ideas and principles of the GSI and lays out 20 priorities of cooperation. To sum it up: First, upholding the UN’s central role in security governance. Second, promoting coordination and sound interactions among major countries. Third, facilitating peaceful settlement of hotspot issues through dialogue. Fourth, tackling traditional and non-traditional security challenges. Fifth, strengthening the system and capacity for global security governance.
The Concept Paper advocates the win-win mindset to address the complex and intertwined security challenges. It Upholds true multilateralism, represents a coordinated approach to safeguarding traditional and non-traditional security and seeks to promote the establishment of a balanced, effective and sustainable security architecture. It thus offers a new approach to eliminating the root causes of international conflicts and achieving durable stability and security in the world, provides a new approach for improving global security governance.
The GSI is rooted in the fine traditional Chinese culture that values peace above everything else. The Chinese civilization, with a history of over 5,000 years, has always advocated the principle of peace, friendliness, and harmony, and embraced the idea of symbiosis and synergy as well as the concept of “the world as a family”. All these constitute the “civilizational genes” of the GSI. Since the founding of New China, the country has adhered to the path of peaceful development. It never started a war, never occupied one inch of foreign land, never engaged in proxy wars, and never participated in or organized any military bloc. Among the major countries, China has the best peace and security record. China is the first founding member of the United Nations to sign on the UN Charter. It firmly upholds the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, and advocates respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries. China has dispatched the most peacekeepers among the permanent members of the UN Security Council. It is the second largest contributor to the UN peacekeeping budget. China has played an important constructive role in the settlement of international and regional hotspot issues.
The GSI meets the pressing need of the international community to maintain world peace and prevent conflicts and wars. The world today is facing unprecedented risks of division. Some countries, stubbornly clinging to the outdated mindset of Cold War confrontation, are obsessed with building exclusive, small circles and blocs. They pursue unilateralism in the name of multilateralism, use double standards while touting their own rules, and practice hegemony under the guise of democracy. These acts have seriously undermined the international security order and aggravated the deficit in global security governance. Security is a right of all countries. It is not a prerogative of some, still less should it be decided by any individual country. For the sake of common well-being of mankind, the GSI replaces zero-sum games with dialogue and cooperation, isolation and exclusivity with openness and inclusiveness, and exclusivity with exchange and mutual learning. It links the future and destiny of all countries with common interests, challenges and responsibilities, and strive to share dignity, development benefits and security.
“Small boats may not survive a storm, but a giant ship is strong enough to brave a storm”. China stands ready to work with all peace-loving countries and peoples committed to development to carry out the GSI put forward by President Xi Jinping, open up a broad path toward lasting peace and universal security, and forge a strong synergy to build a community with a shared future for mankind. Let the torch of peace be passed on from generation to generation and the sound of peace echo throughout the world.