China offers solutions for global security

Initiative unveiled by president says all nations’ concerns deserve attention

As the Russia-Ukraine conflict continues and its spillover effects loom large, the Global Security Initiative proposed by President Xi Jinping with a vision of upholding “common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable” security has offered China’s solution to the world’s security dilemmas, according to analysts.

The key element of the initiative, which was unveiled by Xi when he delivered a keynote speech via video on Thursday at the opening ceremony of the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2022, is that the legitimate security concerns of all countries should be taken seriously and no country’s security should be built at the cost of others’ security.

In an article published by the People’s Daily on Sunday, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi wrote that the initiative responds to the urgent demand of the international community for upholding world peace and preventing conflicts and wars, and it contributes Chinese wisdom to addressing the peace deficit of humanity and coping with global security challenges.

With today’s world facing unprecedented risks of division, the initiative also meets the common aspirations of countries around the world to uphold multilateralism and safeguard international solidarity, Wang wrote.

China’s security initiative underlines the need to stay committed to respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries, abide by the purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter, reject Cold War mentality, oppose unilateralism and say no to group politics and bloc confrontation.

It also calls for upholding the principle of indivisible security and building a balanced, effective and sustainable security architecture.

Bobby Naderi, a London-based journalist and documentary filmmaker, said that Xi’s proposal of the Global Security Initiative at the Boao Forum for Asia could offer portals to a different world in which not just one country or group of nations decides the security fate of others, but rather the whole world has a say.

“Now is the time for global security cooperation and peace. The global pandemic and the Ukraine crisis are not a world war, but just like the wars, they have to lead to an all-inclusive new world order that’s fair and just,” Naderi said in an opinion piece published on the website of China Global Television Network. “As maintained by President Xi, they ought to encourage countries to function based on values and principles which work for people and the planet.”

In 2014, at the fourth summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia in Shanghai, Xi proposed a common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security strategy for Asia.

In the following years, Xi has continuously developed the concept and advocated it on various international occasions. According to the Chinese president, the world cannot just have security for one or a few countries while leaving others insecure, and each has an equal right to participate in regional security affairs and equal responsibility to uphold security.

Xi’s security vision also encourages countries to resolve disputes through peaceful means and oppose the arbitrary use of military force or threats.

With such a vision, China has been endeavoring to advance the building of a community with a shared future for mankind, in which countries work together toward a world of universal security and common prosperity.

Bradley Blankenship, a Prague-based political analyst and freelance reporter, said that the Global Security Initiative proposed by Xi essentially hinges on multilateralism and adherence to fundamental international law, such as noninterference and diplomacy-first conflict resolution.

“This is clearly relevant to the conflict in Ukraine, which is seeing a bloc of countries attempt to control the international reaction while implementing policies that are divisive, generally counterproductive and impeding global development,” said Blankenship.

The initiative comes at a time when the Ukraine crisis has drawn global attention and the world is eager to find a way out. It well explains why China remains committed to promoting peace talks between Russia and Ukraine for a cease-fire after military conflict between them broke out on February 24.

During his extensive diplomatic engagements with the leaders of Russia, the United States, France, Germany and the European Union in the past weeks, Xi made China’s position about the Ukraine crisis clear: It calls for upholding international law and universally recognized norms governing international relations, acts in accordance with the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, and advocates the vision of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security.

Some observers have attributed the Russia-Ukraine conflict to Europe’s security imbalance, largely as a result of the Cold-War mentality of US-led NATO. In the meantime, they said China’s advocacy of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security contributes to regional and international peace and stability.

Hannan Hussain, an international security commentator and a former assistant researcher at the Islamabad Policy Research Institute in Pakistan, said that in the current context of Ukraine-Russia tension, equal recognition of each party’s legitimate concerns is key to synthesizing differences, with any view of absolute security risks complicating prospects for negotiated peace.

“Beijing continues to remind the world that productive talks and peace building are the only way out of current tensions. That understanding is chief to China’s contribution toward the peaceful development of the Ukraine situation,” Hussain said.

Furthering peaceful engagement on Ukraine, rather than pivoting toward ideology and military considerations, is what responsible diplomacy should be about, he added.

China’s Foreign Ministry has criticized Washington for moving to escalate tensions between Russia and Ukraine since the conflict began, fanning the flames of discord and forcing other countries to take sides.

Bambang Suryono, chairman of the Indonesian think tank Asia Innovation Study Center, told Xinhua News Agency that, unlike some Western countries’ unbalanced pursuit of their own security, China’s Global Security Initiative seeks common security and is conducive to building an international order based on mutual respect, equality and mutual trust.

Shakeel Ramay, chief executive officer of the Asian Institute of Eco-civilization Research and Development, said that if the world wants to build a new security framework that is fairer and more equitable, it should act on the Global Security Initiative.