China matches its deeds to the Global Security Initiative
By Qian Feng
Today, as the deficits in global peace, development security and governance are rising, rising bloc confrontations and stagnant security cooperation among major countries are also increasingly edging towards division and confrontation. With the danger of peace and development dissolving, the Global Security Initiative (GSI) proposed by China is a responsible and timely move.
Introduced by President Xi Jinping at the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference last year, it embodies the concept of a community with a shared future for all and puts forward China’s solution to international security challenges.
The GSI focuses on the concept of common, integration, integrated, cooperative and sustainable security, respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the countries, the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, the reasonable security concerns of the countries, peaceful settlement of differences and disputes between countries through dialogue and consultation, and the security of traditional and non-traditional fields. This not only embodies the core of the concept of a community with a shared future for mankind, but also provides China’s solution to meet international security challenges.
Over the past year, China has been firm in implementing the GSI. So far, more than 80 national and regional organizations have expressed their appreciation and support for the initiative. Not long ago, Saudi Arabia and Iran signed a joint statement in Beijing, announcing their agreement to restore diplomatic ties, which became a vivid practice of the initiative.
The international community generally regards the Beijing talks as the most important turning point in relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia since 2016. With the changes in the international and regional situation, the two countries share common expectations and demands in handling regional affairs and cooperation in energy, security and other fields. As a reliable mediator, China has keenly seized this opportunity to promote peace talks, helped the two countries get closer together, and effectively promoted regional security and stability.
To analysts who observe the situation in the Middle East, China’s successful mediation diplomacy makes the two regional powers convert enemies into friends, builds a new geopolitical pattern in the Middle East, and plays a positive spillover to gradually solve many difficult problems in this region, such as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Yemen civil war, etc. In the current world under the cloud of conflicts, the situation in the Middle East, not only highlights the international security situation but also shows that peace and development is the direction of people’s heart and the trend of the times. This is also a true reflection of China’s efforts to implement its global security initiatives and make positive efforts to safeguard global security.
China’s efforts to implement the GSI have been going on. Not long ago, China issued a document on China’s Position on the Political Settlement of the Ukraine Crisis. In this document, China’s propositions are in line with the GSI, that is, dialogue and negotiation are the only viable way to solve the Ukraine crisis. The international community has responded positively to this document. The Russian Foreign Ministry expressed “high appreciation” on the same day the document was released. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called it a “positive signal.” The spokesman for the UN Secretary-General also regarded the document as an important contribution.
In addition, as the anniversary of GSI approaches, China also officially released the Global Security Initiative Concept Paper which illustrates the core concept and principles of the initiative and puts forward a more systematic thinking, more feasible measures, further for this initiative to go deep and solid planning of the path forward.
Looking back over the past decade, China has put forward many farsighted initiatives, the top design being the concept of a community with a shared future for mankind. These are all rooted in China’s independent foreign policy and consistent advocacy for peace and show China living up to its position as a responsible major country.
It is believed that with the joint efforts of all parties, the GSI will take root and bear fruit, help all countries blaze a new path of security featuring dialogue without confrontation, partnership without alliance, win-win cooperation rather than zero-sum game, and jointly safeguard world peace and stability.
* Qian Feng is a senior research fellow at the National Strategic Institute, Tsinghua University and Taihe Institute.
