Currently, the globe is festered with security scourges—COVID-19 pandemic is still raging as the Russia-Ukraine conflict draws international concern, and conventional as well as unconventional security problems are posing combined threats. The hazard of unilateralism, hegemony and power politics is gathering pace, and the deficit on peace, security, trust and governance is on rise. Developing countries, in particular, is faced with imminent troubles such as rising oil prices, inflation and food shortage. In a word, peace and development, as the trend of our times, are met with stern challenges.
Facing these once-in-a-century changes and a world in turmoil, China is determined to act as a responsible major country. Recently at the Boao Forum for Asia, Chinese President Xi Jinping proposed a “Global Security Initiative” (GSI), pointing out that peace underpins development and humankind, as a whole, is an inseparable community for shared security. This major Initiative carries forward the spirit of the UN Charter, offers a fundamental solution to eliminating “the peace deficit” and contributes Chinese perspectives to meeting international security challenges. The Initiative falls into six points as follow:
1. To stay committed to the vision of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security, and work together to maintain world peace and security;
2. To stay committed to respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries, uphold non-interference in internal affairs, and respect the independent choices of development paths and social systems made by people in different countries;
3. To stay committed to abiding by the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, reject the Cold War mentality, oppose unilateralism, and say no to group politics and bloc confrontation;
4. To stay committed to taking the legitimate security concerns of all countries seriously, uphold the principle of indivisible security, build a balanced, effective and sustainable security architecture, and oppose the pursuit of one's own security at the cost of others’ security;
5. To stay committed to peacefully resolving differences and disputes between countries through dialogue and consultation, support all efforts conducive to the peaceful settlement of crises, reject double standards, and oppose the wanton use of unilateral sanctions and long-arm jurisdiction;
6. To stay committed to maintaining security in both traditional and non-traditional domains, and work together on regional disputes and global challenges such as terrorism, climate change, cybersecurity and biosecurity.
Human history has repeatedly proven that security is the foundation of prosperity. Today, as globalization deepens, all countries' security is closely intertwined, and thus the future for development shares weal and woe. When confronted with complex international security issues, no country can solve them alone. Only by working together can countries establish a security pattern of fairness, justice, joint contribution and shared benefits, and jointly eliminate the root causes of wars, bringing peace and harmony to all. Facing the difficult situation of sluggish global economic recovery and rising inflationary pressures, a few countries have aggressively introduced unilateral sanctions and “long-arm jurisdiction”, generalized the concept of national security in order to suppress and curb the economic and technological development of other countries, which has further exacerbated the situation worldwide and caused the suffering of developing countries.
As a responsible major country, China has always held high the banner of peace, development and win-win cooperation, and has made laudable contributions to maintaining global peace and security. As another international public good provided by China, the GSI derives from China’s tradition of pursing an independent foreign policy of peace. It is an application of the concept of a community with a shared future for mankind in the field of security, reflecting the international community’s common aspiration for peace, cooperation and development in disturbance. In September last year, President Xi Jinping also proposed a Global Development Initiative at the UN General Assembly, which aimed at enhancing all people’s well-being and realizing all-round human development. It dovetails with the efforts for implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and prioritizes cooperation in 8 areas, namely poverty reduction, food security, COVID response and vaccines, development financing, climate change, green development, industrialization, digital economy and connectivity. The initiative has been supported by the UN, Grenada and nearly 100 countries. The GSI, which echoes and reinforces GDI in pursuit of the biggest common denominator and the widest converging interests in the international community, will provide new support for countries in boosting livelihoods and development.
Visions set the course, and actions shape the future. More than proposing the GSI, China acts on this Initiative. Both China and Grenada are developing countries, and we share similar positions in safeguarding multilateralism, promoting development, opposing interference in other countries’ internal affairs, and resolving disputes through dialogue and consultation. China is willing to collaborate with all like-minded and peace-loving countries around the world, foster a strong synergy to build a community with a shared future for mankind, and promote global security initiatives to take root and bear fruit, so as to make the world safer, more peaceful and more prosperous.
(The author is the Chinese Ambassador to Grenada, H.E. Wei Hongtian)