Liu Xianfa*
21 April, President Xi Jinping proposed the Global Security Initiative (GSI) in his keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2022 held in Boao, Hainan Province. Facing profound changes of the world and challenges of our time, the GSI, while adhering to the vision of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security, seeks to further promote the building of a balanced, effective and sustainable global and regional security architecture. As a golden key to bridging the peace deficit and tackling security challenges, the GSI contributes Chinese wisdom and solutions to the cause of world peace and security, and wins high appraisal and widespread support from the international community.
The GSI unswervingly conforms to the overriding theme of our time– peace and development. As we see it, instabilities and uncertainties of the international security landscape have risen significantly. Unilateralism, hegemony and power politics become rampant. Geopolitical conflicts caused by bloc politics and Cold War mentality break out time and again around the world. Non-traditional security threats such as terrorism, climate change, energy and food crisis continue to spread. The world is neither stable nor tranquil. In the face of the intertwined impact of major changes in the world and the COVID-19 pandemic, both unseen in a century, as well as the Ukraine crisis, the prevailing trend of peace and development is facing serious challenges. With unforgettable memories of war and poverty, China has been tirelessly pursuing peace and development. The GSI, together with the Global Development Initiative (GDI) unveiled by President Xi Jinping last year, are injecting stability and positive energy into the cause of world peace and development, and preventing the world from slipping into a dangerous abyss.
The GSI gives explicit answers to the question of our time– “What security concept the world needs and how countries can achieve common security”. The Ukraine crisis once again taught the world that conflicts are to occur when one pursues exclusive or absolute security and seeks one’s own security at the expense of the others. As a substitution and transcendence of Western geopolitical security theory, the GSI is underpinned by“Six Commitments”, namely, staying committed to the vision of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security; staying committed to respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries; staying committed to abiding by the purposes and principles of the UN Charter; staying committed to taking the legitimate security concerns of all countries seriously; staying committed to peacefully resolving differences and disputes between countries through dialogue and consultation; and staying committed to maintaining security in both traditional and non-traditional domains. The Six Commitments, combining top-level design as well as practical pathways, clearly show the humanity a best route to lasting peace and universal security.
The GSI, together with the GDI, offers a persuasive solution to the call of our time– building a community of shared future for mankind. As an ancient Chinese proverb going, “Stability brings a country prosperity while instability leads a country to poverty”. The global ramifications of the pandemic and the Ukraine crisis remind us that countries around the world are like passengers aboard the same ship who share the same destiny. For the ship to navigate the storm and sail toward a bright future, all passengers must pull together. The thought of throwing anyone overboard is simply not acceptable. Building a community of shared future is the only right choice for the humanity to tackle global challenges and achieve lasting peace and sustainable development. President Xi Jinping, bearing in mind the future for mankind, outlines core concepts, fundamental guidelines, important principles, long-range objectives and feasible plans for building a global development and security community envisioned by the GDI and the GSI, offering important ideas for global governance innovation and the building of a community of shared future.
The tide of the times is surging forward. Those who conform to it will prosper, and those who resist will perish. Lasting peace and universal security is the trend of history, the call of our time and the common expectation of the humanity. China will shoulder the historic mission entrusted by the times, join hands with all peace-loving countries and peoples to carry out the GSI, 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.
* Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China in the Macao Special Administrative Region
