By Qiu Hao
The upcoming 11th Beijing Xiangshan Forum, themed on "Promoting Peace for A Shared Future", aims to discuss how to build a balanced and sustainable security architecture to promote world peace and stability.
The China-proposed Global Security Initiative (GSI) is of essential value and significance in current times in that it copes with the complicated security challenges with win-win thinking, forges the international consensus on pursuing common security through solidarity and cooperation, and offers a Chinese plan for actively responding to global challenges. The GSI has been endorsed and recognized by more than 100 countries and international and regional organizations. The Initiative and its core concepts have been written into over 90 bilateral and multilateral cooperation documents signed by China with other countries or international organizations.
Replacing Cold War mentality with the spirit of solidarity. The world today is ravaged by constant local conflicts and turmoil and by interwoven traditional and non-traditional security threats, with regional security hotspot issues emerging one after another, and the deficit in peace, development, security, and governance aggravated day by day. The GSI holds up high the banner of solidarity and collaboration of all humanity, stresses abandoning the Cold War mindset, and adapts to the current trend of peace, development, and win-win cooperation.
Replacing estrangement and prejudice with inclusiveness and mutual learning. From the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence to the GSI, China always advocates inclusiveness and mutual learning among different civilizations, calls for giving up the "small cliques" formed by ideology and group interests, and opposes ideological opposition. It has injected more stability and certainty into the turbulent world.
Replacing zero-sum game with win-win cooperation. Nations all live in the same world with a shared future today. No nation can ensure its own absolute security, or tackle the global challenges all by itself. The GSI calls for coping with the complex and interwoven security challenges with win-win thinking, offering a new path forward above and beyond the narrow-minded approach of seeking unilateral security through ideological division.
China is not only the initiator of the Global Security Initiative, but also a participant in implementing this major initiative.
It has made relentless efforts to help seek a political solution to international hotspot issues by bridging divergences through dialogue and settling disputes through cooperation. China has actively mediated in the Russia-Ukraine conflict for a ceasefire and peace talks. The policy paper titled "China's Position on the Political Settlement of the Ukraine Crisis" and the Common Understandings Between China and Brazil on Political Settlement of the Ukraine Crisis has received extensive understanding and support in the international community.
In the face of the extremely intricate situation in the Middle East, China helped bring about a reconciliation between Saudi Arabia and Iran in Beijing in 2023. Not long ago, it brought the 14 factions in Palestine to one table and facilitated the signing of the "Beijing Declaration on Ending Division and Strengthening Palestinian National Unity", laying a solid foundation for an internal reconciliation within Palestine.
China respects the legitimate security concerns of all countries and gives priority to peaceful means like dialogue and consultation when trying to resolve inter-state divergences and disputes. It opposes big and strong countries bullying small and weak ones.
When it comes to the Taiwan question and the South China Sea issue, China, on the premise of effectively defending its sovereignty, always takes reasonable and cautious measures in accordance with law and with strategic patience and determination, acting as a powerful ballast for regional peace and stability.
China has energetically promoted international security dialogues and exchanges. It has facilitated the hosting of two China-Horn of Africa Peace, Good Governance and Development Conferences, and successfully hosted the second Middle East Security Forum, at which it put forth a four-point proposal for fostering a new security architecture in the Middle East. It has also urged relevant parties to carry out exchange and cooperation in the security domain through various multilateral platforms, including the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA), and various mechanisms for East Asian cooperation. Through these efforts, China aims to forge an international consensus and synergy for addressing security challenges.
(The author is from the Institute of War Studies, PLA Academy of Military Sciences.)
