On May 17, 2022, Local media Daily Observer carried an article authored by Her Excellency Madame Zhang Yanling, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the People’s Republic of China to Antigua and Barbuda, titled “Acting on the Global Security Initiative to Jointly Build a Security Community” which elaborates on the Global Security Initiative (GSI) proposed recently by Chinese President XI Jinping. The full text is as follows:
As various traditional and non-traditional security threats keep flaring up at present, peace and development is faced with severe challenges. What security concept does the world need? How can countries can achieve common security?
To answer these questions of our times, President Xi Jinping recently proposed the Global Security Initiative (GSI) at the opening ceremony of the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2022.
The GSI is underpinned by “six commitments”, namely:
— Stay committed to the vision of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security and work together to maintain world peace and security. To promote the idea about beating swords into plowshares and pursuing security for all and advocate for the new type of security that features dialogue, partnership and win-win instead of confrontation, alliance and a zero-sum approach.
— 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. All countries, big or small, strong or weak, are equal members of the international community. We must oppose hegemonic infringement on sovereignty and uphold sovereign independence and equality, so as to ensure that all countries enjoy equal rights and opportunities and follow the same rules.
Major countries in particular must lead by the power of their example and should not practice double standards. They should not ask others to respect sovereignty while they themselves meddle in the internal affairs of others. They should not criticize others for violating international law while they themselves apply international rules selectively.
— 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. The purposes and principles of the UN Charter are the result of deep soul-searching by people around the world on the bitter lessons of the two world wars. They embody humanity’s institutional design for achieving collective security and lasting peace. We must act on true multilateralism, firmly uphold the basic norms of international relations based on the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, and oppose all “gang rules” set by a few without UN authorization and at odds with the spirit of the UN Charter.
— 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. Humanity has long been an indivisible security community. Security of one country should not come at the expense of that of others, and security of a region cannot be ensured by strengthening or even expanding military blocs. One must take seriously the security of others, and safeguard the common security of all. Only by doing so can one achieve his own security.
— 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. International practices have demonstrated fully that neither war nor sanction is a fundamental solution to disputes. Unilateral sanctions only complicate the existing problems. It is the people of the world that are being hurt by the sanctions.
— 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. With the deepening of economic globalization, the intension and extension of security are broadening to cover a much larger framework of time, space and areas. Security is becoming more interconnected, transnational and diverse. No country can stay unaffected or become a lone island so they must work together to tide over the difficulties.
The GSI takes root in New China’s independent foreign policy of peace and the practices of this policy. As a responsible major country, China has held high the banner of peace, development and cooperation for win-win results, and made active contributions to upholding global peace and security.
China has always adhered to the path of peaceful development. It never started a war, never occupied one inch of foreign land, never engaged in proxy wars, and never participated in or organized any military bloc. China remains the only country in the world that undertakes to follow a path of peaceful development in its constitution, and the only one among the five nuclear-weapon states that has pledged no-first-use of nuclear weapons. It will never seek hegemony, expansion or sphere of influence, nor will it engage in arms race.
China is committed to its international responsibilities. It has dispatched the most peacekeepers among the permanent members of the UN Security Council and is the second largest contributor to the UN peacekeeping budget. It has taken an active part in international arms control, disarmament and non-proliferation processes. China has pursued cooperation to address all forms of non-traditional security challenges, and provided more than 2.2 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines to the international community in an active effort to bridge the “immunization gap”.
China stays committed to dialogue and consultation, and remains a steadfast mediator of hot-spot issues. China pursues an independent foreign policy of peace and determines its position based on the merits of the matter. China never follows in others’ footsteps or jumps on bandwagons or acts on hearsay. On Ukraine, China always stands on the side of peace, draws its conclusion independently based on the merits and demerits of the matter, and has been working in its own way to promote peace, encourage talks and defuse tensions. China has put forward a six-point initiative on the humanitarian situation in Ukraine, and provided Ukraine with several batches of emergency humanitarian aid.
The signs that point to a prolonged and extended conflict are truly worrying. The continued conflict and all-dimensional sanctions are subjecting people in all countries, especially developing countries, to higher food prices, oil prices, and other hefty costs. It has to be pointed out that delivering weapons will not deliver peace. The international community should create enabling conditions for the Russia-Ukraine negotiations, and do more things to facilitate the political settlement. We also call on the international community to strengthen macro-economic policy coordination, and work together to effectively contain the negative spillover effects of the Ukraine conflict.
Let us take mutual respect as the fundamental requirement, indivisible security as the important principle, building a security community as the long-term goal, jointly practice the GSI, follow a shared path of peaceful coexistence, and strike a balance between development and security to enhance sustainable security through sustainable development.