by H.E. Wang Lixin, Chinese Ambassador to Maldives

Today, the world, the times and the history are undergoing profound changes in ways like never before. Peace and security are confronted with multiple severe risks and serious challenges rarely seen before. In the face of the critical moment of world peace and development, Chinese President Xi Jinping put forward the Global Security Initiative (GSI) in April 2022, which aims to create a new path to security that features dialogue over confrontation, partnership over alliance and win-win over zero-sum. It provides a new course and new approach to addressing the root causes of international conflicts and solving security challenges facing humanity. It clearly offers the answer to “what security concepts does the world need? how can countries achieve common security?”, which contributes Chinese wisdom to make up for the peace deficit of mankind and provides China’s solution to the international security challenges.

Since the introduction of the GSI, it has received extensive attention and positive response from the international community. So far, more than 80 countries and regional organizations have expressed appreciation and support to the GSI. Last October, the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China was successfully convened, which clearly stated that China stands ready to work with the international community to put the GSI into action. It is the solemn commitment of the Communist Party of China to promote world peace and security as well as advance the building of a community with a shared future for mankind. In this regard, the Chinese Government officially released The Global Security Initiative Concept Paper recently, which is an important follow-up step China has taken in implementing the GSI as well as helping the international community to get a better knowledge of the GSI.

The core concepts and principles of the GSI can be summarized as “Six Commitments”, namely, stay committed to the vision of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security, stay committed to respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries, stay committed to abiding by the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, stay committed to taking the legitimate security concerns of all countries seriously, stay committed to peacefully resolving differences and disputes between countries through dialogue and consultation, stay committed to maintaining security in both traditional and non-traditional domains. These six commitments are interlinked and mutually reinforcing, and are an organic whole of dialectical unity.

The GSI demonstrates that China has always been committed to its foreign policy goals of upholding world peace and promoting common development. China has always adhered to the concept of peaceful development and is determined to be the builder of world peace. Since its founding, China has remained firm in pursuing an independent foreign policy of peace. Over the past 70-plus years, China has never initiated a war or occupied an inch of a foreign land. It is the only country that has incorporated peaceful development in its Constitution, and the only country among the five nuclear-weapon states to pledge no-first-use of nuclear weapons. China’s track record on peace can stand the test of history, and its peaceful rise is an unprecedented miracle in human history.

The GSI demonstrates the true multilateralism and the basic norms of international law and international relations recognized by the international community. The Concept Paper states that all the countries should stay committed to the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, and calls on all countries to firmly uphold the international system with the UN at its core, the international order underpinned by international law and the basic norms of international relations underpinned by the UN Charter, and uphold the authority of the UN and its status as the main platform for global security governance.

The GSI demonstrates China’s action orientation to safeguard the world peace and security. The Concept Paper lays out 20 priorities of cooperation in response to the most significant and pressing international security concerns at present including upholding the UN’s central role, facilitating political settlement of hotspot issues, tackling traditional and non-traditional security challenges and strengthening the system and capacity for global security governance. The document also identifies platforms and mechanisms of cooperation.

As we all know, the Ukrainian crisis is the most serious, complicated and pressing security challenge facing the world today. A few days ago, as the full escalation of the Ukrainian crisis came to its one-year mark, the Chinese side released China’s Position on the Political Settlement of the Ukraine Crisis to comprehensively and systematically outline China’s basic positions and propositions. The document covers 12 aspects, namely, respecting the sovereignty of all countries, abandoning the Cold War mentality, ceasing hostilities, resuming peace talks, resolving the humanitarian crisis, protecting civilians and prisoners of war, keeping nuclear power plants safe, reducing strategic risks, facilitating grain exports, stopping unilateral sanctions, keeping industrial and supply chains stable, and promoting post-conflict reconstruction. It is an important contribution of China who has all along upheld an objective and just position, actively promoted peace talks and pushed forward the political solution to the Ukrainian crisis. It is also a substantive step taken by the Chinese side to put the GSI into action.

Under the current complicated and challenging international security situation, China and Maldives have expanding common interests of promoting peace, safeguarding security and achieving stability. The GSI and its Concept Paper provide the new opportunity for both sides to work together to address the security challenges and promote world peace and security. The Chinese side is ready to work with the Maldivian side to identify the areas of common interests and priority cooperation, and in particular, to enhance the cooperation in public health, climate change, food security, clean energy, counter-terrorism and disaster relief, so as to jointly address traditional and non-traditional security challenges, safeguard peace and tranquility of the planet, usher in a new chapter in the implementation of the GSI and bring about a brighter future for mankind.