Photo taken on April 20, 2022 shows a view of the Azovstal plant in the port city of Mariupol. [Photo/Xinhua]
Initiative unveiled by president says all nations' concerns deserve attention
As the Russia-Ukraine conflict continues and its spillover effects loom large, the Global Security Initiative proposed by President Xi Jinping with a vision of upholding "common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable" security has offered China's solution to the world's security dilemmas, according to analysts.
The key element of the initiative, which was unveiled by Xi when he delivered a keynote speech via video on Thursday at the opening ceremony of the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2022, is that the legitimate security concerns of all countries should be taken seriously and no country's security should be built at the cost of others' security.
In an article published by the People's Daily on Sunday, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi wrote that the initiative responds to the urgent demand of the international community for upholding world peace and preventing conflicts and wars, and it contributes Chinese wisdom to addressing the peace deficit of humanity and coping with global security challenges.
With today's world facing unprecedented risks of division, the initiative also meets the common aspirations of countries around the world to uphold multilateralism and safeguard international solidarity, Wang wrote.
China's security initiative underlines the need to stay committed to respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries, abide by the purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter, reject Cold War mentality, oppose unilateralism and say no to group politics and bloc confrontation.
It also calls for upholding the principle of indivisible security and building a balanced, effective and sustainable security architecture.
Bobby Naderi, a London-based journalist and documentary filmmaker, said that Xi's proposal of the Global Security Initiative at the Boao Forum for Asia could offer portals to a different world in which not just one country or group of nations decides the security fate of others, but rather the whole world has a say.
"Now is the time for global security cooperation and peace. The global pandemic and the Ukraine crisis are not a world war, but just like the wars, they have to lead to an all-inclusive new world order that's fair and just," Naderi said in an opinion piece published on the website of China Global Television Network. "As maintained by President Xi, they ought to encourage countries to function based on values and principles which work for people and the planet."
In 2014, at the fourth summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia in Shanghai, Xi proposed a common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security strategy for Asia.
In the following years, Xi has continuously developed the concept and advocated it on various international occasions. According to the Chinese president, the world cannot just have security for one or a few countries while leaving others insecure, and each has an equal right to participate in regional security affairs and equal responsibility to uphold security.
Xi's security vision also encourages countries to resolve disputes through peaceful means and oppose the arbitrary use of military force or threats.
With such a vision, China has been endeavoring to advance the building of a community with a shared future for mankind, in which countries work together toward a world of universal security and common prosperity.
Bradley Blankenship, a Prague-based political analyst and freelance reporter, said that the Global Security Initiative proposed by Xi essentially hinges on multilateralism and adherence to fundamental international law, such as noninterference and diplomacy-first conflict resolution.
"This is clearly relevant to the conflict in Ukraine, which is seeing a bloc of countries attempt to control the international reaction while implementing policies that are divisive, generally counterproductive and impeding global development," said Blankenship.
The initiative comes at a time when the Ukraine crisis has drawn global attention and the world is eager to find a way out. It well explains why China remains committed to promoting peace talks between Russia and Ukraine for a cease-fire after military conflict between them broke out on February 24.
During his extensive diplomatic engagements with the leaders of Russia, the United States, France, Germany and the European Union in the past weeks, Xi made China's position about the Ukraine crisis clear: It calls for upholding international law and universally recognized norms governing international relations, acts in accordance with the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, and advocates the vision of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security.
Some observers have attributed the Russia-Ukraine conflict to Europe's security imbalance, largely as a result of the Cold-War mentality of US-led NATO. In the meantime, they said China's advocacy of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security contributes to regional and international peace and stability.
Hannan Hussain, an international security commentator and a former assistant researcher at the Islamabad Policy Research Institute in Pakistan, said that in the current context of Ukraine-Russia tension, equal recognition of each party's legitimate concerns is key to synthesizing differences, with any view of absolute security risks complicating prospects for negotiated peace.
"Beijing continues to remind the world that productive talks and peace building are the only way out of current tensions. That understanding is chief to China's contribution toward the peaceful development of the Ukraine situation," Hussain said.
Furthering peaceful engagement on Ukraine, rather than pivoting toward ideology and military considerations, is what responsible diplomacy should be about, he added.
China's Foreign Ministry has criticized Washington for moving to escalate tensions between Russia and Ukraine since the conflict began, fanning the flames of discord and forcing other countries to take sides.
Bambang Suryono, chairman of the Indonesian think tank Asia Innovation Study Center, told Xinhua News Agency that, unlike some Western countries' unbalanced pursuit of their own security, China's Global Security Initiative seeks common security and is conducive to building an international order based on mutual respect, equality and mutual trust.
Shakeel Ramay, chief executive officer of the Asian Institute of Eco-civilization Research and Development, said that if the world wants to build a new security framework that is fairer and more equitable, it should act on the Global Security Initiative.
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记者：曹德胜
播报：Andrew Thomas Pasek
音频编辑：万月英
【背景阅读】
为破解人类面临的安全难题贡献中国智慧
——专家解读全球安全倡议
新华社北京4月23日电 国家主席习近平21日在博鳌亚洲论坛2022年年会开幕式上首次提出全球安全倡议，并通过“六个坚持”对这一倡议进行阐述，强调安全是发展的前提，人类是不可分割的安全共同体。此间专家认为，全球安全倡议是中方从全人类前途命运出发，提出的又一国际公共产品，为实现世界持久和平和普遍安全指引了清晰路径，为破解人类面临的安全难题贡献了中国智慧和中国方案。
当前，世界既不太平也不安宁，地区安全热点此起彼伏，欧洲安全问题再次牵动全球目光；单边主义、霸权主义、强权政治威胁上升，和平赤字、安全赤字、信任赤字、治理赤字有增无减……
中国国际问题研究院副院长刘卿表示，当前全球传统安全和非传统安全问题相互交织，在这样的时代背景下，习近平主席从全人类前途命运出发，提出全球安全倡议，是对共同、综合、合作、可持续的安全观的丰富和发展，明确了维护和实现全球安全的核心理念、根本遵循、重要原则、长远目标和可行思路，展现了中国作为安理会常任理事国和负责任大国的担当。
“坚持共同、综合、合作、可持续的安全观”“坚持尊重各国主权、领土完整，不干涉别国内政”“坚持遵守联合国宪章宗旨和原则”“坚持重视各国合理安全关切”“坚持通过对话协商以和平方式解决国家间的分歧和争端”“坚持统筹维护传统领域和非传统领域安全”。
专家表示，全球安全倡议所倡导的“六个坚持”，是一个有机的整体，既展现顶层设计的宏观思维，又包含解决实际问题的微观视角，不仅着眼解决人类安全的现实问题，也是谋求世界和平的长久之道，有很强的现实意义。
为推动乌克兰局势缓和发挥建设性作用、维护伊核问题的政治外交解决进程、支持阿富汗实现和平稳定发展……中国坚持推动以政治方式解决地区热点问题，在应对各类传统、非传统安全问题上，中国主张、中国行动所取得的成效有目共睹。
“中国的公正客观立场，无疑让全球安全倡议更具感召力。”中国外交学院亚洲研究所所长郭延军表示，在如何看待和处理安全问题方面，世界上有两种不同的观点和力量，一种是以美国为代表的一些国家，他们深陷冷战思维、零和博弈的泥潭，热衷于以意识形态划线，搞单边制裁、搞封闭排他的“小圈子”；另一种是以中国为代表的绝大多数国家，反对搞集团政治和阵营对抗，主张坚持真正的多边主义，坚持通过对话协商解决矛盾分歧。
“谁站在历史正确一边，站在国际公平正义一边，答案不言自明。”郭延军说，全球安全倡议的提出，有助于进一步凝聚共识和力量，推动全球安全治理体系变革。
印度尼西亚亚洲创新研究中心主席班邦·苏尔约诺表示，不同于某些西方国家片面追求自身安全的思维，中方提出的全球安全倡议追求的是共同安全，是强调和平、合作的安全观，有利于建立相互尊重、平等互信的国际秩序。
去年9月，习近平主席在联合国大会上提出全球发展倡议，迄今已得到联合国等国际组织和近百个国家响应和支持。时隔7个月，习近平主席又提出全球安全倡议，再次引起国际社会高度关注。
中国国际问题研究院院长、习近平外交思想研究中心秘书长徐步认为，两大倡议呼应和平与发展的时代潮流，二者相互促进、辩证统一，“安全是发展的前提，发展是安全的目的，没有安全就没有发展，没有发展也就没有真正的安全”。
徐步说，这是中国向世界提供的又一国际公共产品，是构建人类命运共同体的重要组成部分。习近平主席提出共同守护人类生命健康、共同促进经济复苏、共同维护世界和平安宁、共同应对全球治理挑战，指明了面对新的复杂挑战，我们应该怎样构建人类命运共同体。
外交部发言人汪文斌也表示，全球安全倡议秉持真正的多边主义，面向全球开放，欢迎各国共同参与。中国不仅是这一重大倡议的提出者，也将是推进落实倡议的行动派。
“我们愿通过联合国平台以及多双边渠道，同各方就该倡议深入交流，相互启发，凝聚全球合力，推进倡议落地，为推动政治解决各种国际和地区热点问题、维护世界和平与安宁贡献智慧和力量。”汪文斌说。（来源：新华社）
