As the world today has entered a new period of turbulence and transformation, the four major deficits—the deficits in peace, development, governance, and trust are aggregating. The international situation is changing in a profound way, and strategic interactions between major powers, confrontations between blocs and regional conflicts are overlapping and intertwined with each other. The threat of hegemony and power politics is growing, and terrorism is still rampant.

Overloaded global security system

New poverty belts, sources of conflict, vulnerabilities and turbulence continue to emerge. Under the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine conflict, global inflation continues to increase. As the world’s economic recovery becomes more unbalanced, debt risks rise sharply for many countries, poverty within underdeveloped countries and regions—and internal economic conflicts—intensify.

With the further development of economic globalization, the connotations of security are more abundant than before, with extended meanings. International security risks are becoming more transnational and interconnected with diverse forms. With the once-in-a-century COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, financial crisis, and terrorism now coupling with the frequent occurrence of non-traditional security issues, such as biological security and cyber security, the global security governance system has become greatly overloaded.

Meanwhile, under the influence of trends such as protectionism, populism, and unilateralism, the ability and willingness of the US and other Western countries to supply public security goods have decreased, which has seriously eroded the foundation of mutual trust for regional and global security cooperation.

Global Security Initiative

In response to questions of what kind of security concept the world needs, and how all countries can achieve common security, China has put forward the Global Security Initiative.

International practice has proved that wars and sanctions cannot fundamentally resolve disputes, and dialogues and consultations are the most effective ways to resolve differences. In line with the common aspiration of people around the world for peace and development, the Global Security Initiative received active responses and positive comments from the international community.

The initiative places high premium on top-level design and practical problem solving. It extends beyond Western theories such as Security Dilemmas, Thucydides Traps and Kindleberger Traps, and contributes China’s solution to overcoming the global security deficit.

First, the Global Security Initiative is committed to common security. It advocates respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries and respecting and safeguarding the security of each country, while pursuing common security. Second, it pursues comprehensive security by coordinating efforts to safeguard security in both traditional and non-traditional sectors. Third, it pursues cooperative security by addressing conflicts and disputes through dialogue. Fourth, it seeks sustainable security by attaching equal importance to both development and security, and defusing overt and implicit security risks through development.

With the aim of maintaining world peace and tranquility, the initiative has established the principles of effective security governance, which will help all countries to tackle existing security threats based on certain rules and norms. It practices true multilateralism and firmly opposes unilateralism and pseudo-multilateralism. It also opposes acts that are not authorized by the UN or that violate the relevant tenet of the UN Charter.

The initiative offers new solutions to address the global security deficit and eliminate the root causes of risks that arise in international security. It will also help guide the international community to break away from the shackles of the Cold War mentality. It restrains the disruptive behaviors of zero-sum games between major powers, regional conflicts, and confrontation from blocs. The aim is to help build a global security framework that is balanced, effective, and sustainable. In addition, the initiative is another important public good that China has provided the international community. Together with the Global Development Initiative, also proposed by China, it will provide a new direction for the world to realize permanent peace and long-term development.

Xiao Xi is a professor and director from the School of International and Public Affairs at Jilin University.