The Global Security Initiative: Its Relevance, Rationale and Delivery

Today， our world is undergoing profound changes unseen in a century. Global security landscape is becoming ever more unstable and uncertain. In the face of growing deficits in security， Chinese President Xi Jinping put forward the Global Security Initiative （GSI）， offering a clear answer to the question of the times： what kind of security concept does the world need， and how can we achieve common security？ It is of great significance to fully grasp the relevance of and the rationale for the GSI， and push for its strategic delivery， so as to contribute to the long-term peace and stability of the world.

The Relevance of the GSI

In today’s world， the security competition between major countries is becoming unprecedentedly fierce and global security crisis is overwhelmingly intensifying. The GSI is an expression of Xi Jinping Thought on Diplomacy in security field. It not only reflects China’s overall national security concept in the new era， but also serves as a scientific guide for addressing the security challenges facing mankind.

First， it helps to navigate the current global situation from a historical perspective. Mankind desires lasting peace， yet the world today is far from being peaceful. On the one hand， traditional security threats continue unabated. The protracted Ukraine crisis has bogged Europe down into a security trap， the US’ across-the-board strategic crackdown on China has led to continued tension between the two countries， and the new round of Palestinian-Israeli conflicts has hampered reconciliation in the Middle East. On the other hand， non-traditional security threats keep cropping up. Global issues such as terrorism， climate change， energy crisis， cyber-security and infectious diseases continue to spread， threatening the very survival and development of mankind. Those traditional and non-traditional security issues are intertwined and reinforcing each other， making global security governance more complicated and difficult. Mankind is now standing at a crossroads of peace or war， cooperation or confrontation. Facing the changes and turbulence of world today， the GSI emphasizes a coordinated response to various security threats， based on its recognition of the diverse， transnational and interconnected nature of security threats. By that it provides an important guidance for addressing the chaos of the world and navigating the current situation from a historical perspective.

Second， it offers a clear approach for improving global security governance. As the world is becoming ever more insecure， the existing institutions and mechanisms can hardly be effective. The collective security mechanism with the United Nations （UN） at its core lacks such authority and leadership that can effectively restrain the unilateral acts of some countries. The UN bases its operation upon the coordination of major countries， the intensified strategic competition among which makes it hard to adopt broad consensus–based resolutions. And even though adopted， it is equally hard to implement them in an effective way. In this context， quite a few countries have established a variety of regional security mechanisms in order to take security into their own hands. However， these mechanisms often go without effective communication and docking with each other， leading to mutual exclusion and vicious competition. In addition， in the face of increasing global security issues， there are blind spots and vacuum in existing governance mechanisms， especially in the emerging areas of climate， cyber， maritime， polar and space. The GSI advocates collective security with the UN at its core， calls for building a balanced， effective and sustainable security architecture， and focuses on addressing the inadequacy and inefficiency of existing security governance mechanism， thus providing an institutional solution to global security.

Third， it points out the direction for reshaping global security concept. Security problems we are facing today stem from the outdated security concepts of Western countries. Firstly， the concept of national priority. It does not recognize the equality and inter-dependency of security of different countries. Instead， countries harboring the concept make security-related strategies and moves solely out of their own interests and positions， ignoring the legitimate security concerns of others， or even at the expense of others’ security. Secondly， the concept of absolute security. It views the outside world with zero-sum mentality and confrontational logic， believing that only by eliminating all current or potential threats can security be obtained， and to this end， it is willing to make huge military investment， pursue absolute superiority by consolidating military alliances， and constantly looks for “threats” all over， create chaos， and weaken adversaries. Thirdly， the practice of double standards. After the outbreak of the Ukraine crisis， Western countries kicked Russian banks out of the dollar payment system and confiscated the personal property of Russian citizens， which completely deviated from the sense of rules and spirit of contract that they had long advocated. On the one hand， the US smears China by accusing it of exercising economic coercion against other countries， on the other hand， it resorts to “building small yard， high fence”， “parallel systems” or “friend sourcing”， which have greatly undermined the global free trade order. On issues such as nuclear non-proliferation， cyber-security and climate change， Western countries can hold completely different policy positions in light of different situations， targets and needs. As a contrast， the GSI rejects the outdated concepts of zero-sum game and bloc confrontation， and emphasizes the relativity， dynamics and indivisibility of security， making it a fundamental way to achieve lasting peace and universal security.

The Rationale for the GSI

In the face of the complex and grave security situation， President Xi Jinping put forward the GSI bearing in mind the existence and prosperity of all mankind， and laid out the concept， principles， contents， path and goal needed to achieve global security.

First， it is based on the new security concept featuring win-win cooperation. Different from the Western countries’ traditional security concept that is petty， absolute and alliance-based， the GSI advocates a new security concept with win-win cooperation at its core， so as to achieve universal， common and cooperative security for the world. Firstly， universal security prevails over petty security. Mankind lives in an interdependent security community that shares weal and woe. No one can achieve security on its own， nor through self-isolation. The GSI emphasizes that countries should adopt the sense of community with a shared future， stay open and inclusive， and pursue universal security through coordination and mutual assistance. Secondly， common security surpasses absolute security. Countries must realize that the security interests of all countries are equal and indivisible， and one cannot pursue its own security without accommodating the legitimate concerns of others， still less at the expense of others’ security. Thirdly， cooperative security supersedes alliance security. Alliance security is exclusive and confrontational， which will not only fail to bring security in the true sense， but tear the world further apart. Cooperative security opposes zero-sum game， pursues consensual understanding on security and shared interests， and promotes global security governance through a security partnership featuring equality and mutual trust.