By He Yin, People’s Daily
At the 22nd Shangri-La Dialogue held recently, China reaffirmed its commitment to upholding common security and shared prosperity in the Asia-Pacific together with regional countries, injecting strong momentum into the long-term stability in the region.
This constructive approach has been widely recognized and strongly endorsed by countries in the region. Many noted that China’s vision of security, rooted in the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, and its longstanding commitment to mutually beneficial cooperation, openness, and inclusiveness have contributed positively to regional peace, stability and shared development.
The world has entered a new period of turbulence and transformation, with multiple crises compounding one another. The basic norms governing international relations are being eroded, and the UN-centered international system faces mounting challenges. Geopolitical tensions are intensifying, economic globalization is encountering headwinds, and non-traditional security threats are growing in complexity.
Facing a fluid and turbulent world, the international community is calling more urgently than ever for solutions to global security dilemma, with a growing consensus on the need for dialogue and cooperation.
Improving global security governance and addressing security challenges require the guidance of sound and forward-looking concepts. China advocates the vision of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security, firmly supports the central role of the UN in safeguarding global peace and security, makes unremitting efforts to build a world of universal security, and contributes constructively to the political settlement of international and regional hotspot issues.
China is deeply engaged in global security governance and actively advances security cooperation in emerging fields. The Global Security Initiative (GSI) proposed by China has become an international consensus and a platform for win-win cooperation. As of the end of 2024, the GSI had received support and appreciation from 119 countries and international organizations and had been incorporated into 123 bilateral and multilateral political documents.
Many participants at the 22nd Shangri-La Dialogue observed that in a world undergoing an accelerating transformation unseen in a century, the security public goods that China provides, including the GSI, help the international community respond to challenges through unity and coordination, build trust and cohesion, and improve the global security governance system.
As a region of vital strategic importance in the global landscape and a major driver for global economic prosperity, the Asia-Pacific has long cherished peace, stability, and development. Dialogue and consultation remain the preferred means of resolving differences and disputes.
However, regional security is increasingly threatened by the actions of a few countries seeking hegemony and advancing the so-called “Indo-Pacific strategy” that stokes tensions and disrupts regional harmony. Such behaviors have drawn sustained concern from many countries in the region.
Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said at the 22nd Shangri-La Dialogue, “The more we act together, the harder it becomes to be pulled apart by external gravity.” His words echoed the common desire among Asia-Pacific countries to strengthen solidarity in the face of external interference.
The facts speak for themselves: attempts to create division by inflating perceived “threats” and reshaping the regional security order through bloc confrontation are doomed to fail.
China’s development began in the Asia-Pacific, was enabled by the Asia-Pacific, and contributes to the Asia-Pacific. Regardless of how the international landscape evolves, China remains committed to building a community with a shared future for mankind. Guided by the three global initiatives, China will continue upholding the Asian values of peace, cooperation, openness, and inclusiveness, practicing true multilateralism, and advocating sincere dialogue and consultation.
It is working to pursue the Asian security model that features sharing weal and woe, seeking common ground while shelving differences, and prioritizing dialogue and consultation. Through concrete actions, it has been actively promoting regional security, properly managing and resolving conflicts and disputes, working to de-escalate regional tensions, and joining hands with other countries to maintain peace and stability.
As Aristyo Rizka Darmawan, a lecturer in international law at the Faculty of Law Universitas Indonesia, noted, China’s call to abandon Cold War mentality, power politics, and bloc confrontation, and to reject seeking one’s own security at the expense of others, provides a constructive path for Asia to address regional security challenges through cooperation and to advance inclusive development.
At this historic moment when mankind have to choose between peace and war, prosperity and recession, unity and confrontation, China will, as always, stand on the right side of history and on the side of human progress. It will continue pursuing peaceful development, shouldering its responsibility as a major country, and working with all parties to safeguard peace and tranquility, so as to inject more certainty and stability to the world.
