Chinese President Xi Jinping proposed the GSI at the annual Boao Forum on 21 April 2022 (Photo: AFP/Xinhua/Ding Haitao)
29/06/2025 07:00
In April 2022, Chinese President Xi Jinping first proposed the Global Security Initiative (GSI) in a keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference. The initiative offered a clear response to the pressing questions of our time: What kind of security concept does the world need, and how can countries achieve common security? Three years on, the changes in the world, in our times and in history are unfolding unprecedentedly, with global deficits in peace, development, security, and governance continuing to grow. The list of security challenges facing humanity is getting longer and longer, highlighting the relevance and practical significance of the GSI.
The GSI outlines the core concepts, fundamental guidelines, key principles, long-term objectives, and feasible strategies for maintaining and achieving global security. It provides essential theoretical guidance for reforming the global security governance system, addressing the security dilemmas of mankind, and advancing the establishment of a community with a shared future for mankind.
The GSI articulates the long-term goal of global security governance. Security and stability are prerequisites for national development and are related to the core interests of all countries. President Xi emphasized that “Security is the precondition for development. We humanity are living in an indivisible security community.” Only by building a security community can we truly realize a community with a shared future. The concept of a security community highlights the interconnectedness of humanity. By advocating a shared future, it appeals to people’s deep-rooted yearning for peace and pulls the strengths of people of all nations to address the global peace deficit, under the banner of “building an open, inclusive, clean and beautiful world of lasting peace, universal security, and shared prosperity.”
The GSI clarifies the core concept of global security governance. Common security means respecting and safeguarding the security of every country. It is unacceptable and ultimately self-defeating to pursue so-called absolute security for oneself at the expense of the security of other nations. Comprehensive security involves maintaining security in both traditional and non-traditional domains in a coordinated manner. It requires a holistic understanding of the historical and current context of security issues, employing an integrated approach of various measures to effectively address different security challenges. Cooperative security means promoting national, regional, and global security through dialogue and cooperation. We must go beyond the zero-sum mindset of winners and losers and instead seek peace and security through cooperation. Sustainable security emphasizes giving equal weight to development and security in order to achieve lasting security. The focus should be on development, leveraging sustainable development to drive sustainable security. The vision of common, comprehensive, cooperative, and sustainable security is a profound summary of humanity’s experience and lessons in security governance. It enriches the concept of global security governance and offers practical guidance for building a global security community.
The GSI specifies the fundamental guidelines of global security governance. The United Nations, as the most universal, representative, and authoritative international organization in the world today, is mandated to maintain international peace and security. For more than 70 years, the UN has made significant contributions to global peace and stability. We should anchor on the benchmarks centered on the United Nations. There is only one international system, i.e. the international system with the United Nations at its core. There is only one international order i.e. the international order underpinned by international law. There is only one set of rules i.e. the basic norms governing international relations based on the UN Charter. We must resolutely uphold the international system with the United Nations at its core, maintain the international order underpinned by international law, uphold the UN’s central role in the global landscape, and practice true multilateralism. This serves as the fundamental guideline and institutional guarantee for advancing global security governance, and represents China’s firm commitment to the international community.
The GSI sets out the key principles of global security governance. The principle of sovereignty serves as the cornerstone of the norms governing contemporary international relations. All countries, big or small, strong or weak, rich or poor, are equal members of the international community. Their internal affairs brook no external interference, their sovereignty and dignity must be respected, and their right to independently choose social systems and development paths must be upheld. All countries should set aside ideological bias, respect the development paths chosen by each other, and uphold the common values of humanity: peace, development, fairness, justice, democracy, and freedom. The principle of indivisible security represents a long-term solution to global security challenges. Humanity exists as an indivisible community of security. No country should wish for the failure of others; instead, countries should collaborate to achieve mutual success. It is necessary to genuinely consider each other’s legitimate security concerns and build a balanced, effective, and sustainable security framework so as to achieve universal and common security.
The GSI points out the feasible approaches to global security governance. The GSI urges all parties to peacefully resolve differences and disputes between countries through dialogue and consultation, and maintain security in both traditional and non-traditional domains. It advocates promoting security through dialogue and cooperation and through comprehensive measures, thus pointing out a feasible path toward global peace and stability. History has repeatedly proven that war and sanctions are not fundamental solution to disputes; only dialogue and consultation are effective in resolving differences. All countries, regardless of size, are equal—might does not make right. It is natural for countries to have differences, which should be resolved appropriately through dialogue and consultation. Security issues are complex, and traditional and non-traditional security threats are often intertwined. A seemingly simple security issue cannot be addressed in a simple way; otherwise, one may fall into the predicament of treating symptoms rather than root causes. To advance global security governance in a coordinated way, we must focus on addressing the prominent security issues at present while making comprehensive plans for coping with potential security threats.
The GSI is rooted in the idea of true multilateralism. It calls on all countries to uphold the purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter, and abandon outdated notions such as zero-sum games and bloc confrontation. It calls for addressing complex and intertwined security challenges with a win-win mindset, and adapting to the profoundly transitioning international landscape in a spirit of solidarity. The GSI has charted a new course for security that prioritizes dialogue over confrontation, partnership over alliances, and mutual benefit over zero-sum rivalry, offering fresh ideas for global security governance.
The GSI aligns with the shared aspirations of all countries. At this critical moment for world peace and development, building a safer world is the strong desire of people across nations, a shared responsibility of all countries, and the right direction for humanity moving forward. Upholding the well-being of all humanity, the initiative seeks to replace zero-sum games with dialogue and cooperation, closed exclusivism with openness and inclusiveness, and self-supremacy with mutual learning and exchange. It connects the future of nations through common interests, common challenges, and common responsibilities, aiming to building a community of security for all characterized by dignity for all, shared development, and collective security guarantees. The GSI is committed to promoting the common security for humanity and world peace and development. It seeks the greatest common ground and forges the widest possible consensus within the international community, catering to the shared desire of all peoples for peace and security. Giving voice to the world’s universal demand for tackling security challenges through genuine multilateralism, it offers new support for countries to enhance people’s livelihoods and pursue development.
The GSI highlights China’s sense of responsibility as a major country. To implement the GSI and safeguard world peace and stability, the key lies in actions. It is essential to take the initiative, and major countries in particular must lead by example, demonstrating what it means to be a responsible power. China is not only the initiator of the GSI but also an active contributor to global peace and stability, demonstrating the resolve and responsibility of a major country. Over the past three years, China has taken a series of concrete steps to promote the implementation of the GSI. It has constructively engaged in addressing global and regional hotspots, including the Ukraine crisis and the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. It jointly issued a “Six-Point Consensus” with Brazil on promoting a political resolution to the Ukraine crisis, participated in launching the “Group of Friends for Peace on the Ukraine Crisis” and worked to de-escalate tensions. Additionally, China has also issued a joint statement with Arab countries on the Palestinian issue and facilitated reconciliation among Palestinian factions in Beijing, advancing the Middle East peace process. China has facilitated the multiple rounds of peace talks among parties involved in the Myanmar conflict, firmly upheld peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula, and continued to push for the resumption of negotiations on the full implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) on the Iranian nuclear issue. China’s efforts to resolve international and regional hotspot issues serve as vivid examples of GSI in action.
The GSI establishes a broad international consensus on safeguarding common security. Since its initiation, the GSI has received widespread recognition and support from the international community. It has been endorsed by over 120 countries, regions, and international organizations, and incorporated into more than 120 bilateral and multilateral documents between China and relevant countries and organizations. In bilateral and multilateral settings, cooperation on security is advancing positively. In Southeast Asia, China and ASEAN countries have achieved significant results in jointly combating transnational crime and safeguarding the security of maritime routes in the South China Sea. In Central Asia, China and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) member states have conducted joint counter-terrorism exercises, effectively deterring terrorist forces. These examples vividly demonstrate that the GSI has played an important role in promoting the gradual formation of a consensus in the international community to pursue common security through solidarity and cooperation.