At the invitation of Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba visited China from July 23 to 26. As the Ukraine crisis drags on, it has left a trail of too many casualties and losses. Peace and security should not just be “catch words” in the news or the aspiration of people in the region. Peace and Security should become the basic logic underpinning foreign policies of all countries. Confronted with a volatile international situation, nations must answer such important questions as what security concept the world needs and how countries can achieve common security.

(On July 24 2024, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi held talks with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba in Guangzhou.)

Ten years ago, Chinese President Xi Jinping put forward the vision of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security, contributing Chinese wisdom and proposal to people around the world in pursuit of peace and development. This vision has had extensive international support. Two years ago, President Xi Jinping put forward the Global Security Initiative (GSI), which has gained support and appreciation from more than 100 countries as well as regional and international organizations. The GSI and its core concepts have been incorporated into more than 90 bilateral and multilateral documents, establishing an international consensus with global influence. Recently, the Chinese side issued the Report on the Implementation Progress of the Global Security Initiative, assisting all parties to better understand the practical significance and unique value of the GSI as an international public good in the field of security.

(On April 21 2022, Chinese President Xi Jinping put forward the Global Security Initiative at the the opening ceremony of the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference)

Despite changes in the international landscape, the essence of China’s view on security is clear and simple: the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all nations shall be respected, the purposes and principles of the UN Charter shall be observed, and the legitimate security concerns of all nations shall be taken seriously. China believes that security is indivisible, meaning that individual security and common security cannot be divided, traditional security and non-traditional security cannot be divided, security rights and security obligations cannot be divided, and security and development cannot be divided.

China did not start the crisis in Ukraine, nor is China a party directly involved in the crisis. Instead of being an onlooker, China has been playing an important and positive role for peace in this crisis. As long as there is still a glimmer of hope for peace, we should not easily give it up; as long as negotiations can be restarted earlier, the losses on all parties will be smaller. To prevent the Ukraine crisis from further escalating, countries need to actively act on the GSI and jointly resolve the security dilemma and build synergy for peace. 

To build synergy for peace, it is important to follow four principles. In March 2022, Chinese President Xi Jinping, in his online video meeting with the then French and German leaders, made it clear that the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries must be respected, the purposes and principles of the UN Charter must be fully observed, the legitimate security concerns of all countries must be taken seriously, and all efforts that are conducive to the peaceful settlement of the crisis must be supported. The four principles form a conflict-resolving proposal with sound logic and a complete system. It not only points out the overall direction and framework for solving the issue, but also lays out specific measures for implementation and details; it not only accommodates the interests and concerns of different parties and upholds fairness and justice, but also makes clear the responsibilities and obligations of different parties, which will effectively prevent the conflict from further worsening and escalating.

(On 8 March 2022, Chinese President Xi Jinping had a virtual summit with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Beijing.)

To build synergy for peace, it is important to stay committed to political settlement. History has proven that conflicts and wars do not end on the battlefield but at the negotiating table. China has been committed to a political settlement of the Ukraine crisis and encourages and supports efforts conducive to peacefully resolving the crisis. Facts have shown that tactics like “bolstering one and bashing the other” and creating exclusive blocs of confrontation will not help resolve the crisis, but may prolong the crisis, or even escalate tensions and cause spillover effects. The international community needs to create conditions for resuming direct talks between Russia and Ukraine. In this process, major countries, in particular, need to play a positive rather than negative role. China is ready to work with all parties to build conditions for political settlement of the crisis. China supports the convening, in due course, of a true international peace conference that is recognized by both Russia and Ukraine and ensures the equal participation of all parties and fair discussions on all peace plans.

To build synergy for peace, it is important to focus on real actions. The Chinese people believe that one must match his words with actions and actions speak louder than words. One cannot claim to be against war on the one hand and fuel the conflicts on the other; one cannot claim to uphold peace on the one hand and willfully provoke confrontation on the other. Providing large amounts of weapons, wielding the big stick of sanctions, recklessly smearing other countries, and trying to profit from conflicts and shift the crisis ... these actions that do not match with words will only make it more difficult to resolve the crisis, and bring more severe consequences for peace and development in the region and beyond. Countries around the world need to discard the outdated cold war mentality, bloc confrontation and zero-sum game, enable negotiations not fighting to continue between Russia and Ukraine, and give peace a chance with real actions.

The more complicated the international environment is, the stronger people’s desire and call for peace, development and cooperation. China will uphold the vision of a community with a shared future for humankind, continue to be a builder of world peace, a contributor to global development and a defender of international order, work with all members of the international community that are peace-loving and committed to development, actively act on the GSI, and make new contribution to common security of humanity and lasting peace of the world.