China and New Global Security Order: in Search of a People-Centered Brave New Globalization

Ahmed Bahaa El-Din Shaaban

In June 2022， Chinese President Xi Jinping hosted and spoke at the 14th meeting of BRICS leaders and High-level Dialogue on Global Development via video link， and attended opening ceremony of BRICS Business Forum and delivered a keynote speech. Chinas serial “BRICS actions” fully show the strenuous efforts China has made to promote global cooperation and development and explore a people-centered brave new globalization.

In the past few decades， the United States has dictated world affairs in disregard of international rules and humanitarian principles. While the capitalist system is undergoing a structural crisis， the United States still tries to push the world toward neoliberalism through brutal behaviors and aggressive policies. Mankind has paid a high price： many states fell into wars and disasters， and were weakened or marginalized on the economic or military front. As war spreads， poverty and hunger worsen and environmental damage exacerbates， tens of millions of people around the world are suffering multiplied miseries.

In contrast to Western countries led by the United States that inflict ruthless exploitation and long-term aggression on other countries， China has adhered to independent self-reliant hard work and accumulated rich experience in modernization in a matter of just a few decades， pioneering a people-centered development path that developing countries may draw upon. China opposes reckless plunder of other countries resources or deprives them of rights and interests. China has proposed many innovative concepts and encouraged states to choose development paths that suit themselves. While excluding no one and overriding no one， China gives a helping hand to all mankind. China pursues well-being for mankind as a whole， bringing the world hope and winning worldwide acclaim.

CHINA OPENS UP NEW PROSPECTS FOR BRICS+ COOPERATION

The establishment and development of the BRICS cooperation mechanism have manifested lofty values of human civilization and victory of cooperation over narrow self-interest. BRICS states， namely Brazil， Russia， India， China and South Africa lying on different continents， have grown into a global organization with great influence. They are now of major significance for breaking American hegemony， safeguarding sovereignty， respecting and protecting cultural heritage， history， and tradition and civilization inheritance for countries around the world. Economic and trade cooperation serves as the ballast of BRICS cooperation. In November 2020， the 12th BRICS Summit adopted Strategy for BRICS Economic Partnership 2025 which specified key domains of cooperation， including trade， investment and finance， digital economy， and sustainable development as well as goals for cooperation in each domain， charting a new roadmap for deepening BRICS economic partnership in the next five years. Then in June 2022， China started a series of BRICS actions， further expanding the scope of BRICS cooperation and opening up new prospects for BRICS+ cooperation.

BRICS states support member expansion of the group and BRICS+ cooperation. As Chinese President Xi Jinping pointed out， “I proposed the ‘BRICS Plus cooperation approach. Over the past five years， ‘BRICS Plus cooperation has deepened and expanded， setting a prime example of South-South cooperation and seeking strength through unity among emerging markets and developing countries.” President Xi Jinping called on countries in the world to get a good grasp of the overarching development trend in the world， firm up confidence， and act in unison and with great motivation to promote global development and jointly foster a development paradigm featuring inclusiveness， balance， coordination， win-win cooperation and benefits for all： First， we need to jointly build international consensus on promoting development. Second， we need to jointly create an enabling international environment for development. Third， we need to jointly foster new drivers for global development. Fourth， we need to jointly forge a global development partnership.

On June 24， 2022， the High-level Dialogue on Global Development convened in Beijing via video link. Aside from leaders of BRICS countries， those from countries that yearn for joining the BRICS mechanism attended the event. In his speech， President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi of Egypt applauded and supported President Xis speech. He appreciated heightening international status of BRICS， their significant influence in international politics and economy， as well as their outstanding contribution to promoting South-South cooperation. President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi noted that Egypt highly commends Global Development Initiative （GDI） China proposed and believes it aims at facilitating refocusing on development through strengthening international development cooperation.

COLD WAR MENTALITY POSES THE GREATEST CHALLENGE TO WORLD PEACE AND DEVELOPMENT

Though facing unprecedented challenges， the people all over the world yearn for peace and stability. Western countries led by the U.S. are practicing hegemony， inflicting disastrous results on people around the world. As President Xi Jinping pointed out at the 14th meeting of BRICS leaders， “Our world today is overshadowed by the dark clouds of Cold War mentality and power politics， and beset by constantly emerging traditional and non-traditional security threats. Some countries attempt to expand military alliances to seek absolute security， stoke bloc-based confrontation by coercing other countries into picking sides， and pursue unilateral dominance at the expense of others rights and interests. If such dangerous trends are allowed to continue， the world will witness even more turbulence and insecurity.”

On the one hand， the dangerous momentum of U.S. hegemony and aggression is expanding in the Middle East. Back in 2018， former U.S. President Donald Trump put forward the Middle East Strategic Alliance （MESA） or Middle East version of NATO， namely joint Arabic and Israeli military forces to confront potential threats Israel and its Arabian allies face. In July 2022， U.S. President Biden made his first trip to the Middle East in his presidency， and forming Middle East Air Defense Alliance as one of his main goals has caused widespread concerns among people in Middle East.

On the other hand， NATO led by the U.S. keeps playing up security threat from China and Russia by cooking up a new version of Strategic Concept， taking containing Russia and China as a strategic focus and straining the global security situation. In early June 2022， NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg visited the U.S. and met with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken. At the press conference afterward， Jens Stoltenberg said NATO will update Strategic Concept at NATO Summit in Madrid. In an interview by CNN， he said the new Strategic Concept aimed at strengthening NATOs ability to cope with current and future challenges， including Ukraine crisis， armed group activities， cyber security， climate change， close ties between Russia and China as well as their intention to weaken current international system as a basis for global security and peace， etc. Antony Blinken noted the U.S. will provide budget support to NATO and commit to strengthening partnerships with EU and Indo-Pacific countries.

On June 29， 2022， NATO Madrid Summit rolled out the new Strategic Concept， calling Russia NATOs biggest and most direct threat. The document mentioned China for the first time， stressing that China has challenged NATOs values， interests and security， and made groundless accusations about Chinas defense， economic policies and technology development. This has once again shown NATOs outdated Cold War mentality， which will inflict negative influences upon global security and stability.

While wantonly playing up the so-called Chinese military threat， Western states turn a blind eye to American military hegemony trampling upon international order. In November 2021， U.S. Department of Defense released 2021 Annual Report on Chinas Military Development and Security Situation. It disrespectfully discussed Chinas defense policy and military strategy， played up fallacy of Chinas military threat and made groundless accusations about Chinas nuclear capacity building. In December， American President Joe Biden signed National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022， approving a national defense budget of about 770 billion U.S. dollars， up by 5% than 2021， highest in history. And the act targeted Russia and China rather obviously. Western states have never ceased groundless accusations and slanders against China. By initiating organized political and propaganda provocations， they have been trying to distort Chinas image as a peace-loving， people-centered country， contain rapid development of Chinese economy， and stop China from leading to build a new international order. However， they have neglected an irrefutable fact： America has built military bases all over the world; it has the most dangerous and deadliest weapons and puts the entire world under its military hegemony. In sharp contrast to that， China has never broken basic principles of international relations as imperial states and NATO did， nor has China wantonly attacked or invaded other countries. China and all peace-loving countries commit to building a new world free from hegemony， exploitation， clique politics and polarization. Those countries believe that China is genuinely dedicated to building a world of common prosperity for all mankind.

TWO INITIATIVES PROMISE THE WORLD A BRIGHT FUTURE

Currently， global economy is witnessing a quite slow recovery. South-North gap， development divide and technology gap keep widening. Human Development Index has drooped for the first time in the past three decades. Over 100 million people have recently fallen into poverty and nearly 800 million live in hunger. Environmental and climate challenges rise day by day. Meanwhile， mankind faces increasing traditional and non-traditional security threats， and world security deficit keeps aggravating.

Chinese President Xi Jinping proposed Global Development Initiative （GDI） when attending the General Debate of the 76th Session of UN General Assembly in September 2021. Aimed at easing pains for mankind and accelerating fulfillment of UN 2030 Sustainable Development Goals， it has won support from over 100 countries since proposed. In January 2022， the Group of Friends of the GDI was launched at the UN headquarters in New York， and more than 50 countries have joined it by now.

China is the largest developing country， as well as the most successful and inspiring one in the world. It has shaken off the burden of absolute poverty; Chinas contribution represents more than 70% of global poverty reduction. The credibility and sincerity of Chinese government in delivering promises to the people are main reasons that international community actively supports Chinese initiatives in economy， politics and security domains.

The COVID-19 pandemic sweeping across the world has hit mankind with a heavy blow. Facing the dangerous pandemic， the international community should be more aware of significance of vision of a community with a shared future for mankind put forward by China. China has offered about 2.2 billion doses of COVID vaccines to over 120 countries and international organizations. While China is generously lending a helping hand， Western rich countries are fighting for anti-epidemic supplies. They have never genuinely helped developing countries， nor have they truly cared about life security of their people. What is the biggest human right？ As President Xi Jinping has said， happy life for all is the biggest human right.

The COVID-19 pandemic has broken the process of economic recovery for most countries. Thanks to successful anti-epidemic policies， China has realized recovery growth in investment. Though there have been some setbacks in pandemic control， foreign investors confidence in Chinese market and stability and upward momentum of Chinese economy have not been dampened.

Only in a secure and steady environment can human civilization advance and countries prosper. China， of its own free will， shoulders important responsibility of safeguarding peace and stability， rejecting war and conflict， defusing violence and hatred， and cementing solidarity and collaboration. Committed to promoting progress of human civilization， China stands together with all countries against poverty， ignorance and arrogance and protects environment.

Against this backdrop， President Xi Jinping proposed Global Security Initiative （GSI） at opening ceremony of Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2022. The initiative elaborates on Chinas stance and proposal to unite the world through thick and thin， and to maintain world peace and tranquility. It proposes that countries shall stay committed to the vision of common， comprehensive， cooperative and sustainable security， and work together to maintain world peace and security; stay committed to respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries， uphold non-interference in internal affairs， and respect the independent choices of development paths and social systems made by people in different countries; stay committed to abiding by the purposes and principles of the UN Charter， reject the Cold War mentality， oppose unilateralism， and say no to group politics and bloc confrontation; stay committed to taking the legitimate security concerns of all countries seriously， uphold the principle of indivisible security， build a balanced， effective and sustainable security architecture， and oppose the pursuit of ones own security at the cost of others security; stay committed to peacefully resolving differences and disputes between countries through dialogue and consultation， support all efforts conducive to the peaceful settlement of crises， reject double standards， and oppose the wanton use of unilateral sanctions and long-arm jurisdiction; stay committed to maintaining security in both traditional and non-traditional domains， and work together on regional disputes and global challenges such as terrorism， climate change， cyber security and biosecurity.

The world is facing daunting threats and challenges due to exploitation by imperialism， aggression by neoliberal powers and their defiance of common values of mankind and basic principles of international laws. The GSI is a precious present China gives to people who are suffering from bleeding， aggression and worrying about the future.

Throughout history， China as an ancient civilization has all along upheld peace and contributed Chinese wisdom and Chinese solution to the world; it has never harbored colonial ambitions or aggressive attempts like Western states. More than 1，400 years ago， Islamist prophet Mohammed told his followers， seek knowledge， even if it takes you as far away as to China. It is now a widely-known Arabic saying. Concepts and initiatives proposed by President Xi Jinping have shown not only Chinese peoples confidence in the great journey ahead， but also trust of people from other countries in Chinese people to earnestly promote progress of human society. If confidence of imperialism roots in dollar and deadly weapons， then confidence of people from countries in the world roots in trust in Chinese people， Communist Party of China and Chinas state leaders.