Xi's security outlook

Since President Xi Jinping made the remark that no one in the international community should be allowed to throw a region or the whole world into chaos for selfish gains, there has been much speculation about which country or countries he was referring to. Instead of playing this guessing game, it would be more meaningful to pay attention to the vision of security that China's new leader presented.

Xi made the remark on Sunday when delivering a keynote speech at the annual conference of the Boao Forum for Asia. Elaborating China's views on peace and security, Xi urged the world community to work together for comprehensive security, common security and cooperative security so as to build the global village into a big stage for common development, rather than a venue where gladiators fight each other.

This new concept of shared security is in stark contrast to the parochial approach, which tends to view security based on one's own interests and needs. Driven by such an undesirable approach, a country will always calculate its own gains first whenever there is a regional or global security crisis.

From the Syria crisis to maritime territorial disputes in the East and South China seas, in the final analysis many of the world's security woes today can, one way or another, be traced back to the pursuit of selfish gains in disregard of regional and global security needs.

Frictions among countries are inevitable with the growing interaction and interdependency among countries. But the law of the jungle is not the right answer to security concerns in the present-day world. Nor does diplomatic realism mean countries can trample on others' interests while pursuing their own.

Xi's proposal represents both the Chinese desire for and commitment to peaceful co-existence and dissatisfaction about the irresponsible manner in which some countries are approaching regional and international issues.

Rather than undercutting each other's efforts, countries should cooperate with each other and make joint contributions to world and regional peace and stability.

While pursuing individual interests, they should also give due consideration to both the larger regional picture and the interests of other countries.

As members of the same global village, all countries should strive to foster the sense for a community of shared destiny. They should always opt for dialogue and negotiation to resolve disputes and conflicts.

(China Daily 04/10/2013 page8)