Common security key for global prosperity

Countries should pursue consensuses through dialogue, envoys tells meeting

China's ambassador to the United Nations on Monday called for the establishment of a security concept that meets the needs of the times, respects the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries and creates a stable strategic security environment for the global community.

"If countries want to achieve their own security, they cannot ignore the legitimate security concerns of other countries; they cannot build their own security on the basis of insecurity in other countries," Zhang Jun, China's permanent representative to the UN, said at the UN Security Council briefing on the maintenance of international peace and security.

China assumed the rotating presidency of the UN Security Council in August. One of its priorities is to facilitate dialogue and cooperation for common security. Monday's briefing was one of the signature events for China during its presidency.

Zhang said countries will always have different views on security issues, resulting in conflicts of interest. But countries should find common ground through dialogue and cooperation, and disputes should be resolved peacefully, he said.

"Holding onto the Cold War mentality and engaging in unilateralism, zero-sum games, group confrontation, and power politics will not only make it difficult to ensure long-term security but will also lead to escalating crises and the opposite of common security," Zhang said.

The Global Security Initiative, put forward by President Xi Jinping, focuses on international security questions of the times, gives directions to realize common security and provides China's plan for current international security issues, Zhang said.

China put forward the initiative at the Boao Forum for Asia in April to safeguard world peace and tranquillity.

"This initiative is open, and China is willing to work with the international community to implement the content of the initiative with practical actions through sincere and pragmatic dialogue and cooperation, and jointly build a balanced, effective and sustainable international security architecture," Zhang said.

He said that the development path and social system chosen by the people of each country and the efforts of each country to maintain national unity should be respected.

"China always respects the sovereignty and territorial integrity of other countries, upholds international fairness and justice, and supports the efforts of the international community to achieve common security. At the same time, China will take all measures to firmly safeguard its own sovereignty and territorial integrity."

Zhang said that driven by the so-called strategic competition of great powers, the global strategic security environment is deteriorating, and the international nonproliferation system represented by the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, is facing the most severe challenge since the end of the Cold War.

The country with the largest nuclear arsenal should fulfill its responsibility for nuclear disarmament and substantially reduce its nuclear arsenal in a verifiable, irreversible and legally binding manner, to create the conditions for nuclear disarmament, Zhang said.