China is committed to being an advocate for global development, a guardian of the international order and a provider of public goods

Profound changes are driving rising instability, uncertainty and insecurity worldwide. The risk of military confrontation continues to grow amid the escalation of the Ukraine crisis, the prolonged Palestine-Israel conflict and United States’ military attack on Venezuela. While non-traditional security threats such as terrorism and transnational crimes are intensifying, traditional security challenges, including border clashes and territorial disputes, have once again become global flashpoints. The global economy is on the brink of collapse as the US wages tariff wars on a worldwide scale.

In response to the protracted regional conflicts, weaponized interdependence and fragmented economic cooperation, countries are placing greater emphasis on security and resilience. The securitization of international relations is now a focal issue in both theory and policy practice.

While global military spending surges, development financing faces shortfalls. According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, world military expenditure reached $2.72 trillion in 2024, up 37 percent between 2015 and 2024. The global military burden — the share of the world’s GDP devoted to military expenditure — increased to 2.5 percent in 2024.

In stark contrast, progress on the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development remains sluggish: Only 35 percent of targets are on track or showing moderate progress, nearly half are progressing too slowly, and 18 percent are regressing. The annual financing gap for sustainable development has reached $4 trillion.

Economic globalization is giving way to security globalization. Since the end of the Cold War, economic globalization has facilitated the expansion of global trade and the deep integration of industry and supply chains, significantly improving production efficiency and fostering interdependence among countries.

However, as interdependence becomes increasingly weaponized, concerns over economic vulnerabilities have grown. Many countries are restructuring their supply chains to strengthen domestic resilience. Economic cooperation, once guided by development objectives and market openness, is gradually being replaced by economic coercion and tariff wars conducted in the name of security through unilateral and protectionist measures. As a result, security risks within the global economic system continue to escalate. This is one of the reasons why the securitization of international relations emerges.

Another reason is the product of a global governance system long dominated by the West. Peaceful coexistence is a prerequisite for security. However, the Western-led governance framework emphasizes Western centrality and Western pathways, treating alternative models and approaches as deviations and threats.

Despite the growing shift toward multipolarity, the Western-centered international political and economic order has failed to adjust to changes in the global balance of power. As the Global South rises, some Western countries continue to rely on Cold War thinking and hegemonic logic, framing normal trade, technological cooperation and cultural exchange as tools of geopolitical competition.

Prioritizing geopolitical rivalry and ideological confrontation over economic and market rules has led to the politicization of economic issues, the securitization of social issues and the excessive expansion of security concerns.

Against this backdrop, China has upheld the vision of a community with a shared future for humanity and proposed four global initiatives: the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative, the Global Civilization Initiative and the Global Governance Initiative. Together, they provide strategic guidance for building a more just and equitable global governance system to counter the securitization of international relations.

First, advancing the Global Development Initiative lays a material foundation. Development is the master key to solving problems. Countering the securitization of international relations requires restoring global confidence in development. The Global Development Initiative aims to bring development back to the center of the international agenda and inject new impetus into the implementation of the UN 2030 Agenda.

From the 10 partnership actions with Africa to the eight actions for global development, from the five programs for China-Latin America cooperation to the seven cooperation platforms for Pacific Island countries, China has supported more than 1,800 assistance projects and mobilized over $23 billion in development financing in the Global South. China has also initiated the Group of Friends of the Global Development Initiative at the UN, bringing together more than 80 countries and international organizations to establish a network of global development promotion centers, and has signed cooperation documents on the initiative with over 80 countries and international institutions.

Second, advancing the Global Security Initiative sets the strategic direction. The Global Security Initiative is grounded in the principle of common security and pursued through equality and cooperation. Aligned with the UN Charter and its principles, the initiative has injected inclusiveness and diversity into global security governance. By leveraging the UN’s important role in promoting world peace, China has continued to expand security cooperation within multilateral platforms such as the Shanghai Cooperation Organization to facilitate solutions to traditional security challenges and hotspot issues.

Guided by the Global Security Initiative, China has pledged to strengthen international cooperation on addressing security challenges in areas such as counterterrorism, cybersecurity, biosecurity and emerging technologies. It has also committed to providing other developing countries with 5,000 training opportunities to jointly tackle global security issues.

Third, advancing the Global Civilization Initiative seeks to strengthen spiritual support for tackling security challenges. Some countries view security as an issue of identity confrontation, blaming civilizational differences as sources of ideological conflict. China, on the other hand, advocates shared values for humanity. It believes that exchanges and mutual learning among civilizations are effective ways to overcome historical divides and build trust. For example, China has hosted the Fourth Dialogue on Exchanges and Mutual Learning among Civilizations to promote the Silk Road spirit, fostering cultural integration, intellectual exchange and people-to-people bonds.

These concepts have also been implemented through various mechanisms, with government-led efforts inspiring broad public engagement. Through initiatives such as the China-Africa network of knowledge for development, 25 China-Africa research centers and the Global South Think Tanks Alliance, China has been facilitating people-to-people exchanges and experience sharing in state governance. Social media platforms such as TikTok and RedNote have become key windows for global youth to learn about China and the world.

Fourth, advancing the Global Governance Initiative aims to promote a more just and equitable global governance system. The turbulent international dynamics and security disorder in today’s world have deepened global deficits, making it imperative for countries to abandon confrontational mindsets to explore governance-based solutions to global challenges. The Global Governance Initiative focuses on top-level reform of the existing international system and calls for upholding sovereign equality in place of hegemony, strengthening the international rule of law over power politics, practicing multilateralism rather than unilateralism, advocating a people-centered approach to address development challenges and taking real actions to respond to international concerns.

China will continue to advance a new path of governance that promotes peace through equality, strengthens security through development and drives cooperation to replace confrontation, working with all countries to build a better world.

Wu Zhicheng is the director and a professor at the Institute of International Strategic Studies at the Party School of the Communist Party of China Central Committee (National Academy of Governance). Zhang Junsu is a doctoral student at the Institute of International Strategy at the Party School of the Central Committee of the CPC (National Academy of Governance).

The authors contributed this article to China Watch, a think tank powered by China Daily. The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.

Contact the editor at editor@chinawatch.cn.