Liu Zhenmin, the former Secretary General for Economic and Social Affairs at the UN, speaks on Wednesday during the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2023 in Boao, Hainan province. FENG YONGBIN CHINA DAILY Assistant Foreign Minister Nong Rong has called for the Asia-Pacific countries to uphold the China-proposed Global Security Initiative to safeguard security, stability and sustained prosperity in the region.
Nong spoke on Wednesday during a panel discussion on the global geopolitical outlook on the sidelines of the ongoing Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2023 in Boao, Hainan province.
Nong said peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region are facing complex and grave challenges due to geopolitical competition and nontraditional security threats, despite a period of great turbulence and changes in the world.
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The Global Security Initiative, proposed by President Xi Jinping last April at the Boao Forum for Asia annual conference, has made clear the direction and path for countries to work together to uphold regional security and stability, and to achieve sustainable prosperity in the region, Nong said.
He called for a partnership with mutual trust, inclusiveness and win-win cooperation to consolidate the political foundation of Asia-Pacific security and stability.
He said that any nation attempting to stoke a NATO-like alliance, create a Cold War in the Asia-Pacific region, or stoke a Cold War in the region will stand on the opposite side of regional countries that remain committed to peace and development.
Nong stated the need to consolidate the foundation of regional stability through promoting common development, and advance the building of a balanced, effective and sustainable security architecture in the region.
Participants applauded the significance of the Global Security Initiative amid mounting global geopolitical competition, particularly in the context of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, and praised China's position on the political settlement of the Ukraine crisis.
Liu Zhenmin, the former Secretary General for Economic and Social Affairs at the United Nations, said the world is in an era of great division and is facing the gravest risks since the end of World War II.
Liu said it is time to think about how to deal with the Ukraine crisis, which is one of the gravest risks. Efforts should be made to achieve a ceasefire first and then explore ways to end the crisis, he said.
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The main lesson that should be learned from the crisis is that Europe's current security mechanism is problematic and imbalanced, Liu said. After the crisis is resolved, he expressed his hope that European countries and the UN work together to build a new European security framework.
Danilo Turk, Slovenia's former president, praised China's position on the Ukraine crisis, saying that the role and work of China is very important and should not be forgotten.
He said that the 12 point proposal that China put forward in its position paper on a political settlement of the Ukraine crisis in February included a very clear and strong call for respect for humanitarian laws, forming a conceptual framework for further actions to solve the crisis.