Inclusive, sustainable development is the proper way forward

During the recent annual gathering of the Boao Forum for Asia, President Xi Jinping proposed the Global Security Initiative, a move aimed at galvanizing the international community to synergize the pursuit of world peace and security.

The pronouncement comes at a time of inordinate international strife. The perils of great power politics are clearly marked out in the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine. The COVID-19 pandemic has had immense global health and economic impacts, and climate change continues to precipitate calamities.

In exemplifying the way out of these and other world afflictions, President Xi has put forward some remedies. He has challenged world leaders to uphold the principles of the United Nations Charter and eschew the impulse of meddling in other states' internal affairs. He also urged countries to prioritize consultations and dialogue as a means of pacifying active and potential cross-border conflicts.

A more durable path to consolidating peace and security for the international community, according to Xi, is rooted in inclusive and sustainable socioeconomic development.

China's proposed peace and security framework echoes a number of time-tested principles that have anchored human progress over the centuries. The first concerns civilizational amity－the idea that each civilization or social system is unique and only through strategic dialogue can world societies peacefully cooperate and overcome common challenges.

China's idea of common prosperity for humankind has found relevance and wide acceptance among developing countries. In the fight against the global health crisis, Beijing has used its technological capabilities to promote a united international response against COVID-19. So far, China has provided more than 2.1 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines to over 120 countries and international organizations. The vaccines, which are either produced overseas or shipped from China, have made a huge contribution to global wellness.

Yet another principle is based on economic development as a guarantor of peace and security. China has lifted over 850 million people out of extreme poverty in just three decades. As a result, many societies around the world could learn from China. Since Beijing proposed the Belt and Road Initiative in 2013, more than 50 African countries have signed up. In the past decade, Chinese enterprises have contributed up to 20 percent to Africa's economic growth.

Xi's Global Security Initiative can also be viewed alongside regional proposals such as the Initiative of Peaceful Development in the Horn of Africa. Beijing is nudging Horn countries to reset governance and development matrices in order to generate necessary public goods that can guarantee durable peace, security and development.

Since the initial visit in March by the Chinese envoy to the Horn of Africa, Ambassador Xue Bing, the Horn countries have agreed to a China-supported peace conference to reimagine the future of the region－a tangible demonstration of Beijing's constructive role in African issues.

In his proposal, Xi also sees multilateralism as the most potent tool to deal with traditional as well as new peace and security threats in the world. Terrorism, climate change, pandemics and cybersecurity present some of the most intractable headwinds to international peace, security and stability. Only through synergy can countries push these new threats aside and guarantee livable spaces globally.

China now invites countries to consider its new proposal on global security. There is no doubt that the world is currently facing numerous peace and security challenges that require urgent and sustainable solutions. The proposal should be given due consideration by China's international partners.

The writer is a scholar of international relations in Kenya.