Unfortunately, over 14,500 wars have been waged over the past 5,000-plus years of recorded human history, claiming as many as 3.6 billion lives, the veteran diplomat said, adding, "If our 5,000-year history were condensed into 24 hours, war would have consumed about 23 hours."

Particularly amid mounting global instability and uncertainty, growing mistrust and the rise of de-globalization, what is needed for pursuing peace and security? Government officials and scholars from around the world gathered to find an answer at the 11th World Peace Forum, an event hosted by Tsinghua University in Beijing on July 1-3.

In his keynote speech at the opening ceremony on July 2, Chinese Vice President Han Zheng stressed the importance of resolving conflicts through dialogue and consultation. "The international community, especially influential major countries, should take a clear stand to promote peace talks and mediation in light of the needs and aspirations of the countries concerned to build mutual trust, resolve disputes and promote security through dialogue," Han noted.

A Chinese solution

Cui Tiankai, Chinese Ambassador to the United States from 2013 to 2021, elaborated a widespread and growing sense of insecurity by almost all countries at a plenary session of the forum. "We have armed conflicts again here in the world; we have rising risks of nuclear proliferation or proliferation of other weapons of mass destruction; we are faced with many non-conventional security concerns—

climate change, pandemics, natural disasters, and the food security and energy security crises in many developing countries that have resulted from the conflict in Ukraine," he said.

He emphasized that, more than ever before, the international community should work together to stabilize and maintain world peace.

In the face of profound changes in the international situation, China has put forward a series of proposals and initiatives, including the Global Development Initiative (GDI), the Global Security Initiative (GSI) and the Global Civilizations Initiative (GCI), laying a path toward a community with a shared future for humanity and injecting new impetus into world peace and development, Han said.

He stressed China stands ready to work with other countries to safeguard world peace and security, seek global development and prosperity, advocate exchange and mutual learning among civilizations, and share the fruits of human development, security and civilization, Han said.

At a lunch meeting during the forum, Liu highlighted China's implementation of the GDI, GSI and GCI and emphasized that past experiences have demonstrated the effectiveness of "China's path to peace" in addressing the challenges to peace.

He said China's propositions of advocating dialogue and a political resolution to the Ukraine crisis have gained widespread acceptance in the international community. Additionally, China's mediation in the resumption of diplomatic relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran has triggered a ripple effect, fostering a wave of reconciliation in the Middle East and serving as a positive example to the world.

The GDI, GSI and GCI are all important initiatives that are critical to a brighter future of the world, Igor Ivanov, President of the Russian International Affairs Council, said on the sidelines of the forum.

"The initiatives address how the international order should be developed and embody some particularly important principles. In the future, every country must feel secure and have the opportunity to develop its economy in the right way, and all should have a say in the international system," Ivanov added.

The 'de-risking' myth

"One of the most serious threats in the world today is linked to new protectionism, such as curbing the development of emerging countries," President of the BRICS-led New Development Bank and former Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff said at the forum. BRICS is the acronym for an emerging-market bloc that groups Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

Some Western politicians have promoted the idea of "de-risking" from China this year.

Rousseff said she believes rhetoric like "decoupling" and "de-risking" will not only weaken economic globalization and international financial cooperation but also become a political weapon to contain rising countries.

Xie Tao, Dean of the School of International Relations and Diplomacy at Beijing Foreign Studies University, shares a similar view. "The terminology 'de-risking' sounds interesting. We all want less risk and more certainty. But it is a euphemism for decoupling [when used by the U.S.]. The true intention is to curb China's peaceful rise," he said.

Xie has been quite optimistic about the direction in which globalization is heading. He explained, "There is no country in the world that has a completely self-sufficient economy. That's the law of economic development, and that's going to be the future of globalization. Unfortunately, at this moment the U.S. and some other Western countries are calling for 'de-risking.' This will lead to a temporary rise in protectionism, but in the long term, countries that embrace globalization will be the biggest winners in the next wave of economic development."

"In Australia, we never say 'de-risking'," Australian Ambassador to China Graham Fletcher said during a panel on global supply chain restructuring during the forum. At a time when all countries are focusing on mitigating risk and increasing the resilience and security of their supply chains, countries need alternative suppliers in case a chain is unexpectedly disrupted, according to Fletcher. "This carries a different meaning from the 'de-risking' used by the U.S.," he said.

Fletcher said he believes trade is the only way out, or "we'll fall into the trap of protectionism." He cited data indicating one in every four jobs in Australia is trade-related, and income generated by export surpasses that of other sectors. As the international climate becomes more complicated, trade is crucial in securing economic strength and resilience, he added.

Rousseff stressed that despite the current weakening of globalization dynamics, different parts of the world still remain interdependent, and the idea of cutting off global links and increasing barriers is unrealistic. "Improving global governance is the foundation for common prosperity. We should continuously improve existing institutions and, when necessary, establish new institutions that are more effective, flexible and based on multilateral and multipolar approaches," she said.

(Print Edition Title: A Path to Peace)

Copyedited by G.P. Wilson

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