Global Security Initiative

The Global Security Initiative (GSI, Chinese: 全球安全倡议) is an initiative proposed by Chinese Communist Party general secretary Xi Jinping during the annual Boao Forum on 21 April 2022. Officially, the initiative is meant to "uphold the principle of indivisible security, build a balanced, effective and sustainable security architecture, and oppose the building of national security on the basis of insecurity in other countries."

The GSI has received promotion alongside two related initiatives, namely the Global Development Initiative (GDI) and the Global Civilization Initiative (GCI), which were introduced in 2021 and 2023, respectively.

Concept

The new security concept is part of the background for the GSI.: 132 

The GSI identifies six commitments: (1) common, comprehensive, cooperative, and sustainable security; (2) respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries; (3) abiding by the purpose and principles of the UN Charter; (4) taking the security concerns of all countries seriously; (5) peacefully resolving disputes between countries through dialogue; and (6) maintaining security in both traditional and non-traditional fields.: 158  The principles outlined by the Global Security Initiative are long-standing elements of China's security policy.: 158 

History

The GSI was announced during the 2022 Boao Forum for Asia.: 132 

Articulations of the Global Security Initiative have included little operational detail.: 158  It has been described as a "concrete manifestation" of Xi Jinping Thought on Diplomacy.

China issued a further statement of the initiative, outlining principles, priorities and platforms, in a concept paper on 21 February 2023. The GSI has since sponsored the Global Public Security Co-operation Forum to become China's largest international security event, showing various technologies used in mass surveillance.

Africa has been central to first applications of the GSI, with some analysts describing it as a "testing ground" for the GSI. At the opening ceremony of the 2024 FOCAC Summit, Xi Jinping pledged "RMB1 billion yuan of grants in military assistance, (...) training for 6,000 military personnel and 1,000 police and law enforcement officers from Africa", identifying the resulting FOCAC 2025-2027 Action Plan as an early example of GSI implementation. By 2025, some 40 African countries had collaborated with Chinese police institutions with notable examples including a 2022 Ethio-Sino security agreement for the protection of BRI infrastructure (e.g. the Addis Ababa-Djibouti Standard Gauge Railway (SGR)), a 2024 Ethiopia China Law Enforcement Centre, law enforcement training for Somali security officials in July 2025, or training for police force around the Chinese-funded Mombasa-Nairobi SGR.

Reception

Analysts have described the GSI as a way of increasing China's global influence. In terms of temporality, it represents a forward-looking initiative, while simultaneously being firmly rooted in long-established principles of Chinese foreign policy.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "China's Xi Proposes Global Security Initiative". The Diplomat. Retrieved 30 October 2022.
  2. 1 2 Puranen, Matti; Chen, Julie Yu-Wen (2025). Chinese Vision for a Durable Security Order in an Era of Great Power Competition: The Global Security Initiative. In Veera Laine, Matti Puranen and Ville Sinkkonen (eds.) The Tragedy of Competing International Orders? Visions of Key Powers in an Age of Global Contestation (1st ed.). Abingdon: Routledge. pp. 40–51. ISBN 9781003562306.
  3. 1 2 Zhang, Chuchu (2025). China's Changing Role in the Middle East: Filling a Power Vacuum?. Changing Dynamics in Asia-Middle East Relations series. Abingdon, Oxon; New York, NY: Routledge. ISBN 978-1-032-76275-3.
  4. 1 2 3 Shinn, David H.; Eisenman, Joshua (2023). China's Relations with Africa: a New Era of Strategic Engagement. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 978-0-231-21001-0.
  5. 1 2 "China using Global Security Initiative to build military standing in Africa". South China Morning Post. 31 July 2022. Retrieved 30 October 2022.
  6. 1 2 Greitens, Sheena Chestnut (3 October 2022). "Xi Jinping's Quest for Order". Foreign Affairs. ISSN 0015-7120. Retrieved 16 November 2025.
  7. ↑ "Analysis: Xi floats 'global security initiative' with eye on Pacific". Nikkei Asia. Retrieved 30 October 2022.
  8. ↑ Curtis, Simon; Klaus, Ian (2024). The Belt and Road City: Geopolitics, Urbanization, and China's Search for a New International Order. New Haven and London: Yale University Press. p. 198. doi:10.2307/jj.11589102. ISBN 9780300266900. JSTOR jj.11589102.
  9. ↑ "China releases 'global security initiative'". Deutsche Welle. 21 February 2023. Retrieved 25 February 2023.
  10. ↑ "The Global Security Initiative Concept Paper". www.fmprc.gov.cn. Retrieved 25 February 2023.
  11. 1 2 "China's creepiest export surge". The Economist. 13 November 2025. ISSN 0013-0613. Retrieved 16 November 2025.
  12. ↑ Nantulya, Paul. "Africa as a Testing Ground for China's Global Security Initiative". Africa Center. Retrieved 9 October 2026.
  13. ↑ "Full text: Keynote address by Chinese President Xi Jinping at opening ceremony of 2024 FOCAC summit". english.www.gov.cn. Retrieved 9 October 2026.
  14. ↑ Nantulya, Paul. "Africa as a Testing Ground for China's Global Security Initiative". Africa Center. Retrieved 9 October 2026.
  15. ↑ "Ethiopia, China sign agreement to establish Law Enforcement Cooperation Center". Welcome to Fana Media Corporation S.C. 10 July 2023. Retrieved 9 October 2026.
  16. ↑ Somalia, F. T. L. (2 July 2025). "Somali Security Officials Complete China Training Under GSI - Somali News today Live". FTL Somalia. Retrieved 9 October 2026.
  17. ↑ Nantulya, Paul. "Africa as a Testing Ground for China's Global Security Initiative". Africa Center. Retrieved 9 October 2026.