Clinging to outdated mindset will not guarantee security
The latest manufactured angst in the United States about the president’s phone habits is yet another demonstration of the zero-sum Cold War mentality that still grips Washington.
This is at odds with the view expressed by President Xi Jinping in his congratulatory letter to the eighth Beijing Xiangshan Forum, a high-profile platform facilitating security dialogue in the Asia-Pacific, which opened in Beijing on Thursday.
Peace, development and win-win cooperation are the trends of today’s world, and the future of people around the world is closely connected, he wrote.
It is a view encapsulated in his proposal that countries work together to build a community with a shared future for mankind. A community based on common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security.
The forum, which Xi praised for playing a positive role in promoting security dialogue, mutual trust and cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region since its launch eight years ago, is part of China’s continuous endeavors to deepen global mutual trust, build consensus, mitigate suspicion and expand cooperation.
Beijing has been steadfast in calling on countries to join hands to build a peaceful and stable security environment conducive to the pursuit of common development.
This year, the theme for the forum is “Building a New Type of Security Partnership of Equality, Mutual Trust and Win-Win Cooperation”. This offers an inspiring alternative to the self-interest and unilateralism that is being promote at present by some countries and encapsulates the trend of the times.
Those denying the validity of agreements and global institutions are seeking to destroy the underpinnings of global stability that support the trend for multilateral cooperation.
Agreements such as the deal on climate change reached in Paris and the Iran nuclear deal were achievements made through difficult negotiations. But although hard-won, they were reached.
In his letter, Xi called on participants at the forum to pool their wisdom and work to realize a brighter future for mankind by building momentum for a new type of international relations that reject the zero-sum mentality in favor of all being winners.
The practice of seeking exclusive security at the expense of others’ legitimate interests and concerns is no longer desirable, or indeed tolerable. Those clinging to the ways of the past will be left behind by history.