By Yu Jinghao, In Wau, Western Bahr el Ghazal state, South Sudan, stands a blue and white brick-and-concrete structure. This is a police station named after a Chinese peacekeeping police officer – Dongxing.
In 2008, Sun Dongxing was sent to Wau on a United Nations peacekeeping mission. The local police station was dilapidated and unusable. Responding to the pleas of local officials, he raised funds, hired a construction team, purchased materials, made renovation designs, and supervised the renovation of the police station.
Over the past 16 years, the Dongxing Police Station has always been a symbol of China’s commitment to peace and friendliness.
“China has always been an envoy of peace, helping South Sudan maintain social stability. I’m very grateful to China,” said Kon Mel Ayok, a senior police officer with the Western Bahr el Ghazal State Police Department.
In the 75 years since the founding of the People’s Republic of China, the country has always followed the path of peaceful development and been a staunch force that safeguards world peace.
China is the only major country that has written peaceful development into the Constitution of the country and the Constitution of the governing party, thus making peaceful development a commitment of the nation.
China is the only country among the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council that has pledged no-first-use of nuclear weapons. It is also the biggest contributor of peacekeepers among the permanent members of the Security Council, and the second largest contributor to the United Nation’s regular budget and peacekeeping assessment.
Over the past more than 30 years, China has sent more than 50,000 Chinese soldiers and over 2,700 Chinese police officers to peacekeeping missions in more than 20 countries and regions.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that China’s peaceful development is a noble cause in human history, benefiting the peace and progress of all humanity.
In late July, 14 Palestinian factions gathered at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing for a reconciliation dialogue, and signed the Beijing Declaration on Ending Division and Strengthening Palestinian National Unity. It has become a crucial step toward the resolution of the Palestinian question and the realization of peace and stability in the Middle East.
Mahmoud al-Aloul, deputy chief of the Fatah Movement, said at the signing ceremony that China is a beacon of light, and its efforts to promote reconciliation among various factions in Palestine are rare and commendable in the international arena.
In May 2014, Chinese President Xi Jinping put forward the vision of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security. About eight years later, eying the future of mankind, he solemnly proposed the Global Security Initiative (GSI). The initiative gives explicit answers to questions of the times such as what security concept the world needs and how countries can achieve common security. It charts the course for achieving lasting peace and universal security.
So far, the GSI has garnered support and appreciation from over 100 countries and international and regional organizations. The initiative and its core concepts have been written into more than 90 bilateral and multilateral documents on China’s cooperation with other countries and international organizations, making it a globally influential international consensus.
China firmly upholds the basic norms governing international relations and safeguards international fairness and justice. It has always decided its position and policy on issues based on their own merits. China respects the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries, and stands firmly against all forms of hegemonism and power politics.
China leverages the role of the United Nations with all parties, promotes security cooperation within the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, BRICS cooperation, Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia, and other mechanisms.
It continues to build international security dialogue and exchange platforms such as the Beijing Xiangshan Forum and the Global Public Security Cooperation Forum (Lianyungang).
China is also establishing international exchange and cooperation platforms and mechanisms in areas such as counter-terrorism, law enforcement, cybersecurity, emerging technologies, and climate change.
The country has issued position papers on the Ukraine crisis, Palestine-Israel conflict and Afghan issue. It has facilitated the reconciliation between Saudi Arabia and Iran.
Nigerian President Bola Tinubu said China is a powerful force in maintaining world peace and stability, and is committed to resolving conflicts through dialogue and negotiation.
At the recent 2024 Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation held in Beijing, China vowed to help Africa improve its capacity in safeguarding peace and stability independently. It put forward the Partnership Action for Common Security, to prioritize Africa in implementing the GSI, promote mutual reinforcement of high-quality development and greater security, and work together with Africa to uphold world peace and stability.
In countries like Iraq and Pakistan, a large number of projects aided by China or undertaken by Chinese enterprises, such as road construction, power plant establishment, and factory operation, have been successfully implemented. These projects, which bring both economic and social benefits, are effectively addressing the root causes of instability and enhancing the international strength in maintaining world peace.
Dedicated to peace, development, cooperation, and mutual benefit, China will strive to safeguard world peace and development as it pursues its own development, and it will make greater contributions to world peace and development through its own development. Every increase of China’s strength is an increase of the prospects of world peace.
