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Wang Yi Attends the Second Middle East Security Forum

2022-09-21 22:30

On September 21, 2022 local time, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi attended the opening ceremony of the second Middle East Security Forum via video link.

Wang Yi said, three years ago, China held the first Middle East Security Forum, which gathered common ground and contributed wisdom to maintaining and promoting security in the Middle East. In the past three years, the principle of adhering to multilateralism and opposing unilateralism has gained more popularity in the Middle East; the call for upholding fairness and justice and opposing hegemony and bullying has become louder in the Middle East; the idea of promoting development and cooperation and guarding common security has taken root in the Middle East; encouraging progress has been made in strengthening civilization dialogue and enhancing understanding and trust in the Middle East. Under the new circumstances, it is both the common aspiration of the Middle East countries and the due responsibility of the international community to adopt systematic and forward-looking thinking based on the actual situation in the Middle East and changes in the international environment, so as to jointly resolve the security challenges in the Middle East and join hands to promote long-term stability in the Middle East.

Wang Yi stressed, in 2018 at the opening ceremony of the 8th Ministerial Meeting of the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum, President Xi Jinping raised the proposal to build a common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security architecture in the Middle East. It has  found an important way out for the security dilemma in the Middle East. In April this year, President Xi Jinping put forward the Global Security Initiative (GSI), which gives clear answers to the question of our times about how countries can achieve common security and is of great significance to promoting peace and stability in the Middle East. China is willing to take the implementation of the GSI as an opportunity to work with Middle East countries and the international community to jointly promote the construction of a new security architecture in the Middle East. Wang Yi put forward four proposals in this regard:

First, uphold the new vision of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security. We should uphold the vision of common security, pay attention to the reasonable security concerns of all countries, and should not seek unilateral absolute security. We should attach importance to a comprehensive approach, addressing both traditional security threats and non-traditional security challenges such as the pandemic, food and energy. We should adhere to cooperation and achieve security through political dialogue and peaceful negotiation, and should not have blind faith in force or unilateral actions. We should seek sustainable security, resolve conflicts through development, and eliminate the breeding ground for insecurity.

Second, clarify the dominant position of the Middle East countries. The people of the Middle East are the masters of the future and destiny of the region, and the Middle East security affairs should be in the hands of the Middle East countries. China supports the Middle East countries to independently build a regional security architecture that is in line with the reality of the region and takes into account the interests of all parties in the spirit of independence and self-reliance, and in exploring a path of long-term peace and security with characteristics of the Middle East.

Third, we should abide by the purposes and principles of the UN Charter. We must implement the UN Security Council resolutions on dealing with the hotspot issues in the Middle East, especially the Palestinian question, and support the UN's mediation efforts. We must uphold the international order based on international law, and the basic norms governing international relations underpinned by the purposes and principles of the UN Charter. We must reject hegemony and bullying, and oppose all unilateral sanctions and "long-arm jurisdiction" not authorized by the United Nations.

Fourth, strengthen dialogue on regional security. China advocates the resumption of peace talks between Palestine and Israel on the basis of the "two-state solution" as soon as possible, and calls for the convening of a more authoritative and more influential international peace conference on a larger scale. China supports countries in the Gulf region to strengthen dialogue and ease conflicts, and advocates the establishment of a Gulf security dialogue platform to build mutual trust and common security through dialogue.

Wang Yi pointed out that as a strategic partner of the Middle East countries, China has always been an important constructive force in promoting peace and supporting development in the Middle East. Over the past year, China has put forward a five-point initiative on achieving security and stability in the Middle East, a four-point proposal for the political settlement of the Syrian issue, and a three-point vision for the implementation of the "two-state solution" between Palestine and Israel. At the same time, China has joined hands with the Middle East countries to combat the pandemic, advance the Belt and Road cooperation, and strengthen cooperation within the framework of the Global Development Initiative, so as to positively help promote the development of the Middle East. China is willing to continue to work with the Middle East countries and the international community to make unremitting efforts to achieve long-term peace and stability in the Middle East.

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The second Middle East Security Forum was held in Beijing on September 21 in an online-plus-offline format, themed on "Promoting a new security architecture in the Middle East to achieve common security in the region", hosted by the China Institute of International Studies.

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