On May 6, 2022, Vice Foreign Minister Le Yucheng attended "Seeking Peace and Promoting Development: An Online Dialogue of Global Think Tanks of 20 Countries" and delivered a keynote speech titled "Acting on the Global Security Initiative to Safeguard World Peace and Tranquility".

Le Yucheng said, currently, the COVID pandemic is raging, and the Russia-Ukraine conflict is still escalating. In the meantime, we are witnessing perverse attempts to wage a new Cold War, rampant hegemonism and power politics, and a rising tide of division and confrontation of the world. Crises are lurking in the international political, economic and security order, presenting unprecedented challenges to peace and development, the underlying theme of our times. Facing these once-in-a-century changes and a world in turmoil, China is determined to act as a responsible major country. We have made great efforts to safeguard international peace and security and to explore way forward for humanity. President Xi Jinping's vision of building a community with a shared future for mankind and vision of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security have been warmly received and widely endorsed by the international community. Recently, President Xi Jinping also solemnly proposed a Global Security Initiative (GSI). The idea is to take the new vision on security as the guiding principle, mutual respect as the fundamental requirement, indivisible security as the important principle, and building a security community as the long-term goal, in order to foster a new type of security that replaces confrontation, alliance and a zero-sum approach with dialogue, partnership and win-win results. This major initiative offers a fundamental solution to eliminating "the peace deficit" and contributes Chinese perspectives to meeting international security challenges.

Le Yucheng refuted such absurd allegations as misinterpreting the words of the China-Russia joint statement to mean that China had "prior knowledge" of Russia's special military operation in Ukraine and even "endorsed" it, and accusing China of standing on the wrong side of history for not joining the United States and other Western countries in condemning and sanctioning Russia, illustrated China's contributions to global security with facts and figures, and pointed out that China pursues an independent foreign policy of peace and determines its position based on the merits of the matter. China is a champion of world peace and a positive force for global security. China's development reinforces the global dynamic in favor of peace and stability.

Le Yucheng stressed, peace and development are the perpetual pursuit of humankind and they need to be earned and protected. Our world today faces a swirling combination of change and instability. Crises and challenges emerge without cease, and factors undermining peace are building up. At such a critical moment in the development of humankind, we must act with the destiny and future of humanity in mind, step up to our responsibility, and rise above prejudice and contention. Together with all peace-loving forces in the world, we must adopt the new vision on security, take active steps to operationalize the GSI, and meet the international security challenges for the sake of world peace and tranquility. He put forward the following priorities:

First, it is important to stay committed to international law and universally recognized norms of international relations, and reject the attempt to replace international rules with "house rules". In this global village, we need to respect each other, treat one another as equals and abide by common rules. Major countries in particular must lead by the power of their example, not by the example of their power or claim "exceptionalism". They should not practice double standards. They should not ask others to respect sovereignty while they themselves meddle in the internal affairs of others. They should not criticize others for violating international law while they themselves apply international rules selectively or create another set of the so-called "rules-based order" in an attempt to place their own "house rules" above international law. Such acts only give international law and rules a bad name and undermine them.

Second, it is important to stay committed to the principle of indivisible security, and reject the attempt to pursue one's own security at the expense of others. No country should build its security at the cost of others or choose a path that only serves itself but makes things difficult for others. We humanity have long been a community of indivisible security. As such, we must uphold the vision of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security, reject zero-sum games, competition and confrontation, take seriously the security of others, and safeguard the common security of all. Only by doing so can one achieve his own security.

Third, it is important to stay committed to global solidarity and cooperation, and reject the attempt to revive bloc politics and ideological confrontation. Any wishful attempt to preserve hegemony, gang up, form exclusive circles, pin undesirable labels on others, spread the ridiculous "democracy versus autocracy" narrative, or stoke major-country rivalry and divide the world on ideological grounds would land humanity in bigger trouble, rather than helping to address the common challenges facing humanity. The international community should choose dialogue over confrontation, solidarity over division and justice over hegemony. We should join hands to uphold international peace and security together.

Fourth, it is important to stay committed to opposing unilateral sanctions, and reject the attempt to turn a regional crisis into a global one. Unilateral sanctions always add fuel to the fire and magnify and complicate the existing problems. It is the people of the world that are being hurt by the sanctions. Using the world economy, the development of countries and the wellbeing of their peoples as a weapon or a tool and creating and even aggravating multiple crises in order to tackle an existing crisis will shake the foundation of the international economic system and cause turmoil around the world.

Fifth, it is important to stay committed to security and stability in the Asia-Pacific, and reject the attempt to allow turmoil or war to arise in this region. Countries in the Asia-Pacific must cherish and preserve peace and hold our destiny in our own hands. We cannot allow bloc-based confrontation to repeat itself in the Asia-Pacific; we cannot allow certain countries to succeed in their self-serving attempt to drag the Asia-Pacific into conflict; we cannot allow small and medium-sized countries in our region to become the tool or victim of hegemony. Countries both in and outside the region should add splendor rather than trouble to the Asia-Pacific, work to operationalize the new vision on security and the GSI, and find a path to Asia-Pacific security featuring joint contribution, shared benefit and win-win outcome.

After the speech, Le Yucheng also answered questions raised by Chinese and foreign scholars present at the dialogue.

This dialogue was jointly hosted by China Public Diplomacy Association and Renmin University of China, and organized by Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies, Renmin University of China. It was chaired by Vice President of China Public Diplomacy Association Hu Zhengyue. Vice President of Renmin University of China Liu Yuanchun attended and addressed the dialogue. Former dignitaries, experts and scholars from 20 countries and representatives of international organizations to China participated in the dialogue online and offline.