ADDIS ABABA, Dec. 5 (Xinhua) -- Chinese, African Union (AU), and United Nations (UN) officials have called for further deepening China-Africa cooperation to build peace and common security in Africa and beyond.
The appeal came at a high-level seminar on Thursday at the AU headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, discussing the China-initiated Global Security Initiative (GSI) under the theme "Working Together to Build a Common Security: China and Africa in Action."
Speaking at the event, Wang Lixin, director general of the Department of Security Cooperation at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China, said China remains a steadfast companion to Africa in its modernization drive and in maintaining peace and security across the continent.
"China has sent the largest number of peacekeepers to the African continent among the permanent members of the UN Security Council, and is the second-largest financial contributor to UN peacekeeping efforts. From Mali to the Democratic Republic of the Congo and South Sudan, over 2,000 Chinese peacekeeping personnel are carrying out missions in various regions of Africa," she said.
Noting that the GSI has gained support from over 130 countries and international and regional organizations, Wang said China and African countries have worked hand in hand to implement it to enhance security and well-being for both peoples.
Moussa Mohamed Omar, deputy chief of staff in the Cabinet of the Chairperson of the AU Commission, said the GSI has incorporated the fundamental principles that international security cannot be sustainable without respect for sovereignty, territorial integrity, and sovereign equality of all states.
"It's obvious that all the security challenges on our continent are not local in nature. Terrorism, transnational crimes, illicit flow of weapons, and effects of climate change all transcend African borders. The common security vision, which is based on cooperation and promoted by the Global Security Initiative, finds a strong resonance with the African doctrine of African solutions to African problems," Omar said.
Jiang Feng, head of the Mission of China to the AU, said the GSI aims at addressing the global peace deficit, responding to international security challenges, and achieving enduring peace worldwide.
"The GSI advocates the commitments to respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity, taking the legitimate security concerns of all countries seriously, which are deeply aligned with the agendas of the UN and the AU," Jiang said.
Parfait Onanga-Anyanga, special representative of the UN secretary general to the AU and head of the UN Office to the AU, said the UN welcomes the GSI as part of a holistic vision to strengthen multilateralism across the world.
The seminar, attended by about 120 officials and scholars from China, the AU, and the UN, focused on implementing the GSI in Africa as part of efforts to build an all-weather China-Africa community with a shared future. ■