China’s New Security Concept aligns with peace and development, which it considers to be the themes of our times. Photo: TUCHONG

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In March 1997, at the ASEAN Regional Forum’s inter-sessional meeting on confidence-building measures, China officially introduced its “New Security Concept” for the first time. Since then, China has continuously refined and enriched this concept, incorporating it into national security and foreign relations frameworks. Over time, the New Security Concept has evolved into a cornerstone of China’s external security discourse.

Conceptual evolution

The evolution of China’s New Security Concept can be broadly divided into two stages. The first stage emphasized mutual trust, mutual benefit, equality, and cooperation. The second stage introduced the principles of common, comprehensive, cooperative, and sustainable security. Drawing from its own experiences in international security affairs and global security governance, China has continuously expanded both the theoretical and practical dimensions of the New Security Concept.

In 1999, in his speech at the UN Conference on Disarmament held in Geneva, the then Chinese President Jiang Zemin proposed that the core of the new security concept should be “mutual trust, mutual benefit, equality, and coordination.” Mutual trust entails transcending differences in ideology and social systems, rejecting Cold War mentalities and power politics, and refraining from mutual suspicion and hostility. Mutual benefit means aligning with the objective needs of social development in the era of globalization, requiring mutual respect for security interests, and the creation of conditions that ensure not only one’s one security but also that of others, ultimately achieving common security. Equality signifies that all countries, regardless of size or strength, are members of the international community and should respect one another, engage on equal terms, refrain from interfering in each other’s internal affairs, and promote the democratization of international relations. Coordination involves resolving disputes through peaceful negotiations and engaging in extensive and in-depth cooperation on shared security concerns to mitigate risks and prevent war and conflict.

In 2017, in his keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the 86th INTERPOL General Assembly in Beijing, Chinese President Xi Jinping proposed that all countries should adopt a vision of “common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security.” Common security means respecting and safeguarding the security of all nations. Comprehensive security requires a coordinated approach to maintaining security in both traditional and non-traditional domains, advancing security governance in a coordinated manner. Cooperative security emphasizes achieving security through political dialogue and peaceful negotiations. Sustainable security underscores the equal importance of development and security to ensure lasting security, advocating for conflict resolution through development and the elimination of the root causes of insecurity.

Integrated security

China’s contemporary security philosophy is defined by a strong emphasis on integration. On one hand, security affairs are categorized into key areas that evolve dynamically in response to societal development. These areas operate under the overarching framework of holistic national security, which unifies multiple domains into a cohesive national security system.

On the other hand, security development is closely aligned with the “Five-Sphere Integrated Plan” of socialism with Chinese characteristics, encompassing economic, political, social, cultural, and ecological progress. Security is also interwoven with partnership-building, economic growth, cultural exchanges, and ecological initiatives, contributing to the vision of a community with a shared future for humanity—one founded on lasting peace, universal security, common prosperity, openness and inclusivity, and a clean, beautiful world.

Guided by this philosophy, China’s domestic and international security policies adopt an integrated structure that operates in a “divergence-recurrence” pattern, managing security affairs in a holistic and interconnected manner.

Horizontally, China views various security domains as an organic whole, emphasizing the interconnected nature of global prosperity and crisis. In short, China approaches security from the perspective of humanity as a collective.

Vertically, China sees security across different levels as integrated and interdependent. Traditional security politics has often been divided into “high politics” (concerned with systemic violence and traditional security issues) and “low politics” (focused on development-related security concerns). China’s security framework introduces an intermediary “middle politics” level, bridging the two. Security issues at this level can encompass both security and development concerns, requiring a balanced and coordinated response.

China’s advocacy for an international community of human security follows the same fundamental logic of integrated security. Drawing from the political framework of a community with a shared future for humanity, the human security community can be conceptualized through two models: the “nested model” (Matryoshka model) and the “branch-trunk model” (recursive model).

Compatible security

The core principle of compatible security is to safeguard one’s own security without undermining that of others—or ideally, to enhance mutual security. Historically, security has often been pursued at others’ expense, whether through the law of the jungle, where the strong prey on the weak, or through bloc politics, where exclusive alliances ensure security for some while exacerbating insecurity for others. From China’s perspective, such antagonistic models are neither desirable nor sustainable. Instead, China advocates for a community-based security approach that fosters shared security rather than zero-sum competition.

While both bloc security and community security fall under the broader framework of collective security—where security is maintained collectively for individuals within the group and the group as a whole—their underlying logic differs significantly. Bloc security inevitably leads to a security dilemma, in which one party’s efforts to strengthen its security directly heighten insecurity for others. By contrast, the community security model enables a win-win outcome, ensuring that one party’s pursuit of security does not threaten others and may even contribute to their stability.

Development security

Development and security are two fundamental themes of human society. Specifically, China’s concept of development security can be understood through three key dimensions: seeking security through development, enhancing security through development, and promoting security through development.

To start with, China’s historical experience of poverty, weakness, and war has reinforced the understanding that development is the foundation of security, while stagnation is the greatest source of insecurity. This principle applies both domestically and internationally. Internally, poverty fuels instability; achieving lasting security requires addressing the root causes of insecurity. Externally, China adheres to the idea that “backwardness invites aggression” and that development serves as the ultimate form of hard power. This perspective has evolved alongside China’s modernization, shifting toward high-quality development as the cornerstone of security in the new era. From China’s viewpoint, continued self-development offers greater and more sustainable security benefits than external expansion or power struggles.

Second, international relations are shaped by both cooperation and conflict. While traditional security measures focus on preventing, managing, and resolving conflicts, China emphasizes an alternative approach: expanding areas of cooperation to mitigate and dilute areas of conflict. On one hand, strengthening cultural exchanges fosters mutual understanding and solidifies social and public support for friendly bilateral relations. On the other, deepening economic and trade cooperation expands shared economic interests, stabilizing broader relations and encouraging all parties to maintain a peaceful and secure environment.

Third, China advocates for common security and shared development in global affairs, stressing that no country’s security should come at the expense of another’s insecurity and that sustainable global development cannot be achieved while some nations grow richer as others remain trapped in poverty. Attempts to institutionalize global inequalities are not only unjust but also self-defeating. While developed nations may initially benefit from economic exploitation—such as trade imbalances, financial dominance, and talent extraction—prolonged developmental disparities will ultimately export insecurity back to them, fueling broader instability. In essence, an imbalanced world is an unstable world.

For this reason, China urges the international community to promote common security through shared development. It views collective development as the economic foundation for peace and stability, the fundamental safeguard for security, and the “master key” to resolving security challenges. Only by ensuring sustainable development for all nations and broadly sharing the benefits of progress can global peace and stability be effectively secured. Accordingly, China calls for equal emphasis on development and security, arguing that sustainable development is the path to sustainable security.

Crisis awareness

China seeks to achieve common security for itself and the world through integrated security, compatible security, and development security. However, an ambitious vision for security does not imply political naivety. A strong awareness of potential dangers—rooted in the principle of remaining vigilant in times of peace, mindful of survival in times of stability, and wary of disorder in times of governance—is a core component of contemporary Chinese security philosophy.

As domestic social dynamics evolve and global power structures shift, China recognizes that the risks it faces—both internally and externally—have reached unprecedented levels. This reality necessitates a heightened sense of crisis awareness, an adherence to bottom-line and worst-case scenario thinking, and preparedness for increasingly complex and challenging situations.

In summary, integrated security, compatible security, development security, and crisis awareness are key concepts distilled from China’s modern security theories and practices. Together, they shape China’s contemporary security philosophy, offering insights into the political character and strategic orientation of its security outlook.

China’s security philosophy is characterized by its inclusiveness (universal security), relationality (relational security), and progressiveness (transformative security). These qualities compel China to engage meaningfully with nations and regions that adhere to different security doctrines. This engagement presents two major diplomatic challenges.

First, promoting mutual learning and seeking common ground between different security philosophies is essential. Expanding areas of shared interest and reaching consensus—particularly in securing international recognition and support for China’s core security values—is a key mission of China’s security diplomacy.

Second, managing ideological clashes between security frameworks requires careful navigation. Disagreements and conflicts between differing security outlooks, especially with high-level strategic partners, must be addressed with precision. At the same time, China must ensure that its own security culture remains resilient, preventing external pressures from diluting or reshaping its core principles. Striking this balance will be a defining challenge for China’s security diplomacy in the years to come.

Liu Le is from the National Institute of International Strategy at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. 

Edited by WANG YOURAN