Chinese leader
Xi Jinping has articulated plans to reshape the international order in his country's favor on the back of the
war in Ukraine, proposing on Thursday a "global security initiative" that he suggests will prevent future conflicts. Russia's standoff with the West has become a
proxy battle of political systems and ideologies in the eyes of leaders in Beijing. China
leaning toward Russia—both
beforeand
after the invasion—and its vocal backing of Moscow's concerns regarding NATO expansion are reflective of its own long-standing
anxieties about U.S.-led containment efforts in Asia.
In a virtual address at the annual
Boao Forum for Asia, the
Davos-like gathering in southern China, Xi combined months of diplomatic language into a new model for a more secure world order, one in which Chinese interests have room to grow.
"Right now, changes of the world, of our times and of history are unfolding in ways like never before," he said. "We have yet to walk from the shadow of a
once-in-a-century pandemic, but new traditional security risks are already emerging."
