Chinese Ambassador Publishes Op-Ed on Global Security Initiative in Three Zambian Outlets

On March 9, 2023, Du Xiaohui (杜曉暉), China’s ambassador to Zambia, published a signed op-ed titled “The Global Security Initiative: China’s Contribution to World Peace and Security” (全球安全倡議：為世界和平安全貢獻中國方案) in three Zambian outlets: the Zambia Daily Mail, the Daily Nation, and The Mast. The article promoted the Global Security Initiative (全球安全倡議), a framework proposed by Xi Jinping in April 2022 and elaborated in a concept document released by Foreign Minister Qin Gang (秦剛) on February 21, 2023. The piece presented the initiative’s “six adherences” (六個堅持) — including respect for sovereignty, adherence to the UN Charter, and resolution of disputes through dialogue — as an alternative to what it characterized as Western hegemony, Cold War thinking, and bloc confrontation. The article devoted particular attention to Africa, arguing that the initiative specifically addressed African security challenges, including support for the African Union’s role in conflict resolution and counterterrorism, and promotion of China’s Initiative on Peaceful Development in the Horn of Africa (非洲之角和平發展構想). It framed China and Zambia as sharing a “community of shared destiny” (休戚與共的命運共同體), a formulation that in CCP discourse signals expectations of political alignment, particularly on sovereignty-related questions where China’s positions diverge from Western-led norms.