China's Global Security Initiative shifts paradigm away from traditional zero-sum mentality: expert

The Global Security Initiative (GSI) proposed by China has shifted the paradigm in thinking about global security away from the traditional zero-sum mentality toward a vision rooted in dialogue and development, said a Chinese expert on Tuesday.

In April 2022, China proposed the Global Security Initiative (GSI), which aims to create a new path to security that prioritizes dialogue over confrontation, partnership over alliance, and win-win over zero-sum thinking.

The initiative provides a new course and approach to addressing the root causes of international conflicts and solving security challenges facing humanity.

During an interview with China Global Television Network (CGTN), Wang Xinsong, associate professor at the School of Government at Beijing Normal University, hailed the initiative's importance amid escalating global challenges.

"It's been four years and we have witnessed that the Global Security Initiative or GSI has transformed from a framework in principle to an action plan with many actions having taken place in mediating the conflicts. The major difference between the GSI and the traditional and the existing mainstream idea about global security is that the mainstream idea is being the zero-sum mentality where the belief is that one country's safety is possible only if its neighbors safety is not existent. The GSI shifts the paradigm in thinking about global security away from the zero-sum mentality by arguing that security at the end of the day is very much related to development," Wang said.

Over the past four years, China has consistently promoted the implementation of the GSI. By the end of 2025, the initiative has received support and appreciation from more than 130 countries and regions, as well as international organizations, and has been explicitly incorporated into more than 140 bilateral and multilateral documents at home and abroad.

China's Global Security Initiative shifts paradigm away from traditional zero-sum mentality: expert

A pair of protected common kestrels have turned an abandoned magpie nest on a telecom tower in Beijing's suburban Changping District into an unlikely nursery, offering a rare glimpse of birds of prey raising chicks in a built-up area.

The kestrels, a wild animal species under the second-class state protection in China, settled on the 30-meter-high tower, drawing birdwatchers and residents in the past few days.

Footage filmed by birdwatchers earlier showed an adult kestrel returning from a hunt and landing near the nest, where several fluffy chicks stretched their necks and flapped their wings as they waited to be fed.

The chicks have since shed their gray down and developed brown streaks and markings. They are now practicing flying.

"I basically come here every day now. It is very interesting to watch kestrels raise their chicks. The male bird is responsible for going out to hunt. Upon returning, he hands the food to the female, who feeds the chicks," said birdwatcher Si Shoujun.

"These are the two parent birds. The one on the left is the male, and the one on this side is the female. Today, I captured both of them in the same frame because the male returned to the nest without food. When the female saw that he came back with nothing, she tried to force him to go out and look for food, because there are still three chicks in the nest waiting for feed," Si explained.

Common kestrels are a relatively common raptor species in Beijing and are often seen in green spaces where vegetation is abundant. But nesting and raising chicks in the city's built-up areas is less common.

Beijing is now home to 531 recorded bird species, according to local authorities.

Protected kestrels turn Beijing telecom tower into unlikely nursery