9 October 2024

The Lianyungang Conference and Beijing’s Attempts to Reshape Global Security

W.Y. Kwok

The Global Public Security Cooperation Forum was held this year on September 9–10 in the city of Lianyungang, Jiangsu Province (Lianyungang Forum, accessed September 27). It advanced efforts by the People’s Republic of China (PRC) to redefine global security, building on the broader Global Security Initiative (GSI; 全球安全倡议) proposed by President Xi Jinping in 2022. The GSI is the PRC’s vision for addressing both traditional and non-traditional international security challenges through cooperation and dialogue (Xinhua, September 9). This year’s conference took as its theme “Building a Global Community of Public Security (打造全球公共安全共同体).” This entails deepening international collaboration on public security issues.

This forum attracted more than 2,000 experts, scholars, and law enforcement personnel from 122 countries, regions, and international organizations, marking a significant increase from the inaugural Lianyungang conference in 2022. Representatives from Myanmar, Malaysia, Pakistan, Interpol, and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime attended. Conference Chairman Andy Tsang Wai-hung (曾伟雄) emphasized that 80 of the attendees held ministerial-level positions or higher, underscoring the event’s increasing international influence (The Paper, September 10). In addition to the main conference, 12 sub-forums covered topics such as tourism safety, drone security, and law enforcement capacity building.

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