MK sports Korea chairman of the Munich Security Conference, speaks on the podium at the closing of the 61st Munich Security Conference at the Hotel Bayerischer Hof,Munich of Germany on February 16, 2025. Photo: AFP" src="https://www.globaltimes.cn/Portals/0/attachment/2025/2025-02-16/709ab09e-807a-478a-a2d8-4adc1450a4a3.jpeg" />

Christoph Heusgen, chairman of the Munich Security Conference, speaks on the podium at the closing of the 61st Munich Security Conference at the Hotel Bayerischer Hof, Munich of Germany on February 16, 2025. Photo: AFP

The 61st Munich Security Conference (MSC) closed on Sunday, with rifts emerging within the transatlantic alliance over the course of the three-day meeting. Yet the way China presented itself with a spirit of cooperation and a constructive stance was evident.

During the conference, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, made the remarks while addressing the "China in the World" session of MSC. China will remain a global stabilizing factor and a constructive force in the transformation of the world, he said. 

Chinese foreign minister also held a series of meetings with EU's new foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares Bueno, Argentine Foreign Minister Gerardo Werthein, and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, among others.  

During his meeting with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Saturday, Wang Yi said China is pleased to see Germany playing a significant role in a multipolar world and is willing to deepen comprehensive cooperation with Germany to advance bilateral relations in a positive direction, safeguard global peace and stability, and provide greater certainty to an increasingly turbulent world.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of China-EU diplomatic ties, Wang Yi said, adding that the two sides should enhance complementary advantages and deepen pragmatic cooperation to jointly usher in the next 50 years of even stronger China-EU relations.

Scholz pledged to enhance exchanges, dialogue and cooperation with China. 

The same day, Wang Yi said China and France should uphold their tradition of independence and self-reliance, adhere to openness and win-win cooperation and act as stabilizing forces in maintaining international order and promoting global growth, during a meeting with his French counterpart Jean-Noel Barrot. 

Barrot said France appreciates China's firm and clear voice in support of multilateralism at the Munich Security Conference and values China's role as a stabilizing force in global governance. He added that France and China should work together to play a leadership role in upholding multilateralism and improving international governance.

Wang Yi also held a meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart Andrii Sybiha on the sidelines of the MSC on Saturday at the latter's request, during which Wang said that China has always been committed to promoting peace and talks.

This year's MSC has underscored the complex challenges facing Europe and the urgent need for the continent to define its strategic role in an increasingly volatile global landscape, said an article of Xinhua News Agency on Saturday.

From the persistent conflict in Ukraine to rising uncertainties in the transatlantic alliance, as well as mounting pressures on the EU's vision for the international order, the conference focused on the multiple crises Europe faces. It also highlighted the need for the continent to navigate these complexities and assert its place on the world stage.

As the global landscape is increasingly defined by crisis, Europe's ability to determine its role and strategic path will be of paramount importance, Wang Yiwei, director of the Institute of International Affairs at Renmin University of China, was quoted by Xinhua as saying.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Foreign Minister of Japan Iwaya Takeshi, and Foreign Minister of the Republic of Korea Cho Tae-yul met on Saturday in Munich on the sideline of MSC. 

The joint statement following their meeting read that the three countries "emphasized the importance of maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait as an indispensable element of security and prosperity for the international community." 

The joint statement also claimed to support "Taiwan's meaningful participation in appropriate international organizations."

Seen from the statement, the small clique of the US, Japan, and South Korea attempts to interfere in China's internal affairs and attempts to "use Taiwan question to contain China." Their statements stand in striking contrast to China's firm, composed, and confident diplomatic stance at the Munich Security Conference, Li Haidong, a professor at the China Foreign Affairs University, told the Global Times on Sunday.

Li elaborated that China has always maintained a consistent position on regional and global security issues, with its words and actions aligned. In contrast, certain countries demonstrate inconsistency and a fundamental lack of coherence in their foreign policies, whether in Europe or the Asia-Pacific. 

Stabilizing force

"Let him be strong, and the breeze caresses the hillocks; let him be peremptory, and the moon shines on the great river. This reflects the temperament of the Chinese people and the character of the Chinese nation," Wang Yi said in a conversation with MSC Chairman Christoph Heusgen after delivering his keynote speech on Friday. 

This is a quote from celebrated late novelist Jin Yong's The Heaven Sword and Dragon Sabre, published in the 1960s, to reflect the Chinese philosophical thinking of overcoming rigidity with softness and following nature, the South China Morning Post reported on Saturday. 

In his speech, titled "A Steadfast Constructive Force in a Changing World," Wang shared his views on "multipolarizaion," the title of Munich Security Report 2025, the discussion starter for the conference. "Will multipolarity bring chaos, conflict and confrontation? Does it mean domination by major countries and the strong bullying the weak? China's answer is, we should work for an equal and orderly multipolar world… China will surely be a factor of certainty in this multipolar system, and strive to be a steadfast constructive force in a changing world."

China has been contributing as a "steady hand," and this is the most important role in an environment in which there is considerable flux, Warwick Powell, adjunct professor at Queensland University of Technology and former advisor to former Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd, told the Global Times.

Sun Chenghao, a research fellow at Tsinghua University's Center for International Security and Strategy, who is also participating the MSC, shared his experience with the Global Times. He had spoken with European scholars and representatives from the Global South and they found China's statements inspiring, providing much-needed certainty in an uncertain world, and expressed hope for China to play a more active role in the future, particularly in global security and development. 

Sun noted a detail of his observation. In a panel of discussion on supply chains and economic security. The attendees were CEOs from well-known European companies. Over the past period, the EU's de-risking efforts were mainly pointed toward China, but the discussion during the MSC raised the question of whether the US should also be considered part of Europe's de-risking strategy. This shift is quite significant. "Participants noted that China's market remains stable and discussed whether Europe should engage with China more." 

"We need to hear more about the Chinese view of the world. I hope they continue to come and send even more people in the future," Charles Grant, director of the Center for European Reform, a London-based thinktank, told the Global Times.