Politics & Power Quote by Li Peng

The line is engineered to sound like a hand extended while keeping the fist clenched. “International co-operation against terrorism” carries the reassuring rhythm of post-crisis diplomacy: it invites partnership, signals responsibility, and borrows legitimacy from a universally marketable enemy. But the payload sits in the clause that follows. “With a view to safeguarding national interests and regional security and stability” is the tell: co-operation is conditional, instrumental, and ultimately subordinate to state priorities as defined by Beijing.

Li Peng’s context matters. As a senior Chinese public servant whose political career was shaped by the imperative of order, he’s speaking from a worldview where “stability” isn’t a neutral good; it’s a governing doctrine. In that lexicon, “terrorism” can function as both a concrete threat and a flexible category, one that can blur into separatism, dissent, or any movement that challenges territorial integrity. The quote quietly asserts that the state gets to set the boundaries of acceptable politics, then invites others to endorse that frame under the banner of shared security.

The phrase “regional security” also performs a strategic map. It positions China not merely as a participant in global norms but as a guarantor of its neighborhood, a power entitled to define threats near its borders. The specific intent, then, is dual: to gain the benefits of international alignment (information sharing, diplomatic credibility, reduced suspicion) while pre-justifying robust internal and near-abroad control as “stability.” It’s diplomacy that asks for solidarity, and in the same breath, asks you not to ask too many questions.