‘Why are governments around the world increasingly concerned about relative gains and losses? How can world leaders promote an open and rules-based international order that better delivers on its promised mutual benefits—and thus grows the proverbial pie for more states?”—These are questions outlined in the Munich Security Report 2024, released before the 60th edition of the Munich Security Conference (MSC), which took place in Munich, Germany, from February 16 to 18.
Answers to these questions still seem to be beyond reach. Pessimism and anxiety now are the elephants in the room, and are difficult to dispel, both inside and outside of the MSC venue, Cui Hongjian, a professor at the Academy of Regional and Global Governance of Beijing Foreign Studies University and Deputy Director of Chinese, after participating in the conference.