The world is now undergoing profound changes unseen in a century. Against this backdrop, the resurgence of unilateralism and protectionism — coupled with hegemonic powers' growing interference in other countries' internal affairs through military intervention, economic sanctions and other means — is posing a serious challenge to the international order.

Meanwhile, China's overseas interests are expanding in both scale and complexity. They now extend far beyond traditional physical assets such as energy and infrastructure to encompass a broader range of areas, including personnel security, digital assets, and rights and interests associated with international rules.

By the end of 2024, China's outward direct investment had reached $3.13 trillion, with more than 52,000 enterprises established overseas. Safeguarding these interests has therefore become an important component of China's national security framework.

Therefore, effectively responding to risks stemming from geopolitical conflicts and unilateral interference, building cooperative mechanisms for the protection of China's overseas interests, and — while safeguarding its legitimate rights and interests — advancing a new framework of international cooperation characterized by shared interests and security, have become major theoretical and practical tasks that China must address in the new era.

Theoretically, China's approach to protecting overseas interests in the new era transcends the Western logic of zero-sum competition and hegemonic dominance. Instead, it is grounded in a new framework centered on common security, shared development and shared interests. The vision of building a community with a shared future for mankind moves beyond narrow, self-centered notions of national interest and upholds the principle of extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits. It recognizes the growing interdependence of national interests and holds that the protection of overseas interests should be pursued through multilateral cooperation and shared benefits so as to achieve common security.

Moreover, a holistic approach to national security provides the overarching framework for protecting overseas interests by incorporating them into the broader national security framework. It calls for coordinated responses to both traditional and nontraditional risks, while balancing China's own interests with those of host countries.

Practically, China's mechanisms for protecting overseas interests have already delivered tangible results through cooperation with partners in Africa, Latin America and Central Asia.

In Africa, for instance, by the end of 2024, China had implemented more than 2,000 cooperation projects under the framework of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation. Chinese companies had signed engineering contracts worth more than $700 billion and generated over $400 billion in turnover from completed projects, helping boost economic growth and improve livelihoods across the continent while advancing shared interests and shared security.

A similar pattern can be seen in Latin America. China has signed cooperation documents on the Belt and Road Initiative with 24 countries in the region and expanded practical cooperation in areas such as energy, infrastructure and the digital economy. By the end of 2024, China's investments in the region had reached $567.7 billion, while trade had risen from $261.3 billion in 2013 to $518.4 billion in 2024, helping foster a community of shared interests grounded in interdependence and mutual benefit.

Central Asia provides a further example. China has continued to deepen security and economic cooperation with countries in the region, jointly addressing threats such as terrorism and separatism while helping ensure the smooth progress of major projects, including the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan Railway. This underscores the practical value of common security.

However, amid the current complex international environment, China still faces three prominent challenges in safeguarding its overseas interests.

First, existing mechanisms have yet to deliver adequate results. China still lacks stronger top-level design and a well-coordinated framework for protecting overseas interests. In practice, overlapping responsibilities and unclear lines of authority among government departments and local authorities have made it difficult to build a unified response, while emergency response capacity still needs to be improved. Policy instruments also remain relatively limited, and tailored protection mechanisms for different regions and different types of overseas interests have yet to take shape.

Second, the capacity for collective protection remains insufficient. China still relies mainly on bilateral consultations to safeguard its overseas interests. But the effectiveness of such arrangements ultimately depends on whether host countries follow through on their commitments, making them vulnerable to political change or external interference. Without regional mechanisms for collective protection and risk-sharing, multilateral platforms have yet to play a full role in safeguarding overseas interests, making it difficult to build a unified response to unilateral interference.

Third, efforts to better integrate resources still fall short. The protection of overseas interests involves multiple actors — including government agencies, enterprises, social organizations and overseas Chinese communities — but insufficient coordination, weak synergy and fragmented resources continue to hamper the overall effectiveness of such efforts.

To address these challenges, China is expected to build an integrated framework for protecting overseas interests — one that combines multilateral cooperation, coordinated action among government, business and society, and stronger public support.

At the center of this framework should be a multilateral mechanism based on shared interests and shared security. Through deeper regional multilateral cooperation, such a mechanism can foster a collective protection system built on joint interest protection and risk-sharing, thereby helping overcome both unilateral interference and the limitations of a purely bilateral approach.

A coordinated mechanism linking government, business and society should serve as the operational vehicle for implementation. By pooling the resources of government, enterprises, social organizations and overseas Chinese communities, it can help establish a protection system marked by overall coordination, close central-local alignment, and an effective balance between routine management and emergency response, thus addressing current weaknesses and shortcomings in coordination among multiple stakeholders.

Looking ahead, China's efforts to protect its overseas interests must remain firmly anchored in the principles of common security and shared development, while continuing to deepen institutional innovation and practical exploration. Only in this way can the country build a stronger security foundation for high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, provide solid support for Chinese modernization, and inject sustained momentum into the building of a community with a shared future for mankind.

The writer is an assistant researcher at the Institute of Contemporary China Studies, the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.