In the post-Cold War era, the demand from sustainable development has taken “human security” as its core, while repeated cross-domain public health crises have made health security a significant issue for global governance. The mission of global health security is to safeguard human health, and its focus is to eliminate, prevent and prepare, and cope with various public health security threats that can spread across borders, do great harm to public health, or have disastrously destructive potential. Those threats include pandemics, antimicrobial resistance (AMR), air pollution, and chemical, biological, or nuclear incidents. The foundation of global health security is the health security of sovereign states, and the disorder of international politics, fragile states, inequitable wealth distribution, Earth degeneration and climate change, and trade-related food and drug safety are all major factors that influence global health security. At present, China has a daunting task of development, and health security is replete with crises. In order to play a greater role in global health security, China shall think about health security from the strategic perspective of comprehensive national security, emphasize the rule of law, science, and public education, and deepen cooperations with all stakeholders of the international society.