This year marks the 80th anniversary of the victory of the World Anti-Fascist War and the founding of the United Nations. In this special historical moment of taking stock of the past and envisioning the future, Chinese President Xi Jinping solemnly proposed the Global Governance Initiative (GGI) at SCO Tianjin Summit, calling on all countries to build a more just and equitable global governance system and advance toward a community with a shared future for humanity. The initiative champions core principles including sovereign equality, international law, multilateralism, people-centred development and action-oriented approaches, further contributing China’s wisdom and presenting China’s solution to strengthen and improve global governance.
The GCI actively aligns with the prevailing trends of our times. Eighty years ago, the international community learned profound lessons from the scourge of two world wars and founded the UN, thus writing a new page in global governance. Over the past 80 years, the visions and practice of global governance — such as the international system with the UN at its core, the international order underpinned by international law, and the basic norms of international relations based on the purposes and principles of the UN Charter — have made historic contributions to maintaining world peace and development.
Today, while the historical trends of peace, development, cooperation and win-win remain unchanged, the Cold War mentality, hegemonism and protectionism continue to haunt the world. New threats and challenges have been only increasing. The world has found itself in a new period of turbulence and transformation. Advancing the reform and improvement of the global governance system has become a major focus of the international community, with countries around the world looking forward to greater Chinese contributions and solutions.
Against this backdrop, President Xi creatively proposed and elaborated on the GGI, which is both timely and crucial, responding to the common aspirations of international communities and meeting the urgent needs of the world today. Since its proposal, the GGI has been welcomed and supported by leaders of participating countries and international organisations, and will surely gain broad recognition from the international community.
The GGI accurately addresses the challenges of our times. As a permanent member of the UNSC, China has always been firmly committed to building world peace, contributing to global development, safeguarding the international order and providing public goods. China’s GGI proposal is precisely aimed at addressing the defining challenges of our times: “what kind of global governance system to build and how to reform and improve global governance.” It focuses on tackling three major shortcomings of the current international mechanisms — the severe under-representation of the Global South; the erosion of authority; and the urgent need for greater effectiveness — with the goal of increasing the representation of the Global South, rectifying historical injustices, upholding the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, safeguarding the authority of UNSC resolutions and accelerating the implementation of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
At the same time, priority will be given to areas where governance is in urgent need and scant supply, such as the reform of the international financial architecture, AI, cyberspace, climate change, trade and outer space. Hopefully the international communities will increase?communication and cooperation in these areas to build consensus, identify deliverables and bring about early harvests.
The GGI strives to propose solutions that respond to the call of our times. The concepts of GGI elucidate the principles, methods and pathways that need to be followed to reform and improve global governance. Sovereign equality is the foremost premise of global governance. All countries, regardless of size, strength or wealth, have the equal right to participate in international affairs. The unequal situation in which a few countries monopolise global governance should no longer continue. International law is the fundamental safeguard for global governance. International law and international rules are common standards, which should be jointly formulated, maintained and implemented by all countries, and there is no and should be no exception. Multilateralism is the basic pathway of global governance.
Global governance is a matter for all countries, and concerns the vital interests of each country. It needs coordination and cooperation rather than unilateralism and bullying. The people-centred approach is the underpinning value of global governance. At its core, global governance is about turning people’s longing for a better life into reality and jointly building a world in which all can enjoy affluence and contentment.
Taking real actions is an important principle of global governance. It is necessary to focus on both the present and the long term, and to address the practical issues concerned by all countries, especially the vast number of developing countries. The initiative also advocates that major countries should lead by example by providing more public goods to the international community and instilling confidence and strength into global peace and development. Developed countries, on their part, must earnestly fulfil their responsibilities by delivering on their commitments to development assistance and climate finance.
The GGI is another important global public good that China has contributed to the world following the three major global initiatives — the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative, and the Global Civilization Initiative. Each of the four global initiatives has its own focus, yet they are mutually reinforcing, addressing development, security, civilisation and governance, respectively. Together, they inject stability and certainty into a turbulent world, showcasing China’s responsibility and actions in international affairs. The core concepts of the GGI stem from the purposes and principles of the UN Charter.
To reform and improve global governance does not mean to overturn the existing international order or to create another framework outside the current international system. Rather, the goal is to make the existing international system and international institutions better at taking actions, working effectively, adapting to changes, responding promptly and effectively to various global challenges, and serving the interests of all countries, particularly developing ones.
Facing a world of changes and chaos, China will continue to stand on the right side of history, on the side of human progress, and on the side of multilateralism, strengthening coordination and communication with the Global South, including our “iron-clad” friend Pakistan, to build stronger synergy, enhance mutual support and collective self-reliance, and work together to create a brighter future for global governance, thereby making greater contributions to the noble cause of peace and development for humanity.
