China has published a major white paper proposing a paradigmatic shift in global governance, titled “More Just and Equitable Global Governance: China’s Principles, Proposals and Actions.” The announcement was recently made by the State Council Information Office.
The critical issues China addresses in this paper include the following proposals and actions: foster broader consensus within the international community, ensure more effective responses to global challenges, and build a more just and equitable global governance system.
China has been at the helm of championing global governance for a very long time. Beijing, despite its patient, level-headed, non-interventionalist political posture, deeply appreciates the need to proactively build a more just and equitable world order. This should be the calling that we answer altogether as humanity, because global governance affects us all.
The Chinese President, Xi Jinping, has over the past decade published his philosophy, which the government systematised into policy, suggesting that the world adopts the vision of building “a community with a shared future for humanity”. He has promoted a fairer global governance system by promoting “true multilateralism” to build “an equal and orderly multipolar world and a universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalisation”, according to the white paper.
To reform and improve the architecture of global governance, Xi proposed the Global Governance Initiative (GGI) in 2025. This is China’s answer to the question: what kind of global governance system should we have to build a fairer, more equitable and stable world order?
Beijing’s proposals were very attractive to the rest of the world. More than 60 countries have since joined the “Group of Friends of Global Governance”. The support for the promise to uphold multilateralism, build unity, and pursue a fairer future for mankind also echoed with approval across 160 countries and international organisations.
The white paper notes that the “GGI aligns with the growing trend towards greater democracy in international relations and bolsters international confidence in practising multilateralism. It offers a clear and feasible roadmap for improving global governance, bringing valuable stability and positive energy to a turbulent world.”
Despite its enormous economic and political influence around the world, China has remained a disciplined actor. It’s difficult, if not impossible, to place a finger on a global security or economic crisis that China has triggered. Even when provoked immensely, it often overcomes its strength to act with unknown restraint. This is the kind of global power we need in this constantly turbulent world. We need powerful countries to respect multilateral institutions, not to arbitrarily abuse them.
The white paper also notes that the propositions in the white paper are aimed at building a more just and equitable global governance system. This initiative requires the resolute upholding of the UN’s authority and status to work.
This paper does not actually carry radical proposals. It does not try to overturn the global order completely or, in a way, reinvent it. It has reasonable metrics to measure what the successful adoption of this initiative looks like.
It notes that success will hinge on major countries bearing a sense of responsibility and on all nations uniting and cooperating to address deficits in peace and development. All countries should firmly uphold the international system with the UN at its core, safeguard the international order based on international law, and uphold the basic norms governing international relations underpinned by the purposes and principles of the UN Charter.
The paper opens by reawakening the world to the daunting challenge of pursuing peace and development. It highlights the complex and severe challenges faced by the world today, including the intensification of geopolitical tensions in multiple regions around the world.
In a scathing critique of some obvious actors, the paper notes: Unilateralism and hegemonism cause only grave harm, openly trampling upon international law and the basic norms governing international relations. By bullying the small and weak and brazenly wielding force against sovereign states, certain countries have shown they prioritise their national interests above all else, applying double standards and challenging international justice for their own selfish gain. These nations gang up to form exclusive groups and blocs, inciting division and confrontation and carving spheres of influence today– in the 21st century– as they did in centuries gone by. By so doing, they have become the major source of global turbulence.
It decries the rise of protectionism and the weaponisation of world trade and economic relations. It notes that the effectiveness of multilateral institutions is in urgent need of improvement, and that the UN’s representation is critically inadequate.
The second chapter, it highlights that the Global Governance Initiative responds to challenges of our time, including sovereign equality as the premise of state-to-state relations and an essential requirement for solidarity against challenges. It calls for rigorously enforcing the international rule of law, which is rooted in upholding the purposes and principles of the UN Charter. It calls for a people-centred approach, noting that pursuing common development heightens the sense of gain among all peoples.
The third chapter highlights how China is contributing to promoting global governance. It is committed to Universal and Common Security, promoting openness, cooperation, and common development – emphasising that China cannot develop in isolation from the rest of the world, and practising true multilateralism.
The chapter provides guidance and direction for the change towards a bright future. China has put forward a series of new ideas and propositions that champion shared values and joint action, responding to the common aspirations of the international community and addressing the most pressing issues in global governance.
It concludes by reflecting on the critical juncture in history that humanity is at right now. It states the world has entered a new period of turbulence and transformation, and humanity once again faces a choice: a future marked by peace, dialogue, and win-win cooperation, or one marred by war, confrontation, and zero-sum competition. Beijing invites all countries to understand that great undertakings are rarely achieved overnight. Therefore, to advance the initiative, all parties must persevere in the face of challenges, rise above disputes, and work together to build a more just and equitable global governance system.
The writer is a research fellow at the Development Watch Centre.
