On the morning of September 1, 2025, Chinese President Xi Jinping delivered an important speech titled "Pooling the Strength of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization to Improve Global Governance" at the "Shanghai Cooperation Organization Plus" Meeting, in which he proposed the Global Governance Initiative (GGI), stressing the need to work for a more just and equitable global governance system and advance toward a community with a shared future for humanity.
This year marks the 80th anniversary of the victory of the World Anti-Fascist War and the founding of the United Nations. Over the past eight decades, the international landscape has undergone profound changes, yet deficits in peace, development, security, and governance have become increasingly prominent, placing global governance under new strain.
Although the concept of "global governance" has gained wider acceptance since the end of the Cold War, it has long been equated with "Western governance" or "elite governance" rather than collective efforts on governance.
Meanwhile, some Western countries continue to practice unilateralism, bullying and the law of the jungle. While undermining the role of the United Nations and multilateralism and expanding deficits in global governance, these practices also highlight the urgency to reform and improve the global governance system.
President Xi emphasized that no country can seek absolute security on its own, and no country can reap stability from the turmoil of others. The interests of all countries are now closely intertwined. The GGI embodies the vision of global governance featuring extensive consultation and joint contribution for shared benefits, signaling China's readiness to integrate its own development into global development while demonstrating its role as a responsible major country.
As a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council and the world's largest developing country, China proposed the GGI with a focus on the pressing question of "what kind of global governance system should be built and how to reform and improve it." The GGI upholds the purposes and principles of the U.N. Charter and seeks to build a global governance system that is more just and equitable. It reflects the commitment of the Communist Party of China to the well-being of all humanity, rejects dividing the world into opposing blocs, and essentially discards outdated notions such as Western-centrism.
The core principles of the GGI consist of five dimensions: adhering to sovereign equality, abiding by international rule of law, practicing multilateralism, advocating the people-centered approach, and focusing on taking real actions. These principles outline the fundamental guidelines, methods, and pathways for reforming and improving the global governance system.
Over the past years, China has made substantial contributions to global governance. It is steadily advancing carbon peaking and carbon neutrality, vigorously developing renewable energy, and promoting global green transition. Recently, China announced that it will not seek new special and differential treatment in current and future negotiations at the World Trade Organization. This demonstrates China's responsibility as the world's largest trading nation in goods and a major developing country, and its firm commitment to upholding the multilateral trading system.
The GGI is part of the latest development of Xi Jinping Thought on Diplomacy, following the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative and the Global Civilization Initiative. These initiatives are each a source of positive energy for a changing and turbulent world and impetus for humanity's development and progress. Together, they demonstrate China's sense of responsibility and commitment to fostering a better future for humanity.
