Global Times: Xi proposes Global Governance Initiative

BEIJING, Sept. 1, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday proposed the Global Governance Initiative (GGI), calling on countries to work in concert for a more just and equitable global governance system.

Xi made the remarks when chairing the "Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Plus" Meeting in North China's port city of Tianjin, where the SCO held the largest summit in its 24-year history, attended by leaders from more than 20 countries and heads of 10 international organizations, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

The GGI marks the fourth landmark global initiative proposed by Xi over the past several years, following the Global Development Initiative (GDI), the Global Security Initiative (GSI) and the Global Civilization Initiative (GCI).

Xi highlighted five principles of the GGI -- adhering to sovereign equality, abiding by international rule of law, practicing multilateralism, advocating the people-centered approach, and focusing on taking real actions.

"Global governance has come to a new crossroads," he said.

This year marks the 80th anniversary of the victory in the World Anti-Fascist War and the 80th founding anniversary of the United Nations (UN). Xi stressed firmly safeguarding the status and authority of the UN, and ensuring its irreplaceable and key role in global governance.

He said that all countries, regardless of size, strength and wealth, are equal participants, decision-makers, and beneficiaries in global governance.

Xi said the SCO should step up to play a leading role and set an example in carrying out the GGI, and remain a force for stability in this volatile world.

Innovation amid governance deficits 

Domestic and foreign scholars hailed the GGI as it addresses emerging global governance deficits, calls for a fairer system that equally includes the voice of the Global South and contributes Chinese solutions and wisdom to reform the global governance.

The GGI is significant as it contains theoretical innovation, specifies its approach in practice, and is expected to have profound international influence, Wang Dong, executive director of the Institute for Global Cooperation and Understanding at Peking University, told the Global Times on Monday.

In practical terms, Wang Dong cited concrete programs and projects specified by the Chinese leader to ensure substantial fruits of SCO cooperation, and the expert believes that proposing GGI at SCO Plus suggests that global governance should be led by inclusive cooperation mechanisms.

In his address to the SCO Plus meeting, President Xi said that China will establish three major platforms for China-SCO cooperation in energy, green industry, and the digital economy, and will set up three major cooperation centers for scientific and technological innovation, higher education, and vocational and technical education.

China supports the SCO in expanding cooperation with other multilateral institutions, such as the UN, ASEAN, the Eurasian Economic Union, and the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia, to jointly uphold the international economic and trade order and improve global and regional governance, Xi said.

Wang Youming, Director of the Institute of Developing Countries at the China Institute of International Studies, stressed that the people-centered approach explains the central objective and subjectivity of development, and can resonate among the Global South. 

Sheradil Baktygulov, director of the Institute of World Policy of Kyrgyzstan, told the Global Times on Monday that when the global economy faces deep recession, many countries see crises in sustainable development, and the international order and the world governance principles are facing challenges.

The philosophy of GGI indicates broad consultation, shared contribution and common benefits, and China is in a good position to efficiently promote equal rights, opportunities and rules for all countries, and to protect the legitimate rights and interests of developing countries and emerging markets, Baktygulov said.

Chinese wisdom 

Yu Tiejun, President of the Institute of International and Strategic Studies(IISS) in Peking University, listed a host of thorny issues at present. In the realm of traditional security, Russia-Ukraine conflict and the Middle East turbulence persist; In non-traditional security areas, challenges like climate change have become increasingly pressing.

In such circumstances, the key question is how China can contribute its wisdom and offer solutions. Developing countries, in general, have expressed an urgent desire to reform the international system and order. As a responsible major country, China actively responds to this call, Yu said.

The GGI, together with the GDI, GSI and GCI, constitute a system of global public good that China has contributed to the world, experts said.

In September 2021, President Xi proposed the Global Development Initiative (GDI) at the general debate of the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly, calling for building a consensus on pursuing development, promoting shared growth and helping accelerate the implementation of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, Xinhua reported.

In April 2022, President Xi proposed a Global Security Initiative to promote security for all in the world, further enriching the global security governance with Chinese wisdom in a keynote speech via video at the opening ceremony of the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2022.

In March 2023, President Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, proposed the Global Civilization Initiative at the CPC in Dialogue with World Political Parties High-level Meeting. Xi stressed that tolerance, coexistence, exchanges and mutual learning among different civilizations play an irreplaceable role in advancing humanity's modernization process and making the garden of world civilization flourish, as the future of all countries is closely connected nowadays.

Yu said the newly proposed GGI represents a further extension of the previous three global initiatives. In fact, the GDI, GSI, and GCI all touched upon governance-related issues to varying degrees. Compared with previous efforts, GGI is more systematic in nature. Its five principles focus on addressing the "how-to" aspects and methodological issues, making it highly relevant to real-world needs.

Wang Dong said when while initiative focuses on issues of a certain area, there is strong synergy in the four important global initiatives that provide an effective way to address the deficits in governance.

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SOURCE Global Times