Sun Jisheng: Practicing Global Governance Initiatives Through a Systematic and Holistic Perspective
In his important speech at the "Shanghai Cooperation Organization Plus" summit, President Xi Jinping pointed out: "The trend of the times—peace, development, cooperation, and win-win outcomes—has not changed. However, the shadows of Cold War mentality, hegemonism, and protectionism persist; new threats and challenges are increasing; the world has entered a new period of turbulence and transformation; and global governance has reached a new crossroads." Presently, the tide of economic globalization has linked the countries of the world into a close-knit community of shared interests, shared responsibility, and a shared future. At the same time, humanity increasingly faces various global challenges. Climate change, major infectious diseases, and terrorism directly threaten the safety and well-being of the people; no country can remain immune in isolation [1]. Global issues require cooperative responses from all nations; strengthening global governance and promoting the transformation of the global governance system is the prevailing trend of the times. The Global Governance Initiative proposed by President Xi Jinping at the "SCO Plus" summit is another original and signature concept of Xi Jinping Thought on Diplomacy. It contributes Chinese wisdom and Chinese solutions to the reform and improvement of the global governance system. Alongside the Global Development Initiative (GDI), the Global Security Initiative (GSI), and the Global Civilization Initiative (GCI), the Global Governance Initiative will vigorously promote the development of the global governance system in a more just and reasonable direction.
The Global Governance Initiative Systematically Answers Theoretical and Practical Questions of Global Governance
President Xi Jinping pointed out: "We must adhere to the global governance view of extensive consultation, joint contribution, and shared benefits, continuously reform and improve the global governance system, and push all nations to join hands in building a community with a shared future for humanity." To strengthen global governance, we must provide sound answers to the questions of who governs, how to govern, and for whom to govern. With its core concepts of upholding sovereign equality, abiding by international rule of law, practicing multilateralism, advocating people-centeredness, and emphasizing action-orientation, the Global Governance Initiative proposed by President Xi directly addresses the existing problems in global governance. It is highly realistic and targeted, providing scientific answers to major theoretical and practical questions such as the premises on which future global governance should be based, the principles it should adhere to, and how governance outcomes can be achieved.
Sovereign equality is the primary prerequisite for global governance. President Xi Jinping emphasized: "We must insist that all countries, regardless of size, strength, or wealth, participate equally in governance, make decisions equally, and benefit equally. We should promote the democratization of international relations and enhance the representation and voice of developing countries." Coordination and joint responses to global challenges by all nations must be built on cooperation. A crucial condition for achieving effective cooperation is sovereign equality; the sovereignty and dignity of every nation—large or small, strong or weak, rich or poor—must be respected. In the current global governance system, Western powers enjoy a dominant position, while developing countries are often treated as the objects of governance rather than equal subjects. The "Global South" [2] countries lack sufficient representation and have a weak voice; their interests and demands are often ignored. With the collective rise of emerging markets and developing countries, the international balance of power is continuously shifting. We must adhere to sovereign equality and correspondingly increase the representation and voice of the Global South in international affairs. Upholding sovereign equality serves as the prerequisite for reforming those unjust and unreasonable aspects of the global governance system; it not only incentivizes all nations to actively participate in global governance but also enhances the representativeness, inclusiveness, and universal benefit of the governance system.
International rule of law is the fundamental guarantee for global governance. President Xi Jinping pointed out: "We must comprehensively, fully, and completely abide by the recognized basic norms of international relations, such as the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, ensure the equal and uniform application of international law and rules, avoid 'double standards,' and refrain from imposing the 'house rules' [3] of a few countries on others." The international rule of law is a common pursuit of humanity. All nations should participate equally in the formulation of international laws and rules to reflect the rights, obligations, and responsibilities of all countries in a comprehensive, balanced, and fair manner, taking into account both individual national interests and the common interests of the international community. Currently, the international rule of law is being severely eroded. Some countries adopt international rules when they suit them and discard them when they do not, which seriously undermines the seriousness and normativity of the law, placing the international community at risk of anomie. This has become a major cause of interference in global governance. Abiding by the international rule of law means that international laws and rules should be jointly written, maintained, and implemented by all nations, with no exceptions permitted. Countries must strictly abide by rules of international law such as treaties and customary international law, exercise their rights according to law, and fulfill their international obligations and responsibilities. They must not deliberately misinterpret international law, thereby ensuring its equal and uniform application.
Multilateralism is the basic path for global governance. President Xi Jinping emphasized: "Adhere to the global governance view of extensive consultation, joint contribution, and shared benefits, strengthen solidarity and coordination, oppose unilateralism, firmly uphold the status and authority of the United Nations, and earnestly give play to the irreplaceable and important role of the UN in global governance." Solidarity and coordination are inherent requirements of global governance; only by practicing true multilateralism can lasting and effective cooperation be achieved. Since the founding of the United Nations, multilateralism has been practiced and has become a vital cornerstone of post-war global governance. However, in recent years, multilateralism has suffered severe shocks. The authority of the UN—as the primary institution for practicing multilateralism and promoting global governance—is being continuously weakened by unilateralism and hegemonism. A small number of countries have "broken treaties and exited groups" [4] or "withdrawn funding and cut supplies," occasionally forming "small circles" and "small cliques." They establish exclusive alliances and engage in confrontation under the guise of cooperation, leading to intensified great power competition and geopolitical conflict. The world faces the risk of division and confrontation, which seriously hinders solidarity and coordination. Practicing true multilateralism means that global governance is everyone’s business and concerns the vital interests of every country; it must rely on coordination and cooperation rather than unilateral bullying to ensure the smooth and orderly operation of the governance system.
Being people-centered is the value orientation of global governance. President Xi Jinping emphasized: "Reform and improve the global governance system to ensure that the people of all countries participate in and share the fruits of global governance, better address the common challenges facing human society, better bridge the North-South development gap, and better safeguard the common interests of all countries." Currently, to maintain their own advantages and hegemonic status, a few countries obstruct the reform process of international institutions such as the UN and the World Trade Organization (WTO). Reform in institutions like the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank is slow, making it difficult to fully reflect the legitimate demands of developing countries or to allow them to play an active role in global governance. This fails to guarantee the right of all people to participate fairly in and benefit from global governance. Global governance must solve global issues that could affect all of humanity; whether it effectively serves the people of all nations has become an important standard for testing its effectiveness. Today, global issues such as poverty and climate change are extremely urgent; solving these problems must be people-centered and aim to earnestly improve the well-being of people in all countries.
Action-orientation is an important principle of global governance. President Xi Jinping emphasized: "Adhere to systematic planning and holistic advancement, coordinate global actions, fully mobilize resources from all parties, create more visible results, and use pragmatic cooperation to avoid governance lags and fragmentation." To strengthen global governance, we must build consensus among all parties, encourage countries to move toward each other and take unified action, and produce tangible governance results. Following the end of the Cold War and the collapse of the bipolar structure, world multi-polarization, economic globalization, the digitalization of society, and cultural diversification have developed in depth. The tide of democratization in international relations is rolling forward, and more countries—especially the vast number of developing countries—are participating in global governance at a higher level, to a deeper degree, and across a wider range. However, because countries have different interests and cultures, and because a small number of countries have a blind faith in "position of strength" and pursue "my country first," certain important global governance agendas are being obstructed. Reaching consensus and taking action has become more difficult. Using action-orientation as a principle means enhancing the executive power and effectiveness of the global governance system to better respond to global challenges and ensure that global governance achieves real results.
The Global Governance Initiative is Organically Unified with the GDI, GSI, and GCI
General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "To adhere to materialist dialectics, we must grasp things from their internal connections and recognize and handle problems accordingly." Facing the global challenges of today’s world, President Xi Jinping has used the Marxist standpoint, viewpoint, and method to observe, grasp, and lead the times, successively proposing the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative, the Global Civilization Initiative, and the Global Governance Initiative. These four major global initiatives promote each other and are organically unified, together constituting the action system for promoting the building of a community with a shared future for humanity. They provide a comprehensive solution for resolving the peace deficit, development deficit, security deficit, and governance deficit facing our era. We must grasp the Global Governance Initiative within the totality of the four major global initiatives, using systems thinking to profoundly understand its close connection with the GDI, GSI, and GCI, and deeply comprehend its major innovative and practical significance from a holistic perspective.
Currently, global challenges are increasing, and various global problems are becoming more prominent. On the surface, many challenges seem independent; the specific manifestations of the peace, development, security, and governance deficits differ. However, looking deeper into reality, one finds they are closely related. They not only influence and interact with each other but may also link up, causing the situation to deteriorate further and problems to escalate. For example, carbon emissions not only cause global warming but also affect biodiversity and food security. Food security issues may further weaken the development foundations of some developing countries, potentially triggering social instability and shaking the foundations of regional peace and stability. Some major global infectious diseases concern not only life safety but also have spillover effects on global economic growth and international political relations. Responding to global challenges requires adherence to systems thinking, dialectical thinking, and holistic thinking; otherwise, one might treat the symptoms rather than the root cause, address one point while neglecting others, or even put the cart before the horse, making it difficult to achieve long-term governance results. The Global Governance Initiative proposed by President Xi, together with the GDI, GSI, and GCI, forms an interconnected organic whole. This effectively enhances the systematic, holistic, and coordinated nature of solving various global problems. It not only provides specific ideas for nations to jointly respond to global challenges but also achieves a systematic breakthrough in epistemology and methodology, forming a new plan for strengthening global governance.
The Global Governance Initiative and the GDI, GSI, and GCI are interrelated, mutually supporting, mutually promoting, and indispensable. Among them, development is the material prerequisite for humanity to respond to various global challenges, the foundation for promoting the progress of human civilization, and the guarantee for realizing the people’s well-being. The GDI focuses on deepening international development cooperation, promoting common development, resolving the development deficit, and pushing for the construction of a global development community. Security is the guarantee for development and civilization; it creates a stable environment for development and guards the space for cultural inheritance and innovation. The GSI focuses on current security challenges, resolves the security deficit, and pushes for global security governance to move from fragmentation toward systemic integration. Civilization is the spiritual accumulation of human development and progress, providing value guidance for humanity. The GCI advocates respecting the diversity of world civilizations, promoting the common values of humanity, emphasizing the inheritance and innovation of civilizations, and strengthening international people-to-people exchanges and cooperation to promote mutual learning between civilizations. The Global Governance Initiative directly targets the pain points and difficulties of global governance, clarifying its primary premise, fundamental guarantee, basic path, value orientation, and important principles, thereby pointing the way forward for reforming and improving the global governance system.
The four major global initiatives have different focuses, combining specific points with broader areas and treating both symptoms and root causes. They achieve a systematic response to various global challenges and form a governance closed-loop that applies related policies, advances holistically, gathers powerful synergy, and coordinately resolves the "four major deficits." More importantly, whether implementing the GDI, GSI, or GCI, achieving the relevant goals requires the nations of the world to deepen international cooperation and strengthen global governance; it requires a more just and reasonable global governance system as an institutional guarantee. Therefore, the Global Governance Initiative plays a vital supporting role in the overall implementation of the four major initiatives and the formation of the action system for building a community with a shared future for humanity. It possesses great significance in both theory and practice.
Better Putting the Global Governance Initiative into Practice
President Xi Jinping, in...
In an important speech at the "Shanghai Cooperation Organization Plus" summit, it was pointed out: "In the face of the Great Changes Unseen in a Century [5] which are accelerating in evolution, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) must play a leading role and serve as a model for practicing the Global Governance Initiative." Currently, the Great Changes Unseen in a Century are unfolding in unprecedented ways, as the changes of the world, the changes of the era, and the changes of history cross paths and surge forward. Reforming and perfecting the global governance system has become an important task facing the world today; it concerns the survival, security, development, and prosperity of humanity, as well as the progress of human civilization. The more complex and severe the situation becomes, the more necessary it is to practice the Global Governance Initiative. Since the initiative was proposed, it has received positive responses from the international community. Countries such as Russia, Portugal, Slovakia, Serbia, Pakistan, Malaysia, Laos, Nicaragua, Cuba, Morocco, and Nauru, along with relevant international organizations, have expressed appreciation or support. UN Secretary-General António Guterres stated that the Global Governance Initiative possesses rich connotations, and its core concepts are highly compatible with the beliefs upheld by the United Nations, effectively responding to the international community's strong call for reforming and perfecting the global governance system. We must promote the comprehensive implementation of the Global Governance Initiative across conceptual, institutional, and action levels, continuously injecting more certainty and positive energy into the strengthening of global governance and the cause of world peace and development.
Upholding the Correct View of Global Governance. Countries need to deeply recognize that no single nation can solve global challenges alone. Only by profoundly understanding the reality of "shared risks" and a "shared future" [6] for humanity can we stimulate the endogenous momentum to strengthen global governance and reform its system. In this process, the kind of global governance view one adheres to is crucial to whether the Global Governance Initiative can be practiced. In recent years, certain important global governance agendas, such as addressing climate change, have encountered obstacles, while others, such as promoting common development, have been marginalized. Geopolitical conflicts and great power competition have become the focus of international public opinion, capturing global attention and consuming massive resources. This is inextricably linked to cognitive deviations regarding "what to govern," "who governs," and "how to govern." Practicing the Global Governance Initiative requires upholding the global governance view of extensive consultation, joint contribution, and shared benefits. We must ensure that global affairs are discussed by all countries together, the governance system is built by all countries together, and the achievements of governance are shared by all countries together. This correct view should lead the reform of the global governance system and provide scientific guidance for practicing the initiative.
Strengthening Institutional Building and Perfecting the Governance Architecture. Practicing the Global Governance Initiative depends on the synergy and cooperation of all nations. It must rely on numerous international multilateral platforms such as the United Nations, the World Trade Organization, and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, and take international law and the basic norms governing international relations as its basis. Therefore, how to reform and perfect international multilateral platforms, and how to reform and perfect international rules to ensure their equal and uniform application—answering these questions at the level of institutional building—is of vital significance. This requires us to take the reform and perfection of the global governance system as a key breakthrough point and focal area. This is not about tearing down the existing global governance system and starting anew, nor is it "setting up a separate stove" [7]. Rather, it focuses on solving prominent problems such as the insufficient representation and voice of the Global South, the erosion of UN authority, and the weakening of global governance effectiveness, so that the system better adapts to the new realities of international political and economic development. In recent years, China has made many efforts in this regard, both pushing for UN reform to rejuvenate its authority and vitality under new conditions, and promoting the expansion of cooperation within mechanisms like BRICS and the SCO, making them important platforms for strengthening global governance and effectively pushing for a more balanced and effective global governance architecture.
Ensuring Global Governance Continuously Achieves New Results. The quality of the implementation of the Global Governance Initiative ultimately depends on whether global governance achieves new results. Currently, a major manifestation of the predicament in global governance is that governance practice lags behind governance needs, and its effectiveness fails to meet the expectations of people worldwide. For example, at the 2009 Copenhagen Climate Change Conference, developed countries pledged to provide $100 billion in climate finance annually to developing countries by 2020; however, this goal was only reached for the first time in 2022, two years behind schedule. Practicing the Global Governance Initiative requires adhering to the integration of a problem-oriented, goal-oriented, and result-oriented approach. We must focus on governance issues of concern to the international community—especially the vast number of developing countries—such as regional peace and stability, global environmental governance, sustainable development, and poverty reduction. We must build consensus and strengthen coordination, effectively transforming governance consensus into powerful action. This will facilitate visible and tangible results in relevant fields of global governance, allowing its fruits to benefit the people of all nations more broadly and equitably. Practicing the Global Governance Initiative and promoting new achievements will surely have a broad and far-reaching positive impact on humanity's ability to cope with global challenges and jointly open up a bright future of peace, security, prosperity, and progress.
(The author is the Vice President of China Foreign Affairs University)
Source: People’s Daily (October 10, 2025)
Web Editor: Hui Hui