China's GGI welcomed for stability and cooperation
China's proposed Global Governance Initiative, or GGI, will inject stability and cooperation into an increasingly uncertain world, experts and scholars said at a conference in the United Kingdom's capital on Saturday.
The event in London, which was held to mark the 76th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, brought together diplomats, academics, and solidarity campaigners who highlighted China's role as a force for peace, its achievements in the fight against poverty and climate change, and the timeliness of the initiative in strengthening multilateralism.
Carlos Martinez, a political commentator and co-founder of the Friends of Socialist China platform, said the initiative makes it clear that China is strengthening the United Nations-centered system, so it can better serve all nations.
Martinez noted three key areas where urgent reform is needed: increasing the representation of the Global South, restoring the authority of the UN, and enhancing the effectiveness of global cooperation on issues including climate change, artificial intelligence, and cyberspace governance.
The GGI is the fourth major initiative proposed by China, following the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative, and the Global Civilization Initiative.
"These initiatives reflect China's strong commitment to a safer, fairer, and more sustainable world," Martinez said, adding that they stand in stark contrast with the United States-led world order, which thrives on war, destabilization, and inequality.
Francisco Dominguez, secretary of the Venezuela Solidarity Campaign and a former head of the Centre for Brazilian and Latin American Studies at the UK's Middlesex University, said the GGI is "timely, perhaps even overdue," given the challenges created by the US's protectionist and unilateralist actions in the global economy.
"Not long ago, world governability was based on agreed rules, principles, and norms enshrined in treaties that were stipulated in the UN Charter, the World Trade Organization, and a raft of international conventions and protocols that Washington has either abandoned or trampled upon," he said.
Dominguez said multipolarity has now reached a critical stage and the GGI could steer the world economy, to ensure its central aim is to advance human development and improve people's livelihoods.
"This aim can only be obtained by establishing a world governance that is inclusive, builds globally open and cooperative relationships, with all countries participating equally through multilateralism to share prosperity in a community of shared future," he said.
Jenny Clegg, an independent researcher and author of China's Global Strategy: Towards a Multipolar World, emphasized that the GGI serves as an overarching framework linking China's earlier proposals.
"The world is getting more and more turbulent. How are we going to stabilize the situation? It's only going to be by strengthening links between countries, strengthening cooperation and unity between countries," she said. "By reaffirming the sovereignty and equality of nations in the GGI, China is showing its commitment to the international rule of law."
She added that the initiative's emphasis on taking action is very important because she expects those actions to provide a real material basis on which cooperation and unity can move forward.
Mushtaq Lasharie, chairman of Third World Solidarity, also welcomed the initiative, saying it is a response to the shortcomings of current international institutions.
"Today, the United Nations is struggling to resolve conflicts around the world, from Gaza to Ukraine to Kashmir," he said. "The GGI is a wonderful idea that can help bring countries together to find peaceful solutions."
