On the right path

The world needs greater unity and commitment to a fairer global governance system

While the United States undermines globalization by launching tariff wars and minimizing the role of international organizations, China's actions reflect its ambition to help reform global governance, envisioning the establishment of an equitable and orderly multipolar international order based on balanced multipolarity. Indeed, the trend toward global multipolarity is now irreversible. The rise of the Global South, along with the growing influence of regionally integrated organizations, is fundamentally transforming the global distribution of power. Consequently, the capacity of a single country to dominate global affairs and the legitimacy to do so are diminishing. But without careful handling and coordination, the multipolar process risks descending into disorder, conflict or even war.

With the declining relative importance of the West, the East is emerging with the cohesion of strategic coordination and cultural affinities. It is in this emergence that the Belt and Road Initiative symbolizes one core trend of multipolarity. Its emergence coincides with a rise of multipolarity, supported by China and other countries of the Global South, which is based on multilateral cooperation and the construction of a new type of international relations.

Through the BRI, the East is bursting onto the scene with a modernity that articulates power through infrastructure, investment and interdependent cooperation.

Academic analyses of globalization have consistently highlighted the political asymmetries and social inequalities resulting from decades of hyperglobalization, which is often justified under the free-market paradigm. The increasingly politicized economic interdependence process and weakened global governance structures undermine the prospects for stable equilibria and the promotion of global well-being. This makes China's position particularly relevant. In diplomatic terms, China has put forward the concept of building a community with a shared future for humanity, which promotes the country's consolidation of the international system and the establishing of a more just and inclusive global governance framework under the auspices of the United Nations Charter.

That is why the outcomes of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Tianjin Summit were so important. There, Chinese President Xi Jinping proposed the Global Governance Initiative. For China, development, security, civilization and governance constitute the four pillars for realizing its vision of building a community with a shared future for humanity, which is essentially interpreted as a proposal for a different world order. And in this new international order, China seeks to realize this vision, promote the reform of the global governance system and instill greater certainty in international relations. At the SCO Tianjin Summit, President Xi held bilateral meetings with the leaders of countries, both big and small, illustrating the commitment to the inclusiveness of China's diplomatic outreach by giving equal attention to all, and demonstrating the Chinese model of multilateralism based on a network of bilateral ties.

China's four global initiatives — the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative, the Global Civilization Initiative and the Global Governance Initiative — present not only a coherent narrative but also a pragmatic, interest-based policy, all of which together result in a remarkable degree of internal coherence. Chinese foreign policy is supported by these initiatives. The goal is to help reform the global governance system, promoting the UN framework to be more representative of the Global South, enhancing the Global South's influence, voice and representation. Over the past four to five years, China has articulated and consolidated this vision through the four global initiatives which feature prominently in bilateral and multilateral meetings, and public international diplomacy efforts. It is at the intersection of convening power and discursive power that this influence is most clearly manifested, as humanity has become a closely intertwined community with a shared future. Strengthening global governance is the right move for the international community to share development opportunities and address global challenges. China has decided to intensify joint efforts with all parties to explore ways to reform and improve the global governance system and create bright prospects for peace, security, prosperity and progress.

Tensions within the international arena, fueled by conflicting visions of global governance, underscore the need for dialogue. The same was true at the G20 Summit in South Africa, where the absence of the US neither contributed to solutions nor helped in finding them; rather, it exacerbated problems. However, the US' absence did not undermine the group's support for decisions. With his calls for solidarity and free trade, Chinese Premier Li Qiang brought China's commitment to multilateralism to the summit. He advocated the resolution of differences, disputes and frictions through equitable consultations, promoting solutions to the legitimate concerns of each party. The world needs to build a fairer and more open international trade and economic order, and China called for reform of major international organizations. To achieve their better and more democratic functioning, developing countries must have a greater say in the institutions of global governance, which to date continue to be led by the West.

The author is the director of the CEISiL and the Graduate Program on Contemporary China at the National University of Lanús, Argentina. The author contributed this article to China Watch, a think tank powered by China Daily.

The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.

Contact the editor at editor@chinawatch.cn.