China working for fairer global governance system

BEIJING -- China, the world's largest developing nation, has been tirelessly urging equal participation in global affairs by all nations, and advocated more effective global governance and proper representation of developing nations in international institutions.

That position is once again made crystal clear in a keynote report by Hu Jintao at the 18th national congress of the Communist Party of China.

Hu said China insists on a balance between rights and duties, and would actively engage in global governance, and promote trade liberalization.

Never before has mankind had to face so many challenges that no single nation on Planet Earth can combat them alone, and that demand highly-coordinated global efforts in this age of expanding globalization.

Yet the current structure and rules of global governance have been unsatisfactory and largely pro-Western, thus comes the urgent need for reforms to make the existing global governing system more democratic and fair.

Founded in the aftermath of the Second World War, the existing international institutions, including the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank and the World Trade Organization, are still serving as major global coordinators and facilitators in areas of trade, financing and development.

For decades since their creation, these organizations, whose leaders are almost unanimously Western, have been tightly controlled by Western nations, which are reluctant to make substantial reforms to reflect the fast-changing geopolitical and economic landscape of today's world.

Since the onset of the U.S. sub-prime mortgage crisis, the overall health of Western economies have been going from bad to worse, under the dual impact of the global financial crisis that originated from the United States and the deepening debt woes in the euro zone.

Meanwhile, China and other major emerging economies have maintained steady economic expansion and become a powerhouse of the world economy.

According to a study released by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in April 2011, BRICS -- the five emerging countries of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa -- contributed to some 60 percent of the global economic growth in 2010.

The study also forecast that BRICS nations would still maintain stable and relatively rapid growth over the next 15 years.

Yet the efforts by developing and under-developed countries to make their legitimate voice heard at the world stage are taken by the Western countries as attempts to overthrow their domination over global rules.

Nevertheless, despite rich nations' arrogance and suspicion, developing nations have made headway in reforming the game rules, like expanding their quotas in the IMF.

However, the United States, with 17.67 percent share of the fund's quotas, still retains the veto on the IMF's decision-making, while reforms in other key international organizations remain sluggish at best.

With the Group of 20 mechanism virtually succeeding the Group of 8 regime to become the world's major forum for cooperation and consultation, it seems that the economically distressed developed economies have grudgingly realized that without the participation of developing and even less-developed nations, it would be impossible to settle problems like the lingering global economic crisis, food security, climate change, and trade protectionism.

Clearly, greater participation entails more responsibilities, while more responsibilities should go with corresponding rights.

However, the rising rights requirements do not necessarily mean that developing and under-developed nations are plotting for a comprehensive remaking of the current world order. They are just trying to promote their rightful place in global governance.

Therefore, as long as their legitimate rights and interests are not intentionally overlooked, the club of wealthy nations has no reason to feel threatened.

As the biggest beneficiaries of free trade, globalization and industrialization, the Western powers should also stop shirking their due responsibilities when it comes to fixing problems like climate change, and the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities should always be the cornerstone of future regime of global governance.

As the new CPC leadership stands ready, China will continue to work closely with its fellow developing and less-developed countries in building a more democratic and equal global governance system.

China would also join all nations and regions worldwide to work for lasting peace and common prosperity.