The Global Governance Initiative Leads All Sides in Jointly Addressing the Challenges of Our Time

May 7, 2026 Source: People’s Daily Author: Raed Fahmy

A thematic event on the Global Governance Initiative and the launch ceremony of the Vienna “Group of Friends of Global Governance” were recently held at the United Nations Headquarters in Vienna. This marks another “Group of Friends of Global Governance” established by China on the UN platform, following similar initiatives in New York last December and Geneva this February. The growing membership and increasing influence and cohesion of the Group underscore that reforming and improving global governance and working together to address global challenges are the shared aspirations of the international community.

In 2025, President Xi Jinping solemnly put forward the Global Governance Initiative during the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Summit in Tianjin. This initiative, following the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative, and the Global Civilization Initiative, represents another major proposal from China, contributing Chinese wisdom to the effort to build a more just and equitable global governance system.

At present, the international order established after World War II is facing severe challenges, and the world once again stands at a crossroads between peace and war. It is imperative to improve global governance and advance institutional reform. Only in this way can we better safeguard world peace, build a more just and equitable international order, and ensure that the sovereignty, independence, and rights to economic and social development of all countries are respected and protected.

The Charter of the United Nations explicitly stipulates: “to maintain international peace and security”; “to settle international disputes by peaceful means”; and “to refrain from the threat or use of force, or any other manner inconsistent with the purposes of the United Nations, against the territorial integrity or political independence of any Member State or other State.” Over the past several decades, the practices of certain countries have repeatedly violated the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, thereby seriously undermining the authority of the international system centered on the United Nations. In the face of global challenges in such areas as climate change, transnational diseases, and nuclear non-proliferation, the current international system’s capacity to respond is severely inadequate. Moreover, the willingness of some countries to engage in international cooperation and multilateralism has been declining, resulting in damage to global peace, security, and stability.

Another grave crisis confronting the global governance system is the excessive concentration of institutional power in the hands of a small number of Western countries and their representatives, resulting in severe underrepresentation of the Global South. In particular, certain countries’ rampant unilateralism poses a serious challenge to the international order. With the collective rise of emerging market economies and developing countries, the international political landscape has undergone significant transformation, underscoring the need for the global governance system to align with the overarching trend of world multipolarization and to undergo further reform and improvement.

The Global Governance Initiative put forward by China underscores the paramount importance of the purposes and principles enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, calls for the observance of sovereign equality, adherence to the rule of law in international affairs, and the practice of multilateralism, and opposes double standards and violations of international law. In September 2024, the UN Future Summit adopted the “Future Pact” and its annexes, with the aim of further developing the framework for multilateral cooperation, adapting to future developments, and striving to build a world that is secure, peaceful, just, equitable, inclusive, sustainable, and prosperous. The Global Governance Initiative is highly aligned with the objectives of the “Future Pact.” While emphasizing the need to uphold the central role of the United Nations, the Initiative also calls for efforts to democratize global governance—specifically, by granting developing countries greater representation within the international system—and rejects the practice of certain countries imposing their unilateralist approaches over the international system.

At a time when the international landscape is marked by intertwined turmoil and transformation, the contemporary significance of the Global Governance Initiative is increasingly evident. It continues to guide all parties in strengthening cooperation, sharing development opportunities, jointly addressing global challenges, and working together to usher in a bright future of peace, security, prosperity, and progress. (The author is the General Secretary of the Iraqi Communist Party.)

Editor-in-Charge: Liu Weijing