Editor's Note: In 2025, as the United Nations marks its 80th anniversary, CGTN presents "Reshaping Global Governance." This special series highlights China's active role in shaping and improving global governance, its responsibilities as a UN founding member and Security Council permanent member, and its steadfast commitment to supporting the UN while advancing toward a community with a shared future for humanity.

Eighty years ago, in the wake of two devastating world wars, the United Nations was established, marking the start of modern global governance. Eight decades later, the ideals of peace, development and cooperation remain unchanged, but the challenges facing humanity are more complex than ever. Unilateralism and power politics are shaking multilateral mechanisms, widening the governance deficit.

At such a crossroad, Chinese President Xi Jinping's Global Governance Initiative (GGI) has drawn widespread attention. Many leaders and experts say it is timely, reaffirms the UN's founding spirit, amplifies the voices of the Global South and offers practical solutions to today's pressing challenges.

Staying true to the UN's founding principles

At the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Summit 2025 in north China's Tianjin Municipality, Xi proposed the initiative, highlighting five key principles: adhering to sovereign equality, abiding by international rule of law, practicing multilateralism, advocating the people-centered approach, and focusing on taking real actions.

Marking the UN's 80th anniversary, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told China Media Group (CMG) that it is a crucial moment to strengthen international cooperation with people at the center. He welcomed the GGI as a multilateralism-driven effort that reinforces the UN's system and upholds an international order grounded in international law.

Philemon Yang, president of the 79th session of the UN General Assembly, said that the GGI further demonstrates China's commitment to upholding the UN-centered international system.

Giving voice to the Global South

The GGI highlights a clear contrast in today's international order, noted Li Haidong, a professor at China Foreign Affairs University. While some Western countries have tended to create disruption or stand on the sidelines, he said, the Global South is showing stronger determination to build a more balanced and sustainable system. It explains why the initiative has resonated so strongly across the Global South.

Russian President Vladimir Putin voiced support for the GGI, calling it timely and aimed at bringing positive changes in a world where "some countries stubbornly seek to use pressure in international affairs."

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic told CMG that the initiative addresses three pressing needs: more representation for countries in the Global South, protection of international rules and orders established after World War II, and stronger mechanisms to tackle global issues, such as climate change. China's goal, he said, is to ensure equality among all nations and peoples, and to make sure that what we discuss truly benefits everyone.

Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel wrote on X that the initiative will contribute to the reform of the global governance system and help build a community with a shared future for humanity. Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodrigue hailed the "merit of this endeavor," explaining that it "promotes the democratization of international relations and constitutes the common aspiration of the Global South."

The initiative will make global governance more responsive to the needs of developing countries, according to Pakistani Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif.

Voicing his countries' firm support to the GGI, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko described the initiative as the key to solving the problems of the current global governance system. Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim echoed this view on social media, saying Malaysia "strongly supports" the initiative, describing the GGI as "an idea that resonates deeply at a time when the multilateral system is faltering."

Turning principles into action

Ibrahim warned of a "deficit of trust" in the international order, citing failures in trade, finance and climate response, which have left ordinary people bearing the costs. Against this backdrop, he said, the GGI is a way to turn the ideals of justice, humanity and cooperation into concrete action.

Many experts also pointed out the GGI's strength lies in its problem-solving orientation.

"The initiative emphasizes action-orientation and fairness and justice, aiming to gradually address the root causes of intertwined crises and guide the world from a state of high fever back to calm and stability," Professor Li said.

It offers directional solutions, aiming to boost global confidence in the future and enable the world to achieve win-win outcomes through shared security, common prosperity, and sustainable green development, Li added.

Ding Xiaoxing, a research fellow at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, described the GGI as an important extension and deepening of China's vision of global governance featuring extensive consultation and joint contribution for shared benefit, offering concrete solutions to today's global governance challenges.

Cavince Adhere, a Kenyan scholar on international relations, said that the GGI offers practical, consensus-building pathways to mending the broken international governance architecture, which has failed to provide sustainable solutions to pressing challenges such as underdevelopment, unchecked hegemony, the climate crisis, and unilateralism.

(Cover via VCG)