Global governance at crossroads: Dialogue or decoupling?

Editor's note: Xue Tianhang is an associate researcher at the Institute for National Strategy and Regional Development, Zhejiang University. The article reflects the author's opinions and not necessarily the views of CGTN. It has been translated from Chinese and edited for brevity and clarity.

The 56th Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) runs from January 19 to 23 in Davos, Switzerland. Under the theme "A Spirit of Dialogue", the meeting aims to foster exchanges among global leaders and promote collective responses to shared global challenges. Against the backdrop of rising geopolitical tensions, widening economic divergence and accelerating social transformation, the theme carries strong contemporary relevance.

The global economy is at a critical turning point, confronted with multiple challenges and profound structural shifts. As geopolitical conflicts persist, and unilateralism together with protectionism continue to gain ground, the world economy has entered a phase marked by low growth and heightened uncertainty. According to the World Economic Outlook released by the International Monetary Fund in October 2025, global economic growth for 2025 has been revised down to 2.9 percent, well below the average level recorded in the early years of this century. Alongside sluggish growth, global public debt is expected to rise above 100 percent of the global GDP by 2029, significantly constraining countries' fiscal capacity to respond to future crises. What is even more worrying is that rising political and economic uncertainty worldwide is prompting some countries to increase defense spending, further pushing up public debt and exacerbating debt risks.

Even deeper challenges stem from technological transformation. The technological revolution represented by artificial intelligence, while holding the promise of injecting new momentum into the global economy, is also reshaping the competitive landscape in unprecedented ways and may widen disparities between regions. In its Human Development Report released in December 2025, the United Nations Development Programme warned that without global coordination, artificial intelligence could deepen gaps in economic performance and governance capacity among countries, triggering a new round of "great divergence". The report underscores that while AI presents both opportunities and challenges for humanity, its future trajectory ultimately depends on the choices humanity makes.

In the face of such complex and daunting challenges, pursuing a strategy of "decoupling" would directly weaken the world's collective capacity to respond. More importantly, the absence of international cooperation would seriously undermine joint efforts to address cross-border crises such as climate change and public health, making it exceedingly difficult to achieve the goals of global public goods like the Paris Agreement. Decoupling is therefore by no means a shortcut to security and prosperity; rather, it is a path that risks plunging humanity into prolonged stagnation, deepening crises and heightened conflicts.

What the international community urgently needs is a renewed commitment to the spirit of dialogue and the building of shared governance consensus. In recent years, China has put forward a series of global initiatives, including the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative, the Global Civilization Initiative and the Global Governance Initiative. Through multilateral cooperation and extensive consultation, these initiatives aim to promote a more equitable, inclusive and sustainable global governance system. They reflect China's contribution to global governance as well. For example, more than 130 countries and international organizations have participated in the implementation mechanisms of the Global Development Initiative, making it a widely welcomed international public good. Through concrete actions, China has demonstrated that it remains a builder of world peace, a contributor to global development and a defender of the international order.

As an international dialogue platform with broad global influence, the Davos Forum should play an active role as a bridge for pooling wisdom and enhancing mutual understanding and trust. Only through sustained, open and equal dialogue can common ground be found amid differing interests and concerns, and can the international community jointly explore a path of cooperation that addresses shared challenges and enables the sharing of development opportunities.