Editor's note: Cheng Shujing, a special commentator for CGTN, is an assistant research fellow of the Department for Global Governance and International Institutions at China Institutes of International Studies. The article reflects the author's opinions and not necessarily the views of CGTN.

Leading figures in strategic, political, academic, business, media and youth sectors from around the world have come together at the Global Governance Forum in the Xiong'an New Area in north China to discuss "Rebuilding Confidence and Cooperation: Reforming and Improving Global Governance in a Transforming World."

Chinese President Xi Jinping sent a message to the forum, which opened on Friday. In the message, President Xi said the Global Governance Initiative aims to promote a more just and equitable global governance system. He expressed China's willingness to work with all parties to advance global governance through extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits, pooling strength through confidence and tackling challenges through cooperation.

The three-day event also explores how the development of a city of the future can inform international cooperation, an apt exploration given that host Xiong'an is being developed to be a high-tech, green and people-centered "city of the future."

The forum comes as global governance is undergoing a profound systemic crisis. While the UN-centered system established after World War II played a vital role in safeguarding global peace and development, its structural shortcomings and deficiencies have become increasingly manifest. The world's geopolitical and economic landscape is now being fundamentally reshaped by the historic, collective rise of the Global South, and yet the global governance system remains dominated by a handful of traditional powers, failing to accommodate the aspirations and legitimate demands of the developing majority.

Developing nations face a severe asymmetry between their surging economic contributions and their marginalized voice within premier international organizations. Measured by purchasing power parity, the Global South now commands 60% of the world economy and drives nearly 80% of global economic growth.

Yet, within financial institutions like the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), developed countries still hold the majority of shares and voting power, and monopolize senior leadership positions. These entrenched institutional advantages are routinely exploited to block the structural reforms demanded by the rest of the world, systematically sidelining the legitimate rights and interests of the developing majority.   

For decades, Western standards have been packaged as "universal rules" and aggressively imposed upon the globe through international institutions. Under the banner of promoting a green transition and combating climate change, some developed nations are projecting their own environmental standards and carbon accounting rules onto global trade, erecting de facto market access barriers that squeeze the room for industrialization across the developing world.

While denying equitable institutional rights to developing nations, certain major powers are abdicating their own global responsibilities. Driven by inward-looking, "Me-First" policies, they have retreated from multilateral bodies and reneged on international commitments.

In climate governance, developed nations are systematically evading or delaying their financial and technological obligations, while shifting unrealistic carbon-reduction targets onto developing countries. Some are weaponizing rules for geopolitical leverage, manifest in unilateral sanctions, long-arm jurisdiction, non-tariff barriers and exclusive cliques. Such practices undermine the very foundation of international law.  

Yet flawed as it is, the global governance system warrants neither wholesale demolition nor total replacement. The UN remains the most comprehensive, representative and authoritative international organization, serving as the irreplaceable bedrock of multilateralism. For the vast majority of nations, it is the paramount institutional platform to safeguard collective interests; without it, international affairs would inevitably degenerate into a lawless playground dominated by raw power politics.

The international community should therefore champion genuine multilateralism, uphold the central coordinating role of the UN in global governance, and reaffirm a steadfast commitment to the rule of international law and basic norms governing international relations.

Reforming global governance demands a systemic amplification of the representation and voice of the Global South, guaranteeing developing nations an equitable seat at the international policy-making table. In September 2025, Chinese President Xi Jinping proposed the Global Governance Initiative (GGI) at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Plus meeting in September 2025, designed to reform the international system and increase the representation and voice of the Global South.

Subsequently, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi announced the Global Governance Forum at the meeting of the Group of Friends of Global Governance in New York on May 28, 2026, as part of the GGI, outlining nine core directions for systematic reform, which range from enhancing UN efficiency to civilizational exchanges.

The Global Governance Forum is dedicated to dismantling the existing monopoly on international discourse and elevating the global majority to the central agenda of governance reform. The ultimate goal is to drive a fundamental shift: transforming developing countries from passive rule-takers on the margins to active participants, constructive builders and rightful beneficiaries of global governance.

Furthermore, by focusing on a broad spectrum of pivotal issues, including global development, collective security, digital governance and climate change, the forum aims to fill critical regulatory vacuums and institutional gaps in key domains. In doing so, it seeks to reorient global attention toward the urgent priorities of the global majority and steer the international community back to the track of dialogue and cooperation.

This endeavor to bridge the North-South divide and forge a global framework rooted in extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits offers a potent antidote to today's systemic governance crisis. Its significance lies in the bid to rejuvenate global governance and pave the way toward a community with a shared future for all.

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