China is not happy with the status quo of global governance and wants to be consulted more on important global issues; the country, keen on developing a new big-power relationship with the United States, has made it clear that it does not seek to become a new hegemon, experts told CGTN.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has been stressing the concept of global governance. What's the reason for this?What is President Xi's vision for global governance and how does it reflect his way of thinking? Robert Lawrence Kuhn spoke with Jia Qingguo, dean of the School of International Studies at Peking University.

"I think China, like any other country, is not happy with the state of affairs, global governance, in the world for all kinds of reasons. As far as China is concerned, I think, China wants to be consulted more on important issues. Probably other countries also want to be consulted more, especially developing countries. Decisions used to be made for others. And also, probably we should give less weight to domestic politics of the US. It's an international thing. We are working together on global problems but everybody is looking at the domestic politics of the US, because in the past, the US was so powerful that, if the US governance is trapped by its domestic politics, the whole process of global cooperation would be put at a standstill. Every country has domestic politics, but the US politics should not play such a prominent role in determining international affairs. Other countries have their own domestic politics, we should consult with each other more, but then we should do the things rather than wait for the US domestic politics to unfold."

China has become the world's second largest economy, trailing only the US, and the world's largest economy in terms of Purchasing Power Parity (PPP). So figuring out how to deal with other big powers is now on China's agenda. Under President Xi Jinping, the concept of a new kind of big-power relationship has been discussed largely related to China-US relations. But what does a new kind of big-power relationship mean, and how does it apply to the various big powers in the world? Kuhn raised these questions with Chen Zhimin, professor and associate vice president of Fudan University.

"President Xi is very aware the importance of the relationship with the US, not only for the two countries, but also for the rest of the world. So he put forward this concept, the new model of major state relationships, trying to seek harmony and avoid the so-called Thucydides Trap, right, the conflicts between rising powers and existing powers. So, what we see that from the United States is that it's not very much embracing the concept. The point is to try to avoid direct large confrontations; they don't want to turn each other into enemies, and they want to pursue pragmatic operations. Even if the Trump administration adopts more combative and protectionist policies, I think the two countries still managed pragmatic operations in some of the important issues."

China says it has no intention of undermining the existing world order, or of becoming the new hegemon, which is consistent with Xi's grand vision of the international community with a shared future, mutual development, and win-win cooperation. But some people claim that China is a threat, considering China's position on some sensitive issues. Kuhn discussed this question with Su Ge, president of China Institute of International Studies. 

"The rise of China naturally would cause certain anxieties from among existing status-quo powers. And some people say that China was like a sleeping giant now coming to the world stage and they simply don't know what China is up to and they simply do not have any clues. And China says to them that 'well, we are coming to dinner, but we are bringing our own brown bags' – we are making own contribution. For instance, the growth of China's economy because of the size of the population, the size of the economy, will certainly bring about positive changes in the world. So when you talk about ships crowding through the Straits of Malacca, the oil tankers, and you talk about container ships sailing from Shanghai, from other Chinese ports to other parts of the world, you can see that China is a major player. It's going to change some of the old scenes. So, regarding the 'China threat' – you hear people from different corners say that – but I would say that I hope that these people would take an objective and holistic view, take into consideration all factors, and then make a good judgment."