China's Global Governance Initiative: A Call for Strengthened Multilateralism and the Rule of Law

Strategic Insights -

In this pivotal year of 2025, Chinese President Xi Jinping introduced the Global Governance Initiative (GGI), proposing China's wisdom and solutions to enhance global governance. The initiative's emphasis on multilateralism and the rule of law has garnered international attention, with scholars and experts weighing in on its significance and implications. Kin Phea, director general of the International Relations Institute of the Royal Academy of Cambodia, shared his insights on the initiative's core concept of "staying committed to international rule of law" in a series of interviews with the Global Times.

Key Takeaways:

  • The GGI holds significant importance in the context of great power competition, economic fragmentation, and transnational challenges, such as climate change, pandemics, and cybersecurity threats.
  • The initiative seeks to adapt global rules and institutions to the 21st century, ensuring developing countries have a more important role in global affairs.
  • Kin Phea emphasized that adherence to international rule of law is a practical necessity for creating a fair, inclusive, and cooperative global governance system.
  • The GGI advocates for a commitment to international rule of law, upholding norms, and promoting diplomacy, arbitration, and judicial settlement as the preferred means of resolving disputes.
  • China's role in promoting and defending international rule of law is anchored in the UN Charter, international treaties, and norms shaped by inclusive multilateral processes.
  • China positions itself as a leading force in building a more just, balanced, and inclusive global order, emphasizing equality among nations and strengthening multilateralism.

Statistics:

  • The GGI seeks to adapt global rules and institutions to the 21st century, recognizing the growing agency of the developing world.
  • The initiative aims to mitigate hegemonic competition and reduce unilateralism, fostering a new architecture of international cooperation.
  • China contributes to UN peacekeeping, promoted development through initiatives like the Belt and Road Initiative, and advocates for greater voice for developing nations in global decision-making.

Sources:

  • "China's vision on global governance" series by the Global Times, featuring Kin Phea, director general of the International Relations Institute of the Royal Academy of Cambodia.
  • Global Times, "China's Global Governance Initiative: A Call for Strengthened Multilateralism and the Rule of Law" by Anna Li, editor@globaltimes.com.cn, September 21, 2025.