China’s Global Governance Initiative: A move to convert the world to a peaceful, Multipolar, and Balanced one. Part I
Dr. Syed Mehboob
Senior Business and Political Analyst
The world desperately needs global good governance. Genocide in Gaza, killing of 50,000 children average of 80 children per day by Israel, and militarily, financially, and politically supported by a world power, forced the world’s peace-loving people to realize that the global power system is totally imbalanced, unipolar, and it needs to be changed. Governance is defined as the process of decision-making and the process by which decisions are implemented or not implemented. Good governance has eight major characteristics. It is participatory, consequence-oriented, accountable, transparent, responsive, effective and efficient, equitable and inclusive, and follows the rule of law. It ensures that corruption is minimized, the views of minorities are considered, and that the voices of the most vulnerable in decision making are heard.
Participation by both men and women is a key cornerstone of good governance. Participation could be either direct or through legitimate intermediate institutions or representatives. Rule of law. Good governance requires fair legal frameworks that are enforced impartially. It also requires full protection of human rights, particularly those of minorities. Impartial enforcement of laws requires an independent judiciary and an impartial and incorruptible police force. Transparency means that decisions taken and their enforcement are done in a manner that follows rules and regulations. It also means that information is freely available and directly accessible to those who will be affected by such decisions and their enforcement. It also means that enough information is provided and that it is provided in easily understandable forms and media. Responsiveness Good governance requires that institutions and processes try to serve all stakeholders within a reasonable timeframe.
Consensus-oriented. There are as many actors and as many viewpoints in a given society. Good governance requires mediation of the different interests in society to reach a broad consensus in society on what is in the best interest of the whole community and how this can be achieved. It also requires a broad and long-term perspective on what is needed for sustainable human development and how to achieve the goals of such development. This can only result from an understanding of the historical, cultural, and social contexts of a given society or community. Equity and inclusiveness, a society’s well-being depends on ensuring that all its members feel that they have a stake in it and do not feel excluded from the mainstream of society. Good governance means that processes and institutions produce results that meet the needs of society while making the best use of resources at their disposal. The concept of efficiency in the context of good governance also covers the sustainable use of natural resources and the protection of the environment. Accountability is a key requirement of good governance. Not only governmental institutions but also the private sector and civil society organizations must be accountable to the public and to their institutional stakeholders. Who is accountable to whom varies depending on whether decisions or actions taken are internal or external to an organization or institution. In general, an organization or an institution is accountable to those who will be affected by its decisions or actions. Accountability cannot be enforced without transparency and the rule of law. From the above discussion, it should be clear that good governance is an ideal that is difficult to achieve in its totality. Very few countries and societies have come close to achieving good governance in its totality. However, to ensure sustainable human development, actions must be taken to work towards this ideal to make it a reality.
China is a good example of good governance, although Western-oriented and Indian media influenced people will hardly agree on it, but it is a fact that China lifted 800 million people from poverty in four decades, which is not possible without good governance and inclusiveness, transparency, and social justice.
To eliminate extremism, terrorism, and violence, there is a need for justice, a fight against poverty, and for this purpose, the Chinese visionary leader, President Xi Jinping, introduced a new concept of Global Governance Initiative (GGI). Global governance is the complex system of shared values, norms, and institutions that coordinate the actions of states, organizations, and individuals to address collective problems and make decisions on a global scale, rather than being a single world government. It encompasses cooperative efforts to maintain peace, manage economic interdependence, protect human rights, and tackle issues like climate change through international law, treaties, and organizations like the United Nations. While it facilitates cooperation and can lead to mutual benefits, global governance faces challenges related to enforcement, legitimacy, and effectiveness, as it relies on voluntary compliance and the cooperation of sovereign states.
For the last several years, due to the unipolar global system and monopoly of one power, the world has become very much unbalanced. Justice has been wiped out, and international organizations, which were supposed to play an active role to pave the way for sustainable peace and justice, have become meaningless and have become silent spectators. One very important example is Israeli aggression against Palestine, the worst genocide in Gaza, killing more than 50,000 children, more than 15,000 women, and dozens of journalists, aid workers, destroying schools, hospitals, mosques, churches, and blocking all sorts of international aid and creating a severe food crisis resulting in the starvation of millions. All the International Organizations, like the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), United Nations Security Council (UNSC), United Nations Council for Human Rights (UNCHR), International Court of Justice (ICJ), and International Court of Criminals (ICC), had passed resolutions and given rulings against Israel but one power and very few its allies sabotaged all efforts for peace. The situation demands a new world order and global governance based on justice, development, durable and sustainable peace, and cooperation.
At the 25th Summit of SCO in Tianjin Chinese President has given the concept of Global Governance Initiative (GGI) at a time when the World is going to celebrate the 80th anniversary of the foundation of the United Nations Organization ( UNO). Eighty years ago, upon deep reflection on the bitter lessons of the two world wars, the international community decided to establish the United Nations, commencing a brand new practice in global governance. Over the past 80 years, the visions and practices of global governance, i.e., the international system with the U.N. at its core, the international order underpinned by international law, and the basic norms of international relations based on the purposes and principles of the U.N. Charter have made historic contributions to maintaining world peace and development. The current international landscape is undergoing changes and turbulence. The U.N. and multilateralism are being challenged. The deficit in global governance continues to grow. The existing international institutions have shown three deficiencies. First, serious underrepresentation of the Global South. The collective rise of emerging markets and developing countries necessitates boosting the representation of the Global South and redressing historical injustice. Second, erosion of authoritativeness. The purposes and principles of the U.N. Charter have not been effectively observed. Resolutions of the Security Council have been challenged. Unilateral sanctions, among other practices, have violated international law and disrupted the international order. Third, urgent need for greater effectiveness. The implementation of the U.N. 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is seriously lagging. Issues such as climate change and the digital divide are becoming more salient. Governance gaps exist in new frontiers such as artificial intelligence (AI), cyberspace, and outer space.
As a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council and the biggest developing country, China has all along been a staunch builder of world peace, contributor to global development, defender of the international order, and provider of public goods. Focusing on a subject of our times, namely what kind of global governance system to build and how to reform and improve global governance, and regarding it as the fundamental guideline to uphold the purposes and principles of the U.N. Charter and practice the vision of global governance featuring extensive consultation and joint contribution for shared benefit, China proposed the Global Governance Initiative (GGI) to promote the building of a more just and equitable global governance system and work together for a community with a shared future for humanity. Following are the details of the Chinese proposed Global Governance Initiative ( GGI)
Core Concepts
1. Staying committed to sovereign equality. This is the foremost premise of global governance. Sovereign equality is the most important norm governing state-to-state relations, and the foremost principle observed by the U.N. and all other international institutions and organizations. The essence of sovereign equality is that all countries, regardless of size, strength or wealth, shall have their sovereignty and dignity respected, their domestic affairs free from external interference, the right to independently choose their social system and development path, and the right to participate in, make decisions in, and benefit from the global governance process as equals. Greater democracy should be promoted in international relations to make the global governance system better reflect the interests and aspirations of the majority of countries and to increase the representation and say of developing countries.
2. Staying committed international rule of law. This is the fundamental safeguard for global governance. The purposes and principles of the U.N. Charter are universally recognized basic norms of international relations. They must be upheld unwaveringly. In emerging areas, international rules should be formulated on the basis of extensive consensus. International law and rules must be applied equally and uniformly, without any double standards or imposition. The authority and solemnity of international law must be upheld. Major countries, in particular, must take the lead in advocating and defending the international rule of law.
(To be continued)
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