Chinese President Xi Jinping chairs the 25th Meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and delivers a speech titled “Staying True to SCO Founding Mission And Ushering in a Better Future” in Tianjin, north China, Sept. 1, 2025.
In recent
weeks, the international precious metals market has been on a heart-stopping
roller-coaster ride, drawing global attention. Gold prices once soared to a
record high of $5,600 per ounce, only to plunge sharply within days, tumbling
by more than 20 percent.
Silver followed suit, at one stage sliding 11 percent at
one point. The wild swings have left investors around the world reeling.
Behind this round
of volatility lies deep unease in global markets amid intensifying geopolitical
tensions and the fraying of the international order.
It reflects widespread
anxiety about the shadow of war and the resurgence of unilateral and coercive
practices, as well as an instinctive response to mounting uncertainty about the
world’s future trajectory. In many ways, the turbulence in precious metals
prices offers a stark reflection of today’s unsettled global landscape.
On February
24, the Xinhua Institute, a national high-level think tank of Xinhua News
Agency, released a report titled “Upholding International Justice and
Jointly Addressing World Turbulence—Focusing
on China’s Solution to Global Governance” in Geneva,
Switzerland.
The report pur forward China’s response to the prevailing unease.
It highlights the contemporary relevance and practical value of China’s global
governance proposals at a time of mounting instability and interwoven crises.
Barely two
months into 2026, instability and uncertainty on the international stage have
continued to surge. The Russia–Ukraine conflict and fighting in the Middle East
show no sign of abating; amid the sound of gunfire, the specter of a new round
of military confrontation looms over multiple regions.
The United States has
launched raids against Venezuela, massed pressure on Iran, and even attempted
to “purchase” Greenland. Such hegemonic acts and bullying logic have played out
repeatedly on the world stage, laying bare the nature of hegemonism. Meanwhile,
unilateral sanctions, tariff barriers, and technological blockades are
proliferating worldwide.
Some countries have increasingly withdrawn from
international agreements and broken their commitments, while global rules are arbitrarily
distorted and repeatedly hollowed out. The existing framework of the international
order has begun to fray, sending shockwaves across the globe and inflicting heavy
costs, especially on small and medium-sized countries.
All these
developments point to a clear truth: in today’s deeply interconnected world, no
country can insulate itself from global upheavals, and no global challenge can
be resolved through unilateral action alone.
The
turbulence and disorder in today’s world only underscore the growing importance
of effective global governance.
As security, development, climate, and science
and technological challenges intertwine and compound, as the spillover effects
of risks continue to intensify, and as uncertainty and anxiety about the future
deepen across global markets, the international community’s desire for shared
rules and consensus has grown ever stronger, and the need for multilateral
cooperation has become increasingly urgent.
Reforming and improving the global
governance system to make it more just, effective, and inclusive has become a
defining issue for all humanity.
In response
to this defining question of our time, the Global Governance Initiative (GGI),
proposed and steadily advanced by China, offers a systematic and pragmatic
answer.
The Initiative is not an abstract vision detached from reality. Instead,
it directly addresses the most prominent pain points and bottlenecks in today’s
global governance system.
Fu Cong (L, 2nd row), China’s permanent representative to the United Nations, delivers a joint statement on behalf of the newly established Group of Friends of Global Governance during a UN General Assembly briefing on the UN80 Initiative, at the UN headquarters in New York, on Dec. 11, 2025. (Xinhua/Xie E)
Centered on upholding sovereign equality, observing international
rule of law, practicing multilateralism, advocating a people-centered approach,
and emphasizing action-oriented implementation, the GGI aligns with the
development needs of all countries around the world, especially the vast number
of developing countries, and follows the prevailing trend of economic
globalization.
Since the
proposal of the GGI, China has never confined it to conceptual elaboration.
Grounded in its own capabilities and in the realities of the international
system, China has translated the Initiative into concrete actions to ensure its
steady implementation.
Through sustained institutional participation in global
governance processes, the continued provision of international public goods,
and strengthened coordination in global risk management, China has adopted a
comprehensive set of measures to advance reform of the global governance
system.
In doing so, it has moved the GGI from vision to action and from
consensus to institutional arrangements, steadily enhancing the credibility,
effectiveness, and international recognition of this China-proposed solution.
Today, the Initiative has won support from more than 150 countries and
international organizations, becoming an important shared consensus of the
international community in addressing global turbulence.
Against the
backdrop of global turmoil, the appeal and influence of China’s approach are
also reflected in a surge of diplomatic visits to China from around the world.
In recent months, leaders not only from the Global South but also from many
Western countries have traveled to China in succession.
The international
community’s growing inclination to “look East” has become increasingly evident.
This wave of visits to China is no coincidence; rather, it reflects a pragmatic
choice by the international community in light of current realities.
French
President Emmanuel Macron has stated that France “attaches great importance to
and highly appreciates the Global Governance Initiative proposed by China” and
has expressed readiness to deepen cooperation with China in this regard. Irish
Prime Minister Micheál Martin has commended China for playing an indispensable
role in international affairs.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has also
underlined the significance of strengthening cooperation with China amid
evolving global realities. These remarks by leaders of various countries
reflect the international community’s growing recognition of China’s approach
to global governance at a time of profound changes in the international order
and mounting global challenges.
They also highlight the world’s strong
expectation that China will provide greater stability and clearer direction
amid ongoing turbulence.
In an
international environment marked by rising uncertainty, stability itself has
become a scarce commodity, and China has emerged as an important source of such
stability.
China remains committed to the path of peaceful development, firmly
upholds the central role of the United Nations, and advocates resolving
international disputes through dialogue and consultation within the UN
framework. It rejects bloc confrontation and opposes zero-sum mentality.
At the
same time, China continues to advance high-level opening-up and advance
high-quality Belt and Road (BRI) cooperation, offering broad market
opportunities and development space for countries around the world. By steadily
delivering development dividends and international public goods, China
contributes sustained impetus to global growth and governance.
Such
consistent commitment and concrete action have made China a “stabilizer” and an
“anchor” for the international community, turning the growing tendency to “look
East” into a rational choice for many countries.
After all, amid the sharp
fluctuations in gold and silver prices and under the gathering clouds of
geopolitical conflict, what the world needs most are visible stability,
tangible development, and a future that inspires confidence.
From a
deeper perspective, the international community’s growing inclination to “look East”
is, in essence, a choice to look toward development and the future.
China does
not seek to export its development model or pursue hegemonic expansion.
Instead, it consistently upholds a vision of global governance that features
extensive consultation, joint contributions, and shared benefits, offering
countries practical pathways to participate in global governance and achieve
common development.
From placing
development back at the center of the international agenda and responding to
the development aspirations of the broad community of developing countries, to
advocating the joint formulation of international rules in frontier areas such
as climate change and emerging technologies—while taking into account
countries’ differing development interests and stages—China’s approach embodies
a governance vision grounded in humanity’s long-term progress and attentive to
the legitimate concerns of all parties.
This vision moves beyond the old
paradigm in which a handful of countries dominated global governance and shaped
rules in line with their own interests. It injects new momentum into the effort
to build a more just and equitable global governance system.
As the wheel
of history rolls forward, it has repeatedly borne out a simple truth: genuine
global leadership does not lie in creating division, but in bridging
differences; not in pursuing narrow self-interest, but in shouldering
responsibility; and not in short-term calculation, but in safeguarding the
shared future of humanity.
Global
governance has never been a solo performance by any single country; it is a
collective endeavor of all humanity. In a world of both transformation and turbulence,
and amid deep market anxiety over rising uncertainty, global governance must
neither be absent nor regress.
Only by upholding multilateralism, defending
international fairness and justice, and working together in solidarity can the
international community overcome development challenges, guard against various
risks, and guide the world out of anxiety toward greater stability.
“When the
great way prevails, the world is equally shared by all.” China has consistently
stood on the right side of history and human progress. Taking the GGI as an
important platform, China continues to advance the reform and improvement of
the global governance system and to safeguard international fairness and
justice.
Today, a growing number of countries have joined in supporting China’s
proposal and practicing multilateralism. This expanding momentum fully
demonstrates that reforming and improving global governance, and building a
community with a shared future for humanity, are no longer just China’s
proposition but have increasingly become a shared choice of the international
community.
Amid today’s
global turbulence, may all countries join hands and move forward together,
taking China’s GGI as an important guide, abandoning hegemonism and
unilateralism, and upholding cooperation and win-win outcomes.
By ensuring that
the global governance system better reflects the needs of our times, the
international community can set a steady course for peace and development and
help the world move beyond anxiety toward greater stability. (Enditem)
Liu Si, Research Fellow,
Xinhua Institute