Consul General of the People’s Republic of China in Lagos, Ma Yan Yuqing, has highlighted China’s renewed commitment to global reform with the formal launch of the Global Governance Initiative by President Xi Jinping at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Plus Meeting held recently.
 
The initiative, which follows China’s Global Development, Global Security, and Global Civilisation Initiatives, is described as a new public good for the international community. It aims to address pressing global questions, respond to the expectations of the Global South, and provide what Chinese officials describe as a “grand blueprint” for reforming international governance.

According to Yan, today’s world faces widening deficits in peace, security, development, and governance, while protectionism and unilateralism threaten global stability. She noted that some countries recklessly wielded tariffs as a weapon and attempted to fragment the interdependent global economy, adding that such actions undermined international cooperation.
 
President Xi’s Global Governance Initiative is anchored on five principles: Sovereign equality, ensuring all countries, regardless of size or wealth, have equal voices in decision-making, respect for international law, with full adherence to the UN Charter, and rejection of double standards.
 
It also included a commitment to multilateralism, upholding the central role of the United Nations. A people-centred approach, ensuring that citizens worldwide are both actors and beneficiaries of governance. Focus on concrete action, calling for systematic global cooperation and practical outcomes.