China positions itself as a capacity builder for more equitable and inclusive global governance.
Shipbuilding site in the economic and technological development zone of Taicang Port (Jiangsu), September 16, 2025
Born in the aftermath of the Second World War, the United Nations is a beacon of multilateralism, still striving to mediate conflicts and develop international standards. This organization is under unprecedented pressure coming from geopolitical clashes, economic turbulence, but also the technological gap and the climate crisis. A reform of global governance is therefore imminent.
China’s role and vision as a founding member of the United Nations and a permanent member of the Security Council are therefore becoming increasingly important. The concept of the “major aid-providing country in the service of others” offers unique insight into the role that China plays in building a more equitable and inclusive international order.
The evolution of the role
To understand China’s vision of global governance, it is necessary to look back over more than half a century of its relations with the United Nations. The restoration of the rightful seat of the People’s Republic of China by United Nations General Assembly Resolution 2758 in 1971 was not only a victory for Chinese diplomacy, but also a historic adjustment of the global governance landscape. The favorable vote of many newly independent states in Asia and Africa demonstrates the solidarity of the countries of the Global South and also constitutes a positive counterbalance to traditional Western domination.
In the early years after its return to the United Nations, China participated in international affairs with a cautious “rule-taker” attitude, focusing its diplomacy on safeguarding its national sovereignty and domestic development. From the end of the 20th century
Today, China is the largest provider of peacekeepers among the five permanent members of the Security Council and the second largest financial contributor to United Nations peacekeeping operations. From the promotion of the conclusion of the
China believes that the multilateral system centered on the United Nations constitutes an essential cornerstone of the multipolar world and an institutional guarantee against unilateralism. Through this position, China joins most developing countries, gradually becoming a bridge between the countries of the North and the South. Today, with the proposal of the Global Governance Initiative, it has moved from the status of a major player to that of an active organizer of the international agenda.
Opening of an exhibition for the 80th anniversary of the victory of the World Anti-Fascist War and the founding of the United Nations, at the Dag Hammarskjöld Library at the headquarters in New York, August 27, 2025
A difficult process
Although China strongly supports multilateralism, mutual trust with the West in global governance has eroded in recent years, for multiple reasons.
Firstly because of the intensification of systemic competition. Some Western powers are accustomed to equating influence with control, as well as viewing international relations as a zero-sum game. The rise of the Chinese voice in mechanisms such as the United Nations inevitably challenges existing hierarchies of power, thus giving rise to strategic anxiety.
Second, because value-based narratives exacerbate the divide. Dominant Western narratives often characterize China’s governance model as incompatible with their values, and thus prejudge the motivations for Chinese proposals. This ideological prism shapes the perception of Chinese initiatives, independently of their stated objectives. For example, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is positioned as an international public good aimed at promoting connectivity and common development, but it is qualified by some public opinion as a “geopolitical instrument” and even a “debt trap”. Moreover, in emerging areas like digital governance or artificial intelligence (AI), China’s constructive participation is often described as behavior that “challenges the existing order.”
This deep perception gap seriously hampers the effectiveness of international collaboration on major topics such as the fight against climate change, public health and AI safety, to the point of paralyzing the decision-making of essential mechanisms such as the United Nations Security Council. In short, distrust transforms potential complementarities into arenas of confrontation, weakening the effectiveness of the global governance system.
New fields
Faced with the dilemmas of global governance, China has not opted to rebuild a new system from scratch, but has put forward a series of projects aimed at reforming and improving the existing system. From the Global Development Initiative, to the Global Security Initiative, to the Global Civilization Initiative, to the recent Global Governance Initiative, these four proposals reflect China’s vision for a future world order. At the heart of this is a desire to go beyond the traditional “center-periphery” type architecture, in order to promote the establishment of more equitable, inclusive and networked multilateral partnerships.
In fact, the fundamental logic of this vision lies in the idea of a large country providing aid with capacity to serve others. Unlike the attitude of traditional hegemonic countries seeking a dominant position, this concept aims to help other countries develop autonomously, through various means such as building cooperation platforms, providing public goods and creating conditions for growth. Far from resulting in coercive constraints, it rather works towards achieving win-win and shared prosperity.
The aid provided by China takes the form of multiple dimensions. In infrastructure, the BRI has paved the way for developing countries to grow, helping them build railways, ports and digital corridors. In terms of financial platforms, new-style multilateral financial institutions, such as the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and the New Development Bank, usefully complement the traditional Bretton Woods system and strengthen the voice of countries in the Global South. In the field of technical cooperation, the Digital Silk Road, which works for inclusion and knowledge sharing, invites all countries to build exchange platforms together and share risks. In the area of capacity building, China is convinced that “it is better to teach someone to fish than to give them fish”, ensuring that other countries develop endogenous dynamics, whether in peacekeeping training, in climate assistance or in large-scale cooperation for the development of human resources.
Within the framework of the United Nations, this aid approach is manifested by unwavering support for the reform of international mechanisms, the objective of which is to build open and inclusive “global common spaces” rather than preserving the “privileged clubs” of a few rare countries. Specifically, China fully supports increasing the representation of Africa and the Global South in the Security Council. This commitment finds its foundation in China’s traditional harmonious culture and its philosophy of consensus beyond differences, which provide a cultural foundation to avoid confrontation between great powers in the era of a multipolar world.
The road ahead still remains full of challenges. However, the opportunities are no less remarkable: the 80
In this era of change, the future of the United Nations depends on its ability to reconnect with its initial commitment. The Chinese solution, based on the idea of a large country providing aid capacity in the service of others, offers an alternative path based on dialogue and common development. It shows that a truly effective system of global governance must abandon the logic of exclusionary hegemony and embrace pluralism and networking. The world is waiting to see whether China’s initiatives can serve as a bridge to common security and prosperity.
*WARWICK POWELL is a researcher at the Taihe Institute.
