Group of Friends a key step in global governance

Editor's note: The Group of Friends of Global Governance, promoted by China, was officially established at the United Nations headquarters last December. People's Daily Overseas Edition spoke with Zhu Jiejin, a professor at the School of International Relations and Public Affairs at Fudan University, and Chen Xiujun, a professor at the School of International Politics and Economic at the University of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, on the significance of the group and the benefits it offers. Below are excerpts of the interview. The views don't necessarily represent those of China Daily.

Amid the serious challenges posed by the rise of unilateralism, the Group of Friends helps amplify the voice of multilateralism.

The Group of Friends contributes to upholding an international system with the United Nations at its core, an international order underpinned by international law and the basic norms governing international relations based on the purposes and principles of the UN Charter. As the UN faces multiple and overlapping challenges, the Group of Friends is committed to safeguarding its authority, maintaining balance across the UN's three pillars of peace and security, development, and human rights and promoting the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

The Group of Friends is an important step in translating China's Global Governance Initiative into concrete action. On the one hand, it supports multilateral trade mechanisms such as the World Trade Organization and backs the UN's central role in the governance of emerging areas, including artificial intelligence.

On the other hand, by promoting reforms of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, and by leveraging the demonstrative role of new multilateral institutions such as the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and the BRICS New Development Bank, the group helps enhance the voice and representation of developing countries in global governance.

The establishment of the Group of Friends reflects the shared expectation of the international community, particularly the Global South, for improved global governance. Its significance lies in building a broad-based consensus, advancing multilateral cooperation and advocating a more just and equitable model of global governance, thereby encouraging more effective responses to global challenges.

With developing countries as its main participants, the Group of Friends strengthens the collective voice and influence of the Global South in international affairs. By championing multilateralism and promoting dialogue between the Global North and Global South, it helps advance reform and development of the global governance system and offers new approaches to addressing deficits in peace, development, security and governance.

The group also creates greater space for the Global South to participate in global rule-making. It calls for greater representation of the Global South and for decision-making processes that are more democratic and transparent.

Looking ahead, the Group of Friends should steadily enhance its level of institutionalization and strengthen alignment with established multilateral platforms. Building on its current role, which is similar to a "working group", it could evolve into a more efficient platform that deepens strategic coordination with frameworks such as BRICS and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.

The Group of Friends can focus on key areas where global governance challenges are most acute, including reform of the international financial architecture to improve representation of emerging markets, the establishment of fair and inclusive rules for artificial intelligence governance, cooperation on cyberspace governance to safeguard sovereignty and security, joint action on climate change in line with the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities, the defense of the multilateral trading system against protectionism, and the promotion of the peaceful use of outer space.

At the same time, the group needs to expand participation by engaging more countries with regional and international influence. By doing so, the Group of Friends can broaden the coalition for multilateralism and amplify its voice and influence in international affairs.