Tranquilizers for a troubled world

Four global initiatives offer a pathway to a more stable and peaceful future

At a time when deep fractures have appeared in the postwar international order, China-advocated global development, security, civilization and governance initiatives point the way to a more harmonious future.

They have assumed even greater relevance in a world undergoing unprecedented transformations, aggravated by overlapping crises such as pandemics, armed conflicts, structural inequality and the politicization of agendas — phenomena that strike the Global South with greater force.

The Global Development Initiative, proposed in 2021, is the key to solving several global problems. This initiative places development at the center of global policies and acts as an accelerator for the implementation of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, in the face of a growing North-South gap and Western practices that threaten “decoupling” and the construction of “small yard, high fences” that affect developing countries.

The initiative’s six principles — development as a priority, a people-centered approach, benefits for all, innovation-driven development, harmony between man and nature, and results-oriented actions — offer a road map that responds to essential questions about for whom, how, and for what purpose the world should develop.

China has linked its own growth to global progress, and the initiative has mobilized more than $23 billion and over 1,800 projects, with the participation of over 130 countries and international organizations, which translates into a concrete alternative for South-South cooperation.

The Global Security Initiative, presented in 2022, is a response to the increasingly unstable international environment roiled by wars, mass displacements and a growing sense of insecurity.

The core principles of the Global Security Initiative are the “six commitments”, which are staying committed to the vision of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security, respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries, abiding by the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, taking the legitimate security concerns of all countries seriously, peacefully resolving differences and disputes between countries through dialogue and consultation, and maintaining security in both traditional and non-traditional domains.

The initiative advocates a new path to security that features dialogue over confrontation, partnership over alliance and win-win results over zero-sum games, which has found support in about 130 countries and organizations.

China has accompanied this vision with concrete actions, such as mediation in the reconciliation between Saudi Arabia and Iran and the creation of mechanisms such as the International Organization for Mediation, or IOMed, in Hong Kong.

In 2023, the Global Civilization Initiative was put forward in the context of the resurgence of discourse on cultural differences and ideological issues promoted by some Western countries.

This initiative affirms that civilizations are not hierarchical, but diverse, and through this initiative, China calls for jointly advocating respect for the diversity of civilizations, jointly advocating the common values of humanity, jointly advocating the importance of continuity and evolution of civilizations, and jointly advocating closer international people-to-people exchanges and cooperation.

The Global Governance Initiative, put forward in 2025, addresses one of the main deficits of the current international system: the lack of representation and voice of developing countries.

Over several decades after the creation of the UN, unilateral practices, institutional blockades and an imbalance persist that limits the effectiveness of multilateralism.

The Global Governance Initiative defends sovereign equality, international rule of law, multilateralism, the people-centered approach and real actions as axes for reforming, not replacing, the existing international system. The initiative is in accordance with the founding principles of the UN and the appeals of the Global South.

These four global initiatives form a coherent framework that articulates development, security, civilization and governance. They constitute the basis of the concept of a community of shared future for humanity.

The initiatives offer a vision of a more peaceful and sustainable future from the Global South in the face of multisystem crises in a world where poverty, armed conflicts and governance deficits persist.

China is not only a promoter, but an active actor in their implementation. In this sense, Beijing’s message with the four initiatives is evident: Faced with the dysfunction of the postwar international system and the rise of unilateralism, humanity’s future can only be built through dialogue, cooperation and shared development.

The author is the China correspondent for the Latin American news agency Prensa Latina.

The author contributed this article to China Watch, a think tank powered by China Daily. The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.

Contact the editor at editor@chinawatch.cn.