XIONGAN, Oct. 24 (Xinhua) -- China is hosting a three-day inaugural global governance forum to pool wisdom for better global governance, one year after the country proposed the Global Governance Initiative (GGI).
The 2026 Global Governance Forum (Xiongan) opened on Friday in Xiongan New Area, north China's Hebei Province. Hosted by the Chinese People's Institute of Foreign Affairs, it is themed "Rebuilding Confidence and Cooperation: Reforming and Improving Global Governance in a Transforming World."
In a message to the forum, Chinese President Xi Jinping noted the world is undergoing accelerated transformation unseen in a century, and the deficits in peace, development, security and governance are growing rather than diminishing.
"I have put forward the GGI to promote the building of a more just and equitable global governance system and a better world," he said.
China stands ready to work with all parties to uphold the vision of global governance featuring extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits, pool strength through confidence-building and tackle challenges through cooperation, Xi said.
He called for efforts to promote the implementation of the GGI to inject more certainty and positive energy into a world of turbulence and transformation, and jointly move toward a community with a shared future for humanity.
"The forum offers a window for the world to follow the developments of China's vision for global governance. One of the key points is to invite all countries to communicate together and build a world together and share the outcomes together," said Selcuk Colakoglu, director of the Ankara-based Turkish Center for Asia-Pacific Studies.
Nearly 400 representatives from strategic, political, academic, business, media, and youth sectors from more than 90 countries and international and regional organizations, including the UN, attended the event.
The GGI emphasizes sovereign equality, international rule of law, multilateralism, a people-centered approach, and practical outcomes, providing an opportunity for all parties to further engage in the global governance system, international cooperation and dialogue, former Nepali President Bidya Devi Bhandari said.
The world today faces severe challenges such as economic inequality, poverty, geopolitical tensions, armed conflicts, climate change, and food security, while rising protectionism and unilateralism further complicate international cooperation. No single country can address these shared challenges alone; they require dialogue, enhanced cooperation, and joint efforts among all countries, Bhandari said.
Former Kyrgyz Prime Minister Djoomart Otorbaev said countries of the Global South support the GGI and want a world of growth, cooperation and progress instead of hegemony or interference.
"Our system is still designed without giving developing countries sufficient weight. So we see the need in the United Nations to make reforms to our governance systems," UN under-secretary-general Guy Ryder said.
It is important to enhance the representation and voice of the Global South in international affairs, advance reform of the international financial system in accordance with the timetable and roadmap agreed by all parties, increase the representation of developing countries in the Security Council, and give full play to the important role of emerging multilateral cooperation mechanisms such as BRICS and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi said.
Wang also called for improving governance rules in emerging fields, turning new frontiers such as the deep sea, the polar regions and outer space into areas for international cooperation, and evolving an artificial intelligence (AI) governance structure based on general consensus soon.
China and the United States have both the capability and the responsibility to jointly develop and govern AI well, ensuring that its development remains under human control and benefits the people, Wang said when meeting with co-chair of the Board of Trustees of the Asia Society John L. Thornton and The New York Times columnist Thomas L. Friedman on the sidelines of the forum.
Thornton and Friedman said that the international community is paying close attention to the upcoming APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting hosted by China, and expects that China will take this opportunity to play a unique and positive role in tackling global challenges. ■
