The logo of the United Nations Photo: IC PHOTO

On Oct. 28, the “Global Strategic Dialogue (2025)—The 80th Anniversary of the United Nations and the New Form of Global Governance” was held in Beijing. Gao Xiang, president of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS); Djoomart Otorbaev, former prime minister of Kyrgyzstan; Qu Yingpu, publisher and editor-in-chief of China Daily; and Erik Solheim, chair of the Europe-Asia Center and former UN under-secretary-general, attended the opening ceremony and delivered remarks.

UN faces unprecedented tests

In his address, Gao noted that this year marks the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War, as well as the 80th anniversary of the founding of the United Nations. Eighty years ago, having learned profound lessons from the devastation of two world wars, the international community established the United Nations, opening a new chapter in global governance.

Eight decades on, the world has entered a new period of turbulence and transformation, once again bringing global governance to a crossroads, Gao continued. With great foresight, and from the perspective of humanity’s future, Chinese President Xi Jinping has proposed the Global Governance Initiative (GGI), offering China’s vision for the question of our times—what kind of global governance system should be built and how it should be reformed and improved. The initiative charts a course toward a more just and equitable global governance system.

Gao emphasized that the recently concluded Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee outlined the top-level design and strategic plans for China’s economic and social development over the next five years. China will, as always, follow the path of peaceful development, actively participate in reforming and building the global governance system, uphold extensive consultation, joint contribution, and shared benefits, and remain a builder of world peace, a contributor to global development, and a defender of the international order.

Otorbaev remarked that 80 years ago the United Nations emerged from the ashes of war, reflecting humanity’s aspiration to rebuild the international order and pursue peace and development. Over the past eight decades, as the number of member states has grown, the UN’s missions have become more arduous and the challenges more severe.

Today, at the truly defining moment of the UN’s 80th anniversary, it is important not only to review the past but also to look to the future. The GGI advanced by President Xi demonstrates China’s firm support for the United Nations and echoes the shared aspirations of the international community, Otorbaev said.

Qu observed that as profound changes unseen in a century unfold at an accelerating pace, the UN’s founding aspiration and mission are facing unprecedented tests. President Xi has successively put forward the Global Development Initiative (GDI), the Global Security Initiative (GSI), the Global Civilization Initiative (GCI), and the GGI. These initiatives respond to the pressing needs of the times and align with the common aspirations of people worldwide.

Solheim stressed that despite dramatic changes, the United Nations remains indispensable and irreplaceable for the international community. Predicting that “the future will be multilateral and multipolar,” he called for firmly upholding the UN-centered international system and the international order based on international law, and for advancing global governance rooted in the rule of law and guided by a people-centered approach, so as to meet the diverse challenges and global issues facing humanity together.

Championing multipolarization, economic globalization

More than 100 experts and scholars from China, Russia, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Denmark, and other countries attended the forum, engaging in dialogues on the themes of “Equal and Orderly Multipolar World” and “Inclusive and Equitable Economic Globalization.”

Liao Fan, director-general of the Institute of World Economics and Politics at CASS, argued that multipolarization is an accelerating general trend, while economic globalization remains an unstoppable historical tide. In his view, no single country today has the capacity to unilaterally dictate rules to the world nor sustain the effective operation of international institutions. Moreover, the international community’s diversity precludes any single country’s claim to dominate international affairs. The key question is how to balance and accommodate the interests and demands of all parties in a multipolar world, ensuring that economic globalization truly delivers inclusive outcomes for all.

Examining modern international economic institutions, Igor Makarov, head of the School of World Economy and the Laboratory for Climate Change Economics at HSE University in Russia, identified a fundamental mismatch: These institutions no longer correspond to today’s realities.

Economically, Makarov explained, China’s voting power in both the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank is almost three times smaller than that of the United States. Geographically, the world’s center of economic gravity shifted from the Atlantic and Europe to Eurasia more than 20 years ago, yet the headquarters of key economic institutions remain in New York and Geneva. In terms of priorities, the Bretton Woods institutions were created to maintain macroeconomic stability, reconstruction, and recovery after World War II. Now they face different challenges—primarily redirecting financial flows to countries of the Global South for the purposes of equal, inclusive, and green development. “They are failing to fulfill this task,” Makarov said.

Given the various shortcomings of contemporary global governance, it is imperative to explore effective remedies. At the forum, Chinese initiatives and visions sparked a wave of lively discussion. Several experts noted that in recent years China has put forward the Belt and Road Initiative, the GDI, the GSI, the GCI, and the GGI, taking concrete, pragmatic steps to build a “community with a shared future for humanity.” In particular, the proposal of the GGI is timely and aligns with the purposes and principles of the UN Charter.

Solheim regarded the GGI as “a great plan.” “I think it’s a plan which can basically be agreed upon by everyone. It can, for sure, be agreed by the entire Global South.” Asserting that the initiative contains “the best principles for a better future,” he expressed his anticipation that it can be concretized and implemented.

The forum was co-hosted by CASS and China Daily.