Group of Friends initiated to boost global governance

The Group of Friends of Global Governance was officially established at the United Nations headquarters in New York on Tuesday, marking a new step forward in advancing international cooperation on global governance.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said on Wednesday that the group aims to work with all concerned countries to strengthen exchanges and cooperation on major issues regarding global governance and pool collective wisdom and coordinate actions for the reform and improvement of global governance.

Fu Cong, China's permanent representative to the United Nations, said during the inaugural meeting that the group, which includes 43 founding member countries, was launched under the guidance of the Global Governance Initiative, against a backdrop of growing pressures on multilateralism and global governance.

Founding members include countries such as Cuba, Iran, Kenya, Kazakhstan, Morocco and Malaysia.

The Global Governance Initiative, launched at the "Shanghai Cooperation Organization Plus" Meeting in September, is the fourth major global initiative proposed by President Xi Jinping, following initiatives on development, security and civilization. The initiative "offers China's wisdom and solutions to reforming and improving global governance", Fu said at the inaugural meeting of the group.

Wide support

The initiative has received support from more than 140 countries and international organizations since its announcement in September, said Fu.

This year marks the 80th anniversary of the UN. Fu said the international community should not forget the historical lessons that led to the UN's creation.

"Eight decades ago, the international community, based on the profound lessons learned from the scourge of two world wars, resolved to turn the page in history," he said. "This gave birth to the United Nations and opened a new chapter of global governance."

Eighty years later, "we have found ourselves in a new period of turbulence", he said, noting that "multilateralism and the role of the United Nations have come under severe strain, and global governance has reached a new crossroads".

It is in this context that President Xi proposed the Global Governance Initiative at the SCO meeting, Fu said. "It is anchored in five core principles, namely: sovereign equality, international rule of law, multilateralism, a people-centered approach and emphasis on real actions."

Fu highlighted the importance of safeguarding international fairness and justice. "We must never forget the untold suffering that fascism and militarism once inflicted on people around the world," he said, warning that any attempt to "whitewash aggression, distort history or revive militarism is an affront to human conscience and a threat to global peace and stability".

"We must promote the correct historical narrative of World War II, defend the victorious outcomes of the war, and safeguard the international system with the United Nations Charter at its core, the international order underpinned by international law, and the basic norms governing international relations based on the purposes and principles of the UN Charter," he added.

Fu also said that security and development must be addressed together, adding that the international community should help developing countries build capacity for self-driven development and effective governance, "so that they may bridge the development divide and achieve long-term stability".

'Open, inclusive platform'

Fu told reporters after the meeting that the Group of Friends is designed as "an open and inclusive platform". He encouraged more countries to take part and said that China is willing to work with all partners through the UN framework.

Ernesto Soberon Guzman, Cuba's permanent representative to the UN, told reporters that Cuba "welcomes and supports the Global Governance Initiative".

"We are also convinced that an initiative like this will contribute to the democratization of international relations," Guzman said, noting that the current international environment is "marked by widening inequalities and political tensions".

He said the initiative "also aims to reduce double standards and help countries defeat unilateral measures".

Cuba "really values the will of the People's Republic of China to strengthen multilateralism, to promote international cooperation and to promote international dialogue", he said.

He added that the initiative "will contribute to the unity of the Global South" and "will also contribute to promoting the Global South's interests in the multilateral field".

Zephyrin Maniratanga, Burundi's permanent representative to the UN, said that Burundi was "one of the first countries to join the Group of Friends of Global Governance".

"We believe, and we are very confident, that the Group of Friends of Global Governance is of vital importance given the many challenges the world is facing now," he said.

"Together with member countries of the Group of Friends, we will be able to address many challenges that the multilateral system is facing today. Alone, we cannot do it," he added.

Practical role

Aida Kasymalieva, Kyrgyzstan's permanent representative to the UN, highlighted the practical role of the group.

It is "a mechanism for uniting the collective voice of developing countries and also small landlocked states", she said. It is "a tool for practical cooperation, especially in building the capacities of Global South countries, and a catalyst for bringing together national, regional and global initiatives".

The Group of Friends also released a joint statement on the occasion of its launch, reaffirming members' commitment to the UN-centered international system and the principles of sovereignty, territorial integrity and noninterference.

The group said it would use the platform to "deepen dialogue and coordination on global governance issues, ... amplify our collective voice, build and expand consensus, and deliver concrete outcomes", and it extended an invitation to other like-minded UN member states to join the initiative, according to the statement.

minluzhang@chinadailyusa.com