Xi Outlines the Multipolar Future

China embraces the global south in counter to America First doctrine

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China's President Xi Jinping welcomed the leaders of 44% of the global population to the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Plus Meeting in Tianjin last weekend. As well as the impressive military parade, delegates were treated to Mr Xi's vision of future global governance based on a reformed United Nations and a new concept of "international democracy."

The SCO meeting was attended by the leaders of countries representing 3.44 Bn people – about 44% of the global total -  including Belarus, China, India, Iran, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Pakistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. One could argue that it counts as a failure of US diplomacy. India and other nations have used the meeting to show the US and the west that they have strategic options.  Mr Trump himself is “breathing new life” into the summit, giving China a chance to frame its diplomacy as more dependable than Washington’s, according to Jeremy Chan, a senior analyst at Eurasia Group.

President Xi gave a speech on Monday 1 September entitled “Pooling the Strength of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization To Improve Global Governance.”  Is global governance in need of improvement? Mr Xi certainly thinks it needs alteration. He lamented that, eight years after the “World Anti-Fascist War” and the founding of the UN “writing a new page in global governance…the Cold War mentality, hegemonism and protectionism continue to haunt the world.”

Mr Xi proposes to update global governance based on updating the UN: “I wish to propose the Global Governance Initiative (GGI). I look forward to working with all countries for a more just and equitable global governance system and advancing toward a community with a shared future for humanity.”

Xi’s GGI is founded on several principles and it is worth quoting these at length:

First, we should adhere to sovereign equality. We should maintain that all countries, regardless of size, strength and wealth, are equal participants, decision-makers and beneficiaries in global governance. We should promote greater democracy in international relations and increase the representation and voice of developing countries.

Second, we should abide by international rule of law. The purposes and principles of the U.N. Charter and other universally recognized basic norms of international relations must be observed comprehensively, fully and in their entirety. International law and rules should be applied equally and uniformly. There should be no double standards, and the house rules of a few countries must not be imposed upon others.

Third, we should practice multilateralism. We should uphold the vision of global governance featuring extensive consultation and joint contribution for shared benefit, strengthen solidarity and coordination, and oppose unilateralism. We should firmly safeguard the status and authority of the U.N., and ensure its irreplaceable, key role in global governance.

Fourth, we should advocate the people-centered approach. We should reform and improve the global governance system to ensure that the people of every nation are the actors in and beneficiaries of global governance, so as to better tackle the common challenges for mankind, better narrow the North-South gap, and better safeguard the common interests of all countries.

Fifth, we should focus on taking real actions. We should adopt a systematic and holistic approach, coordinate global actions, fully mobilize various resources, and strive for more visible outcomes. We should enhance practical cooperation to prevent the governance system from lagging behind or being fragmented.

What can we take from this? Apart from the bland motherhood and apple pie language, the public message is that Mr XI wants a truly multi-polar world with a greater voice for the global south. The sub-text is that China will have financial control of this new world order.

It is worth remembering that China is the biggest investor in the global south via Xi’s own personal favourite initiative, the Belt and Road. The words he used in his speech, “extensive consultation and joint contribution for shared benefit” appear throughout Belt and Road propaganda from the last decade.

In a joint statement issued at the end of the conference, China ensured praise for its Belt and Road Initiative. Members “reaffirmed their support for the Belt and Road Initiative proposed by the People's Republic of China, and commended the work done by all parties to jointly implement the Belt and Road Initiative, including promoting the docking of the Belt and Road Initiative with the Eurasian Economic Union.”

Mr Xi’s speech and closeness to Mr Putin should make it clear to certain political strategists in Washington that their attempts at rapprochement with Russia to drive a wedge between it and China will fail. The contradictory US policies towards Russia, including the doubling of tariffs on India, have meanwhile driven the world’s largest democracy into closer relations with Russia and the SCO.

President Xi, in his speech, offered first dibs on access to China’s economy to SCO members: “China will readily share the opportunities of its vast market, and continue to implement the action plan for high-quality development of economic and trade cooperation within the SCO family.”

He also focused on the twin processes of decarbonisation and digitalisation, both of which are difficult subjects for the current US administration: “China will establish three major platforms for China-SCO cooperation in energy, green industry, and the digital economy, and will set up three major cooperation centers for scientific and technological innovation, higher education, and vocational and technical education. We will work with fellow SCO countries to increase the installed capacity of photovoltaic and wind power each by 10 million kilowatts in the next five years.”

Xi also focused on AI, offering an alternative to a US led AI cyberworld: “We are ready to build with all sides the artificial intelligence application cooperation center, and share the dividends of progress in AI. We welcome all parties to use the Beidou Satellite Navigation System.”

Mr Xi concluded his speech with an implied critique of the western interpretation of the post World War II global order, an order the US established and upheld until its recent disavowal of the same in the name of self-interest: “We are ready, together with all parties, to uphold courageously the great principle and the common good of the world, promote a correct historical perspective on World War II, resolutely safeguard the fruits of our victory in the War, and deliver more benefits to the entire humanity through the reform of the global governance system and the building of a community with a shared future for humanity.” 

Modern China’s political system is “socialism with Chinese characteristics.” Mr Xi seems to be calling for a global political system of multilateralism with more of a Chinese interpretation of international relations, what he calls “greater democracy in international relations.”  US and wider western foreign policy will have to study this speech and the actions that follow it in order to find a response, along with some kind of formulation of an alternative set of principles, if the west is not to be ruled by the new global order being promoted in Tianjin.

It is certain that the SCO nations will insist on a louder voice in international relations. In a joint statement issued at the end of the event, the Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization opened with: “The world's political and economic landscape, as well as other areas of international relations, are undergoing profound historic changes. The international system is evolving toward a more just, equitable, and representative multipolar world, opening up new prospects for national development and mutually beneficial cooperation.”

Member states’ intent to reform the system of global governance was made clear: “Member States believe that it is necessary to carry out corresponding reforms to the United Nations to ensure the representation of developing countries in its governance bodies and to adapt the United Nations to the needs of today's political and economic realities.”

The declaration calls for “the right of people of all countries to independently choose their own path of political, economic and social development, and emphasize that the principles of mutual respect for sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity, equality and mutual benefit, non-interference in internal affairs and non-use or threat of use of force.” This conveniently overlooks Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which is painted as a fraternal Slavic border dispute or a restoration of a previous Russian border enveloping the modern state of Ukraine. That suits China, with its designs on Taiwan and the South China Sea.

The declaration makes clear the SCO opposition to the US-Israel alliance: “Member States noted that the only way to ensure peace and stability in the Middle East is a comprehensive and just solution to the Palestinian issue. Member States strongly condemned the military aggression launched by Israel and the United States against Iran in June 2025. Such aggressive acts against civilian facilities such as basic nuclear facilities have caused civilian casualties, seriously violated the norms of international law and the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, infringed upon Iran's sovereignty and territorial integrity, undermined regional and international security, and had serious consequences for global peace and stability.”

The SCO declaration makes it clear that the US view that it is in strategic competition with China has to be amended: China comes with a significant group of partners, including Russia and India, who share its world-view and who intend to link themselves to each other and to China more closely. The 21^st century version of the 19^th century “Great Game” of great power competition just evolved considerably, and not in the US’s favour. US foreign policy has taken something of a battering in Tianjin, while EU foreign policy, such as it is, looks naïve and callow by comparison to the confidence emanating from Tianjin.

Read the full text of Mr Xi’s speech in English here: https://english.www.gov.cn/news/202509/01/content_WS68b584acc6d0868f4e8f53c8.html

You can read an English text of the joint declaration here: https://www.gov.cn/yaowen/liebiao/202509/content_7038676.htm