The Global Governance Initiative (GGI) proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2025 drew international recognition as a new and important public good for the world.

2025 emerged as a pivotal year for global governance, with Xi proposing the GGI at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in north China's port city of Tianjin -- the largest gathering in the 24-year history of the organization, which brought together leaders from more than 20 countries and heads of 10 international organizations.

On Sept 1, 2025, President Xi chaired the "Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Plus" Meeting and delivered a speech titled "Pooling the Strength of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization To Improve Global Governance."

The year 2025 marked the 80th anniversary of the victory of the World Anti-Fascist War and the founding of the United Nations, and was a milestone that called on us to remember the past and create a better future together, said Xi.

The Chinese president emphasized that the world has found itself in a new period of turbulence and transformation, and that global governance has come to a new crossroads.

"I wish to propose the Global Governance Initiative. 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," said Xi.

In his proposal, Xi highlighted five principles of the GGI: adhering to sovereign equality, abiding by international rule of law, practicing multilateralism, advocating the people-centered approach, and focusing on taking real actions.

This has provided methods and paths for constructively upholding the postwar international order and improving the global governance system.

"Distinguished President Xi Jinping, you have just proposed your fourth global initiative, which is important and highly meaningful, as it contains principles that are urgently needed in today's world," said Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko at the meeting.

The GGI, the fourth landmark global initiative raised by Xi after the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative and the Global Civilization Initiative, has its roots in traditional Chinese thought.

"An ancient Chinese philosopher said of the importance of principles, 'Uphold the Great Principle, and the world will follow.' We are ready, together with all parties, to 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," said Xi.

In 2025, Xi actively advocated solidarity and cooperation of the Global South in building a more just and equitable global governance system.

The year also marked the 10th anniversary of the Paris Agreement, a pivotal year for countries to submit their new Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). As a result, Global climate governance entered a key stage.

President Xi delivered a video speech to the United Nations Climate Summit 2025 on Sept 24, where he announced China's 2035 Nationally Determined Contributions to boost the country's climate response.

"President Xi Jinping is a man with a clear strategic vision, able to look at the long term, to define objectives for this long term. In a world where so many things are decided one day and then change the next day, I think this strategic vision is a very important characteristic, and I believe that it corresponds exactly to President Xi Jinping," said UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in an interview in Tianjin on Aug 31, 2025.