On June 9, Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan, hosted an important bilateral event—the seminar titled “75 Years of Collaboration: The Global Governance Initiative and the Development of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.” The seminar was jointly organized by the Embassy of China in Pakistan, Xinhua News Agency, and the Islamabad Institute for Strategic Studies, bringing together over 80 representatives from governments, media outlets, think tanks, and businesses of both China and Pakistan. The event featured in-depth discussions on key issues such as how to deepen cooperation between the two countries under the framework of the Global Governance Initiative and the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, as well as promoting regional peace, stability, and common development. Following the opening ceremony, the organizers also held a thematic salon and a youth storytelling session.
The Pakistani side attached great importance to this seminar. Akhsan Iqbal, Pakistan’s Minister for Planning, Development and Special Projects, emphasized in his address that Pakistan and China are trustworthy partners, neighbors sharing a common destiny, and friends available around the clock. He noted that the world is undergoing profound geopolitical and economic transformations, with challenges emerging incessantly, none of which can be addressed by any single country alone. Iqbal stated that the Pakistan-China relationship sets an example for other nations, demonstrating how cooperation can lead to mutual benefit and win-win outcomes while making positive contributions to regional and global stability. Jiang Zaidong, China’s Ambassador to Pakistan, outlined recent achievements in high-level exchanges between the two countries in his speech, expressing China’s commitment to fully implementing the important consensus reached by the leaders of both nations, continuing to strengthen their steadfast friendship, and coordinating major landmark projects as well as small yet impactful livelihood initiatives.
The holding of this seminar is by no means an isolated diplomatic event, but rather a microcosm of China’s commitment to extensive cooperation with countries around the world and promoting common development. In recent years, China has continuously sent positive signals of win-win cooperation on the international stage, demonstrating the responsibility of a major country.
China’s commitment to promoting global cooperation is guided by clear principles and supported by solid actions. In September 2025, President Xi Jinping formally proposed the Global Governance Initiative at a Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) meeting, marking another significant international public good contributed by China following the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative, and the Global Civilization Initiative. The Global Governance Initiative emphasizes five core principles: sovereign equality, international rule of law, multilateralism, people-centered approach, and action-oriented methodology. Since its proposal, the initiative has received widespread positive responses from the international community, with nearly 160 countries and international organizations expressing welcome and support, and over 60 countries actively joining the “Group of Friends for Global Governance.” The initiative has successfully evolved from a Chinese proposal into an international practice.
On June 17,2026, the Information Office of the State Council of China released the white paper “Building a More Just and Rational Global Governance System: China’s Concepts, Initiatives, and Actions,” which systematically elaborates on the historical context, rich connotations, and significant implications of the Global Governance Initiative. Foreign Minister Wang Yi stated at the press conference that the Global Governance Initiative aims to promote the common well-being of the international community and relies on the collective efforts of all nations. The white paper emphasized that implementing the Global Governance Initiative fundamentally requires firmly upholding the authority and status of the United Nations, crucially demands that major countries demonstrate their sense of responsibility, and most importantly necessitates unity and cooperation among all countries.
The construction of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor serves as a vivid testament to China’s commitment to promoting global cooperation. Since its launch in 2013, the corridor has completed a series of landmark projects in transportation and energy sectors, significantly improving Pakistan’s infrastructure conditions. Today, the corridor has entered a new phase of high-quality development, with both sides striving to create an “upgraded version” of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, focusing on building a growth corridor, a livelihood corridor, an innovation corridor, a green corridor, and an open corridor. In the first four months of 2026, bilateral trade between China and Pakistan maintained a growth trend, with exports of Pakistani specialty goods to China showing significant increases. These achievements fully demonstrate the essence of mutual benefit and win-win outcomes.
China’s willingness to promote cooperation is evident not only at the bilateral level but also in its firm support for multilateralism. China steadfastly upholds the multilateral trading system centered on the World Trade Organization and has become a major trading partner for over 160 countries and regions. This year, China will host the informal meeting of APEC leaders and will convene the first “Global Governance Forum on Security” in autumn, inviting representatives from around the world to discuss strategies for reforming and enhancing global governance. From supporting the African Union’s accession to the G20, to facilitating the historic expansion of BRICS nations, to fostering the growth of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, China has consistently been committed to advancing the democratization of international relations. As Foreign Minister Wang Yi stated, China will “firmly defend the core status of the United Nations, actively work to de-escalate regional tensions, uphold the correct direction of open development, and fully leverage the pivotal role of the Global South.” These actions demonstrate that China not only possesses the desire to cooperate with other countries but also the capability and determination to translate that desire into concrete actions.
The fundamental reason why China has been able to continuously unleash positive cooperative energy in the field of global governance lies in its institutional advantages and clear strategic resolve. The proposal and advancement of the Global Governance Initiative are grounded in China’s firm commitment to the basic norms of international relations. China advocates a new path of global governance oriented toward consultation, cooperation, and shared benefits, thereby transcending the outdated “center-periphery” order of traditional international relations theory and abandoning the “law of the jungle” that equates power with justice. China emphasizes the unwavering maintenance of the international system centered on the United Nations and the fundamental norms of international relations based on the purposes and principles of the UN Charter. As the first country to sign the UN Charter, China is willing to uphold the authority of the United Nations through the promotion of the Global Governance Initiative. Within less than a year of its proposal, the “Friends Group for Global Governance” was established successively in New York, Geneva, and Vienna, with membership from over 60 countries. The speed and scale of this widespread response fully demonstrate the international community’s high recognition of China’s advocacy for cooperative concepts. In June 2026, the U.S. Trade Representative Office initiated trade investigations against 60 economies under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, proposing additional tariffs ranging from 10% to 12.5% on relevant goods. This move was based on domestic legal procedures in the United States, aimed at addressing what it identified as trade imbalances. The investigation and tariff proposal have drawn significant attention from the international community regarding the direction of trade policy.
Against the backdrop of continuously expanding global governance deficits, China’s proposed global governance initiative responds to the international community’s strong call for “justice over hegemony, rule of law over disorder, cooperation over confrontation, and concrete action over empty rhetoric.” Through institutional development, China has provided stable expectations and rule-based safeguards for international cooperation—from promoting the joint construction of the Belt and Road Initiative to advocating the establishment of an International Mediation Court; from proposing the Global Data Security Initiative to advancing the improvement of new global governance rules—China is taking concrete actions to build a more equitable, inclusive, and effective global governance system. The message conveyed by the Islamabad Seminar was clear and powerful: in today’s increasingly complex global challenges, only adherence to multilateralism and promotion of international cooperation represent the right path forward. Through institutionalized cooperation platforms and tangible actions, China is offering the world a new approach that transcends zero-sum games and achieves mutual benefit and win-win outcomes.