How Xi Jinping wants to build a new world order

Xi Jinping believes China’s moment has arrived. With the country’s economic and military strength growing, the Chinese president and Communist Party leader has moved away from decades of cautious foreign policy and is presenting Beijing as an architect of a new world order.

His appearance at the 25th anniversary of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation in Kyrgyzstan was designed to show that China had returned to the centre of the world stage. At the summit in Bishkek, Xi said, “The trend toward a multipolar world is unstoppable.” He argued that most countries were not interested in hegemony, multilateralism and protectionism, while criticising double standards, the exceptionalism of some states and what he called the current rule of the jungle. The remarks indirectly targeted the United States without naming Washington.

The SCO summit gave Xi a platform to seek support for a world shaped by Chinese principles. Beijing describes its four global initiatives as answers to “deficits” in development, security, peace and governance. The Global Development Initiative promotes socioeconomic development and follows the United Nations development goals. China’s Belt and Road Initiative, through which Chinese companies invest in infrastructure projects around the world, serves as one tool for putting that vision into practice.

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The trend toward a multipolar world is unstoppable.

The Global Security Initiative calls for respect for national sovereignty and territorial integrity, while also demanding recognition of “legitimate security interests,” including Russia’s. That interpretation enables Beijing to support Moscow indirectly in the war against Ukraine while pursuing increasingly assertive policies toward Taiwan and in the South China Sea.

The Global Civilization Initiative is also highly political despite its name. It highlights the diversity of civilisations and shared values such as peace and democracy. Together, the initiatives allow the Communist Party leadership to present China as offering solutions rather than merely complaining about global problems.

Eva Seiwert of the Berlin-based Merics institute said, “China wants to show: ‘We are not just complaining about what is going wrong, we have positive proposals.’” She also described the initiatives as an attempt to project China as a responsible great power in contrast with the United States. Their principles remain vague, however, and concrete projects are scarce compared with the global ambitions of the concepts.

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China wants to show: ‘We are not just complaining about what is going wrong, we have positive proposals.’