China and global governance

Abstract

China’s rise is often identified as a key challenge to the nature of the world order and to existing, dominant forms of global governance. Xi Jinping has explicitly stated China’s ambitions to become a leader in global governance reform, and China is now more prepared and able to introduce its own governance bodies and international forums than ever before. While there is clear dissatisfaction with the distribution of power and the normative underpinnings of some parts of the existing global governance architecture, China looks something more like a supporter of the status quo in other areas. Moreover, while China has become a member of most of the major global governance bodies—and a very active member of some of them—it privileges some institutions over others, and notably remains a non-member of bodies like the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and G7. The overall picture is of a patchwork of Chinese governance commitments, rather than a once and for all position on the need for governance reform across the board.