Sovereign equality key to building inclusive, enduring international cooperation: Global Times

By: Prodigy

September 15, 2025 at 22:55 PM EDT

09/15/2025, Beijing, China // PRODIGY: Feature Story //

In this pivotal year of 2025 - commemorating both the 80th anniversary of the victory in the World Anti-Fascist War and the founding of the UN - Chinese President Xi Jinping put forward the Global Governance Initiative (GGI), offering China's wisdom and solutions to further strengthen and improve global governance. The Global Times (GT) has launched a series of interviews, "China's vision on global governance," to share international scholars' insights into the spirit, contemporary relevance and global significance of the GGI.

In the second installment of the series, Daniel del Valle Blanco (Blanco), former ambassador to the UN and permanent observer of the International Youth Organization, shared his understanding of "staying committed to sovereign equality," the foremost premise of global governance and the first core concept of the GGI, with GT reporter Wang Wenwen. "When sovereign equality is genuinely upheld, the resulting outcomes are not only more equitable - they are also more robust and sustainable," he said.

GT: How does the GGI reflect China's international role and ideas?

Blanco: The GGI reflects China's willingness to contribute ideas and resources to global governance at a time of turbulence. What is important is that it aligns with broader multilateral principles: dialogue, cooperation and the search for common solutions. For the international community, the initiative is relevant because it strengthens the vision of a community with a shared future for humanity - where climate change, digital governance and security are addressed through cooperation rather than unilateralism.

GT: Why is sovereign equality still the scarcest public good in the 21st century? How will China, by proposing "staying committed to sovereign equality" as the first concept of the GGI, address this shortcoming? How should the principle of sovereign equality be applied to global governance to ensure that no single country is marginalized?

Blanco: Sovereign equality remains scarce due to power asymmetries and historical inequities in international institutions. China's GGI prioritizes "staying committed to sovereign equality" to address governance deficits. Beijing emphasizes respect for territorial integrity, non-interference and shared decision-making, challenging hierarchies that marginalize states.

To reform global governance, China promotes institutional inclusivity by supporting UNSC reforms and South-South cooperation platforms such as BRICS, which amplify the voices of developing nations. Sovereign equality requires addressing contemporary challenges - including climate change and cybersecurity - through rules-based cooperation in which all states, regardless of size, contribute to norm-setting.

Ensuring that no country is marginalized entails democratizing global institutions, equitable resource allocation and rejecting unilateral coercion. The China-proposed model stresses dialogue over domination, aiming to transform governance from power-centric to principle-oriented, thereby fostering a multipolar order where sovereignty is universally upheld.

GT: Sovereign equality is the foremost principle observed by the UN. Drawing on your experience working in the UN, how do you understand this concept? Can you give an example from your time at the UN that illustrates the importance of sovereign equality in addressing global governance issues?

Blanco: Sovereign equality is a fundamental principle asserting that all states, regardless of their size, wealth or power, possess equal dignity, rights and responsibilities in international affairs. It forms the ethical and legal cornerstone of the UN Charter and serves as a vital mechanism for safeguarding justice and legitimacy within multilateral systems. This principle ensures that each nation, from the smallest island state to the largest continental power, is entitled to equal participation and respect in global decision-making processes.

Reflecting on my experience at the UN, I vividly recall a pivotal series of negotiations concerning climate finance. In these discussions, small island developing states - though limited in geographic and economic scale - played an enormously influential role. They brought urgent and legitimate concerns about existential threats, such as sea-level rise, to the forefront of the dialogue. Their active involvement shifted the dynamics of the negotiation, ensuring that final agreements reflected not only the interests of major emitters or wealthy nations, but also incorporated the needs of the most vulnerable.

This example clearly demonstrates that when sovereign equality is genuinely upheld, the resulting outcomes are not only more equitable - they are also more robust and sustainable. By integrating diverse perspectives, especially those of states directly affected by global challenges, solutions gain broader acceptance and are more effectively implemented. Thus, respecting sovereign equality isn't merely a normative ideal; it is a practical necessity for building inclusive and enduring international cooperation.

GT: In current global governance, the principle of "sovereign equality" is often challenged by unilateralism and double standards. What counterweight does the GGI offer to address this and create a more just and equitable global governance system?

Blanco: The GGI can play a crucial role as a constructive counterbalance to the rising trends of unilateralism and great-power politics. By consciously promoting the principles of inclusiveness, procedural fairness and rules-based international cooperation, the GGI helps cultivate a global environment where collective action and shared norms take precedence over purely coercive approaches. In particular, it works to amplify the voices and interests of developing nations, ensuring that their perspectives are integrated into global decision-making processes rather than being overlooked or marginalized. Moreover, by advocating for consistent and transparent applications of international rules, the initiative helps discourage the use of double standards - which often undermine trust and legitimacy in the existing world order.

What ultimately matters, therefore, is not the name or origin of the initiative itself, but whether it tangibly contributes to building a form of genuine and equitable multilateralism - one in which agenda-setting is participatory, influence is distributed and no single country can dominate or derail collective progress for its own narrow interests.

GT: This year marks the 80th anniversary of the establishment of the UN. The UN has launched the UN80 Initiative, a major reform effort to make it more effective in global governance. What role can the GGI play in facilitating the UN efforts and improving global governance?

Blanco: The GGI can effectively complement the UN80 Initiative by offering innovative ideas, sharing expertise and mobilizing additional resources that enhance the three core values underpinning UN reform: efficiency, inclusiveness and fairness. For instance, the GGI could facilitate improved coordination and partnership mechanisms with regional organizations, strengthen the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals through targeted projects and capacity-building support, and advance people-centered governance approaches that ensure broader participation and more responsive policymaking.

Through such concrete contributions, the GGI not only aligns with the fundamental principles of the UN80 Initiative but also actively reinforces the UN's capacity to respond more effectively and adaptably to contemporary global challenges.

GT: Looking ahead, what are your expectations for the GGI? How do you think the international community should respond to it and work together toward a bright future of a community with a shared future for humanity?

Blanco: I expect the GGI to evolve into a practical and action-oriented platform dedicated to building bridges among nations and effectively addressing shared global priorities such as sustainable development, security challenges and technological innovation. The appropriate response from the international community should not be one of uncritical adherence or passive acceptance, but rather one of constructive and thoughtful engagement - this entails actively contributing ideas, proposing feasible solutions, identifying synergies with existing international frameworks, and consistently striving to foster mutual benefits and win-win outcomes for all involved. If we succeed in adopting this collaborative and inclusive approach, initiatives like the GGI can play a pivotal role in helping the world transition beyond outdated zero-sum thinking, thereby contributing to the emergence of a more equitable, peaceful and sustainable global order.

Source: Global Times:
Company: Global Times
Contact Person: Anna Li
Email: editor@globaltimes.com.cn
Website: https://globaltimes.cn
City: Beijing
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