Xi Diplomacy: An Analysis of Xi's Vision for Global Governance Through Metaphors

Events at the 2026 Global Governance Forum (Xiong’an), recently held in the Xiong’an New Area in Hebei Province, northern China, have highlighted an urgent question preoccupying the world: How can countries work together to address shared challenges in an interconnected world, amid rising protectionism and unilateralism?

In remarks delivered and meetings attended on several occasions, Chinese President Xi Jinping used vivid metaphors to illustrate his vision for global governance. These metaphors offer insights into his approach aimed at building a more just, equitable, and inclusive global governance system.

An aerial drone photo taken on August 4, 2026, shows the Nanhe Water Conservation Axis in the Xiong’an New Area, Hebei Province, northern China. (Xinhua)

During his speech at the 2018 APEC Business Leaders Summit, held in the extraordinary setting of the cruise ship Pacific Explorer in Port Moresby, the capital of Papua New Guinea, Xi said, “As I boarded the ship and contemplated the vast ocean, it occurred to me that we are all indeed passengers on the same boat.”

This metaphor embodies the core of Xi’s vision for building a community with a shared future for mankind, highlighting the interconnection among nations and the necessity of solidarity and cooperation in facing common challenges.

Today, the interconnected world faces four deepening deficits: a peace deficit that exacerbates geopolitical conflicts, a development deficit that widens the gap between the Global North and South, a security deficit that undermines mutual trust, and a governance deficit that erodes the effectiveness of multilateralism.

In 2019, during the China-France Global Governance Forum held in Paris, Xi proposed a four-pillar approach to address these four deficits. He primarily called for integrity and rationality to tackle the governance deficit.

Xi stated, “It is advisable to adhere to a vision of global governance based on extensive consultation and joint contribution to achieve shared benefits,” urging active efforts to democratize the rules of global governance.

As the world finds itself in a new stage of turbulence and transformation, global governance has reached a new crossroads.

An exterior photo taken on August 30, 2025, shows the main venue of the 2025 Shanghai Cooperation Organization Summit in Tianjin, northern China. (Xinhua)

In this context, Xi launched the Global Governance Initiative during the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in September 2025 in the Chinese coastal city of Tianjin.

Xi said, “I look forward to working with all countries to establish a more just and equitable global governance system, and to advance the building of a community with a shared future for mankind,” emphasizing equality in sovereignty and genuine multilateralism.

At the 2026 BRICS Summit held in New Delhi, India, Xi said, “A world without rules is like an intersection without traffic lights, where chaos and disorder become almost inevitable.”

This metaphor underscores the importance of rules in maintaining international order. While the existence of rules is important, how they are formulated and by whom is even more critical.

Xi previously emphasized that international rules should be written by all countries and jointly upheld, based on the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, rather than dictated by the most powerful or the loudest voices.

In this photo taken on September 12, 2026, media crew members carry out their work at the media center of the Bharat Mandapam complex, headquarters of the 18th BRICS Summit, in New Delhi, India (Xinhua)

He also called for full, comprehensive, and all-encompassing adherence to the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, as well as other fundamental norms governing international relations that are widely recognized.

Xi stated, “There should be no double standards, and a set of internal rules devised by a few countries should not be imposed on others.”

Speaking at the 23rd meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in 2023, he said, “We should make the pie of cooperation, which benefits all, bigger, and ensure that the gains of development are shared more fairly among the peoples of the world.”

The “pie” metaphor reflects the people-centered and action-oriented vision of the Global Governance Initiative, aiming to expand the benefits of cooperation and ensure their broader and more equitable distribution.

When launching the initiative, Xi emphasized the importance of “ensuring that people of every country are active participants in and beneficiaries of global governance.”

In this photo taken on May 22, 2026, students use educational equipment for an artificial intelligence program at a Luban Workshop at L.N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University in Astana, Kazakhstan (Xinhua)

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization, the platform through which Xi launched the Global Governance Initiative, serves as an example.

The broad scope of cooperation demonstrates how the “pie” can be practically expanded by opening new areas for collaboration, creating more development opportunities, and ensuring that benefits reach a larger number of people.

Beyond expanding the pie, Xi also called for its fair sharing to ensure justice and equity. In his view, the ultimate goal of improving global governance is to promote shared development and enhance the well-being of peoples worldwide.

During the G20 summit held in Brazil in 2024, Xi called for building a just world based on shared development, stating, “Prosperity and stability cannot be achieved in a world where the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. Countries should make global development more inclusive, more beneficial to all, and more resilient.”

Xi said that to build such a world, more bridges of cooperation should be built, and the approach of “small courtyards with high walls” should be reduced, so that the conditions of more developing countries improve and they can achieve modernization.