Promoting the International Order toward a More Just and Reasonable Direction

After the end of World War II in 1945, in order to prevent humanity from again suffering the "scourge of war, which twice in our lifetime has brought untold sorrow to mankind," the Charter of the United Nations was drafted, negotiated, and signed, and the United Nations was established. From this starting point, many basic norms of international relations were gradually established, and a series of international laws were gradually formed and gained respect and implementation. These international regulations and international laws have continuously evolved and improved in the process of responding to the practice of international affairs, jointly building the basic framework of the edifice of today's international system and international order.

1945年第二次世界大战结束后，为了防止人类再度遭受“惨不堪言之战祸”，《联合国宪章》得以起草、议定、签署，联合国成立。以此为起点，诸多国际关系基本准则逐步确立，一系列国际法逐步形成并得到尊重和实施，这些国际规制和国际法在因应国际事务实践的过程中不断演进完善，共同搭建起当今国际体系和国际秩序大厦的基本框架。

Over the past 80 years, the United Nations and the international system and international order it represents have become increasingly vast. They have often become an important object for developing countries, small and medium-sized countries, and countries suffering oppression and persecution to seek help, an important platform for expressing demands and upholding justice, and an important channel for defending equal rights and status. Although hegemonic, high-handed, and bullying acts occur from time to time in the international community, unjust incidents continue one after another, international mechanisms like the United Nations occasionally find themselves in helpless situations, and the international order is periodically impacted, this basic framework has withstood multiple tests, continuously adjusted and adapted to changes in the international situation, and still supports the cause of world peace, development, security, and human rights to this day. Human civilization continues to advance amid twists and turns.

80年来，联合国及其代表的国际体系和国际秩序变得越来越庞大，常常成为广大发展中国家、中小国家、遭受打压迫害国家求助的重要对象、表达诉求和伸张正义的重要平台、捍卫平等权利和地位的重要渠道。尽管国际社会霸权霸道霸凌时有发生，不公正事件连续不断，联合国等国际机制不时陷入无奈境地，国际秩序不时遭受冲击，但这个基本框架历经多重考验，不断调整适应国际局势变迁，至今依然支撑着世界和平、发展、安全以及人权事业，人类文明在曲折中不断向前发展。

After the upheavals in Eastern Europe and the disintegration of the Soviet Union, the United States, as the world's sole superpower, led other Western developed countries in attempting to turn the existing international system and international order into an important tool for maintaining Western dominance, especially the global hegemonic order under U.S. rule. Particularly in recent years, the U.S. government has gone from vigorously utilizing the international order to serve U.S. interests to prioritizing U.S. interests by withdrawing from one international mechanism after another, continuously violating international law, and deviating from the international system and international order it once led in building. This is the greatest challenge facing the current international order.

东欧剧变和苏联解体之后，美国作为世界唯一超级大国，带领其他西方发达国家企图使既有国际体系和国际秩序成为维护西方主导地位尤其是美国治下全球霸权秩序的重要工具。特别是近些年来，美国政府从极力利用国际秩序为美国利益服务，到优先美国利益而退出一个又一个国际机制，不断违反国际法，背离其曾经主导打造的国际体系和国际秩序。这是当今国际秩序面临的最大挑战。

At the same time, the world today is undergoing major changes unseen in a century and has entered a new period of turbulence and transformation. Traditional and non-traditional security issues intertwine and clash, local conflicts flare up one after another, global challenges emerge in an endless stream, unilateralism, protectionism, and de-globalization stir up trouble, and threats from food crises, energy crises, large-scale infectious diseases, biodiversity issues, extreme weather, natural disasters, extremism, and terrorism rise. Various contradictions, crises, and risks are superimposed, impacting and testing the accommodating capacity of the existing international system and the adaptive capacity of the international order from different angles.

与此同时，当今世界正经历百年未有之大变局，进入新的动荡变革期。传统安全问题和非传统安全问题相互交织激荡，局部冲突此起彼伏，全球性挑战层出不穷，单边主义、保护主义、逆全球化兴风作浪，粮食危机、能源危机、大规模传染性疾病、生物多样性问题、极端天气、自然灾害、极端主义、恐怖主义威胁上升，各种矛盾、危机和风险叠加，从不同角度冲击和考验现有国际体系的容纳空间和国际秩序的适应能力。

In today's world, in terms of comprehensive strength, the United States remains prominent, but its ability to dominate the world alone has significantly weakened, while the international status and influence of other centers of power continue to rise. From the perspective of the world economic landscape, the tripartite pattern of the three major geopolitical blocs of North America, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific is very prominent. From the perspective of political and diplomatic influence, the roles of major international and regional forces such as China, the United States, Russia, the European Union, India, Japan, Brazil, Saudi Arabia, Iran, ASEAN, the African Union, and the Arab League have become increasingly noteworthy. Based on their different domestic and international situations, cultural traditions, ideological understandings, interest orientations, and policy considerations, these important forces put forward different propositions and implement different policy measures regarding how the international and regional order should evolve, often leading to different constellations of forces within the UN framework. At the same time, the influence of non-state actors, including international non-governmental organizations and multinational corporations, on the international stage is growing. The United Nations strives to play a constructive role by establishing various partnerships with non-state actors and regional organizations through channels such as granting consultative status.

当今世界，从综合实力看，美国依旧突出，但独自主导世界的能力明显减弱，其他力量中心的国际地位和影响力不断上升。从世界经济版图看，北美、欧洲、亚太这三大地缘板块鼎立的格局十分突出。从政治和外交影响力看，中国、美国、俄罗斯、欧盟、印度、日本、巴西、沙特、伊朗、东盟、非盟、阿盟等国际和地区主要力量的作用变得越来越备受瞩目。这些重要力量基于不同的内外处境、文化传统、思想认识、利益取向、政策考量，围绕国际和地区秩序如何演变提出不同主张、推行不同政策举措，导致联合国框架下常常形成不同的力量组合。同时，包括国际非政府组织和跨国公司在内的非国家行为体在国际舞台上的影响变得越来越大。联合国通过赋予咨商地位等途径与非国家行为体和地区性组织建立各种伙伴关系，努力发挥建设性功能。

Facing a world full of uncertainty, instability, and insecurity, China has always stood on the right side of history and on the side of fairness and justice. As the main Asian battlefield in World War II, China was a mainstay in the fight against Japanese militarism and made important contributions to the victory of the World Anti-Fascist War. When the United Nations was founded, China was the first to sign the UN Charter. After restoring its lawful seat in the United Nations in 1971, it successively joined one UN specialized agency after another, playing an increasingly prominent role as a responsible major country on the world stage of the United Nations. Today, China resolutely defends the outcomes of the World Anti-Fascist War, upholds and safeguards the authority of the United Nations, firmly upholds the international system with the United Nations at its core, the international order based on international law, the basic norms of international relations based on the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, and the multilateral trading system with the World Trade Organization at its core, and promotes the reform of the global governance system toward a more just and reasonable direction.

面对充满不确定性不稳定性不安全感的世界，中国始终站在历史正确一边，站在公平正义一边。中国作为第二次世界大战的亚洲主战场，是抗击日本军国主义的中流砥柱，为世界反法西斯战争胜利作出了重要贡献。在创建联合国时，中国率先在《联合国宪章》上签字。1971年恢复在联合国的合法席位后，相继加入一个又一个联合国专门机构，在联合国这个世界大舞台上发挥着越来越令人瞩目的负责任大国作用。如今，中国坚决捍卫二战胜利成果，坚持和维护联合国权威，坚定维护以联合国为核心的国际体系、以国际法为基础的国际秩序、以联合国宪章宗旨和原则为基础的国际关系基本准则、以世界贸易组织为核心的多边贸易体制，推动全球治理体系朝着更加公正合理的方向改革。

Regarding the reform of the UN Security Council, China has always maintained that the Security Council cannot become a club of big or rich countries, nor can it become an arena for political confrontation. It supports enhancing the representation and voice of developing countries, supports a reform path that gives priority and special arrangements to Africa, enabling "Global South" countries, especially small and medium-sized countries, to participate in Security Council decision-making, effectively changing the situation of North-South imbalance in the Security Council's composition and the over-representation of developed countries, and enhancing the authority and efficiency of the Security Council. It clearly states that the intergovernmental negotiations on Security Council reform are the only platform authorized by the UN General Assembly and widely recognized by member states, and supports continuously accumulating and expanding the consensus of the international community through this main channel.

关于联合国安理会改革，中国一直主张安理会不能成为大国或富国俱乐部，更不能成为搞政治对抗的角斗场。支持提升发展中国家的代表性和发言权，支持对非洲作出优先特殊安排的改革路径，使“全球南方”国家特别是中小国家参与安理会决策，切实改变安理会组成南北失衡、发达国家代表性过剩的局面，提升安理会权威和效率。明确主张安理会改革政府间谈判是唯一得到联大授权、获得会员国广泛认可的平台，支持通过这个主渠道不断积累扩大国际社会的共识。

Regarding the development of the human rights cause, China clearly states that human rights are historical, concrete, and realistic, and cannot be discussed in the abstract divorced from the social and political conditions and historical and cultural traditions of different countries; evaluating whether a country has human rights cannot be measured by the standards of other countries, nor can double standards be applied, let alone using human rights as a political tool to interfere in the internal affairs of other countries. China promoted the replacement of the UN Commission on Human Rights by

关于人权事业发展，中国明确主张人权是历史的、具体的、现实的，不能脱离不同国家的社会政治条件和历史文化传统空谈人权；评价一个国家是否有人权，不能以别的国家标准来衡量，更不能搞双重标准，甚至把人权当作干涉别国内政的政治工具。中国推动联合国人权理事会取代人权委员会，并积极参与人权理事会的建章立制工作；坚持平等互信、包容互鉴、合作共赢、共同发展的理念，推动全球人权治理朝着更加公平公正合理包容的方向发展；积极参与联合国人权事务，与联合国人权事务高级专员加强对话交流，广泛同各国特别是发展中国家开展国际人权交流合作，积极发挥建设性作用。

Regarding the building of international and regional organizations, China supports the G20 in playing an important role in global economic governance and macroeconomic policy coordination, and supports the African Union in formally joining the G20 as a member. China supports the establishment and continuous expansion of the BRICS mechanism, and the sustained expansion and deepening of areas of cooperation under the "BRICS Plus" mechanism. China supports the creation of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, whose areas of cooperation have expanded from security to economy, culture, people's livelihood, environmental protection, and other fields. China supports the creation of the New Development Bank of BRICS, and continuously expands cooperation with other international financial institutions such as the World Bank. China initiated the establishment of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, focusing on supporting infrastructure construction and strengthening cooperation with other multilateral financial institutions. These multilateral mechanisms complement existing international organizations and mechanisms from different perspectives, making the global governance system more rational.

关于国际和地区组织建设，中国支持二十国集团在全球经济治理和宏观经济政策协调方面发挥重要作用，支持非盟作为一个成员正式加入该集团。支持金砖国家机制创立并不断扩员，并在“金砖+”机制下持续扩展深化合作领域。支持创建上海合作组织，合作领域从安全扩展到经济、人文、民生、环保等各个领域。支持创建金砖国家新开发银行，不断扩大与世界银行等其他国际金融机构合作。倡导创立亚洲基础设施投资银行，以支持基础设施建设为重点，加强与其他多边金融机构的合作。这些多边机制从不同角度对现有国际组织和机制形成互补，使全球治理体系变得更加合理。

Furthermore, China explicitly advocates that all countries, regardless of size, strength, or wealth, are equal; resolutely opposes all forms of hegemonism and power politics; firmly upholds the sovereign independence, territorial integrity, and fair development rights of all countries; advocates that international affairs should be discussed and handled by all countries together, and respects the development paths independently chosen by each country; and continuously promotes an equal and orderly multipolar world, universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalization, and the democratization and rule of law in international relations. These are all important basic principles and institutional frameworks that underpin the existing international system and order. China promotes the common values of all humanity, puts forward the Belt and Road Initiative, the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative, and the Global Civilization Initiative, promotes the building of a new type of international relations and a community with a shared future for mankind, and actively implements these in policy practice. China pursues a global governance concept based on extensive consultation, joint contribution, and shared benefits, and true multilateralism; it continuously contributes wisdom and strength in areas such as upholding the multilateral trading system, addressing global climate change and large-scale infectious diseases, combating terrorism and extremism, participating in the governance of global public spaces such as outer space, the deep sea, the polar regions, and cyberspace, and in the global governance of artificial intelligence. These ideas, concepts, and actions are all guiding the improvement of the existing international system and order, and promoting the building of a better world.

此外，中国明确主张国家不分大小强弱一律平等，坚决反对一切形式的霸权主义和强权政治，坚定维护各国主权独立、领土完整、发展权利公平，主张国际上的事情由各国商量着办、尊重各国自主选择的发展道路，持续推进平等有序的世界多极化、普惠包容的经济全球化、国际关系民主化和法治化，这些都是支撑现有国际体系和国际秩序的重要基本原则和制度性框架。中国弘扬全人类共同价值，提出“一带一路”倡议、全球发展倡议、全球安全倡议、全球文明倡议，推动建设新型国际关系和构建人类命运共同体，并在政策实践中积极践行。中国奉行共商共建共享的全球治理观和真正的多边主义，在维护多边贸易体制、应对全球气候变化和大规模传染性疾病、打击恐怖主义和极端主义以及参与太空、深海、极地、网络等全球公共空间治理、人工智能全球治理等方面不断贡献智慧和力量。这些思想、理念、行动，都在引领现有国际体系和国际秩序的完善，推动建设更加美好的世界。

(Author: Gao Zugui, Researcher at the Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era Research Center of the Party School of the Central Committee of the CPC [National Academy of Governance], and First Vice President [First Vice Dean] of the Party School of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Committee of the CPC [Academy of Governance])

（作者：高祖贵，系中央党校〔国家行政学院〕习近平新时代中国特色社会主义思想研究中心研究员、内蒙古自治区党校〔行政学院〕第一副校长〔第一副院长〕）

Online editor: Tongxin

网络编辑：同心