World needs multilateralism

The World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2025, themed "Collaboration for the Intelligent Age," is held from 20th to 24th January in Davos, Switzerland, bringing together nearly 3,000 representatives from various regions and industries worldwide, who aim to carry forward the spirit of cooperation for sustainable and inclusive solutions.

The Global Cooperation Barometer 2025 was released prior to the meeting, which highlights the rising challenges against the stable global cooperation in the post-Cold War era. The Global Risks Report 2025 was also issued, stressing that multilateral solutions are the only way to address future global risks.

This indicates the World Economic Forum has placed multilateral cooperation in a more important position.

This year marks the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II and of the founding of the United Nations, the most universal, representative, and authoritative intergovernmental organization.

However, rising unilateralism and protectionism, along with growing divisions and fragmentation, are reshaping geopolitical and economic landscapes, putting immense pressure on multilateralism. In the face of increasing instability and uncertainty, it is crucial for all parties to uphold and practice multilateralism, so as to tackle common challenges through effective global cooperation.

"The problems facing the world are intricate and complex. The way out of them is through upholding multilateralism and building a community with a shared future for mankind," Chinese President Xi Jinping said in his special address at the World Economic Forum Virtual Event of the Davos Agenda in January 2021.

China advocates that all countries should jointly shape the future of the world, write international rules, manage global affairs and ensure that development outcomes are shared by all. It hopes that all parties can embrace the vision of a community with a shared future, safeguard and practice multilateralism, and promote world peace and development with the spirit of global solidarity.

World peace is contingent upon the preservation of multilateralism, a fundamental product of the evolution of the international system.

The harsh lessons of the two world wars have shown that zero-sum games and power politics lead to disaster, while multilateralism and the pursuit of fairness and justice pave the way for lasting peace.

The post-war international order, centered on the United Nations and rooted in multilateralism, has played a vital role in preventing the recurrence of wars and promoting the prosperity of nations.

To pursue multilateralism, countries must protect the United Nations-centered international system, the international order based on international law, and the basic norms of international relations based on the purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter.

China remains a staunch defender of the United Nations' authority and stature, being recognized as a key pillar of multilateralism.

Global development relies on the support of multilateralism. Upholding and practicing multilateralism, and fostering win-win cooperation is the sure way to success in launching major initiatives that benefit all.

Countries taking the lead in economic development should give a hand to their partners who are yet to catch up, so as to transform global development disparities into shared prosperity.

The multilateral trading system, with the World Trade Organization at its core, has significantly advanced global trade and investment liberalization and facilitation, driving world economic growth. Protectionism and unilateralism ultimately harm everyone involved.

The international community must strengthen multilateral cooperation and openness to mitigate the risks of trade fragmentation. China's commitment to expanding high-level opening up, building an open world economy, defending the multilateral trading system, and enhancing global trade and investment liberalization and facilitation has injected positive energy into global economic recovery.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres recently highlighted at the Handover Ceremony of the Chairmanship of the Group of 77 and China that the successful adoption of the Pact for the Future at the United Nations Summit of the Future last year, largely due to the unwavering efforts of the Group of 77 and China, demonstrates that nations can unite to reshape a multilateral system that serves all.

China stands ready to work with all parties to revisit the original aspirations of the United Nations' founding, firmly uphold the United Nations' authority and stature, advocate for an equal and orderly multipolar world and universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalization, and solidify the foundations of world peace and development through multilateralism, so as to steer human progress toward a brighter future.