As the world enters the ninth decade since the founding of the United Nations, humanity stands at a historic crossroads. The institutions of global governance, once conceived to ensure peace and collective progress, are increasingly paralysed by inequality, unilateralism, and the domination of a few powerful states.
For African nations, this crisis is neither abstract nor distant: it manifests in delayed development, worsening climate impacts, resource plunder, and punitive sanctions imposed by those who continue to claim moral authority while practising naked imperialism.
Against this backdrop, the Global Governance Initiative (GGI), proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping in Tianjin on 1st September 2025, offers not merely another policy framework but a lifeline for the Global South. It seeks to reform and revitalise the international system so that it reflects today’s realities and tomorrow’s aspirations, not the outdated hierarchies of a colonial past. For Africa, the GGI resonates profoundly, as it speaks to long-suppressed demands for sovereign equality, inclusive development, and justice in world affairs.
Exposing the Failures of the Western Order
The so-called “rules-based international order,” dominated by the West, has failed Africa time and again. Its rules are written in Washington, Brussels, and London, not in Addis Ababa, Harare, or Beijing. The devastating truth is that when international law stands in the way of Western hegemony, it is ignored. From the illegal sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe to the military interventions that destroyed Libya, Iraq, and Afghanistan, the hypocrisy is glaring.
Even institutions like the IMF and World Bank, established under the pretext of global cooperation, have perpetuated debt traps, austerity measures, and structural adjustment policies that crippled African economies. The climate crisis, largely created by industrialised nations, continues to punish Africa most severely, while promises of financing and technology transfer remain unfulfilled.
The United Nations, conceived as the heart of multilateralism, is itself held hostage by veto powers that block justice whenever it threatens their interests. This is why China’s GGI matters: it is not about dismantling the UN system, but about saving it from irrelevance by empowering the Global South.
China’s GGI: A Framework Rooted in Justice
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The GGI rests on five core commitments: sovereign equality, rule of law, multilateralism, a people-centred approach, and tangible results. For African nations, these principles are not mere abstractions; they are the very demands raised in decades of struggle against colonialism, apartheid, and economic domination. Africa remembers too well the violation of sovereignty under colonial rule. Today, unilateral sanctions and regime-change agendas continue the same imperialist logic. The GGI insists that every nation, regardless of size or wealth, has an equal right to shape global affairs. This principle directly challenges the West’s monopoly on decision-making and offers Africa a seat at the table of history.
The West’s double standards preaching law while breaking it have eroded trust. The GGI defends the UN Charter and demands that international law be applied uniformly, without exception. For Africa, this means protection against aggression, illegal sanctions, and interference in domestic affairs.
Africa thrives when solidarity prevails. Just as liberation movements won independence by uniting across borders, today’s battles for climate justice, fair trade, and debt relief require collective strength. The GGI strengthens Africa’s voice by anchoring decisions in inclusive multilateral platforms, not exclusive clubs like the G7.
The ultimate measure of governance is the well-being of ordinary people. By prioritising poverty alleviation, job creation, and equitable development, the GGI reflects the lived realities of African societies. It aligns seamlessly with the African Union’s Agenda 2063 and Zimbabwe’s Vision 2030, making it more than rhetoric.
Africans have grown weary of empty declarations. The GGI promises action: technology transfer, support for digital transformation, climate adaptation, and debt relief. It moves global governance from words to deeds.
Africa and China: Partners in a Shared Future
China’s partnership with Africa is not new; it is a continuation of the solidarity forged in the anti-colonial struggle. From Tanzania’s TAZARA Railway to today’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) projects in energy, transport, and health, China has consistently demonstrated that cooperation can be win-win.
The GGI extends this spirit into the realm of global governance. By promoting sovereign equality and inclusive decision-making, China is ensuring that African voices count in shaping the international system. Zimbabwe’s bid for a non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council, backed by its history of principled multilateralism, is one such avenue for African influence. Importantly, China does not seek to impose its model. As Chinese officials emphasise, participation in global frameworks under the GGI is voluntary and sovereignty-compatible. This contrasts sharply with the Western habit of coercion, where aid and trade are tied to political conditions. In the GGI, Africa finds respect for its agency and dignity.
Countering Imperialist Narratives
The GGI also challenges the false narratives used by Western powers to sustain their dominance. The West portrays Africa as a “problem” to be managed, a continent perpetually in crisis. Yet, under the GGI, Africa is recognised as a vital actor in global governance, contributing not only resources but also ideas and cultural wisdom.
Likewise, the West accuses China of “neo-colonialism” in Africa, a projection that seeks to distract from its own exploitative past and present. The reality is clear: Chinese investment has built roads, hospitals, power plants, and schools. Western intervention, by contrast, has built military bases and sweatshops. The GGI’s insistence on fairness, mutual benefit, and respect for sovereignty dismantles the lie of “debt traps” and reframes China-Africa cooperation as a model for equitable global relations.
Practical Impacts for Africa
How will the GGI change Africa’s future in practice? Africa contributes the least to global emissions but suffers the most from droughts, floods, and cyclones. The GGI pushes for concrete support to help vulnerable countries access funding, green technology, and partnerships to ensure a just energy transition.
Current global trade rules entrench inequality. African farmers and exporters face tariffs and barriers while Western corporations enjoy privileges. The GGI’s call for inclusive multilateralism means fairer trade, reform of the international financial architecture, and greater access to development financing.
The digital divide is one of the greatest governance gaps today. Africa cannot afford to be left behind in artificial intelligence, cyberspace, or biotechnology. The GGI prioritises technology transfer, capacity building, and shared innovation, ensuring Africa is a participant, not a spectator, in the new industrial revolution.
A Historical Continuity of Struggle
For Africa, the GGI is not a foreign imposition; it is the continuation of our unfinished liberation. Kwame Nkrumah, Julius Nyerere, Patrice Lumumba, and Robert Mugabe all warned that political independence without economic and cultural sovereignty would be hollow. The GGI operationalises these visions at the global level.
Just as the Bandung Conference of 1955 gave birth to the Non-Aligned Movement, the GGI today can become the rallying point for a new South-South solidarity. By aligning with China’s vision of a community with a shared future for mankind, Africa can finally break the chains of dependency and chart a path of dignity and prosperity.
Standing on the Right Side of History
The Global Governance Initiative is more than a Chinese proposal; it is an invitation to humanity to correct historical injustices and build a fairer world. For Africa, it is a chance to move from the margins to the centre, from being ruled to being rulers of our destiny.
In embracing the GGI, Africa is not “choosing China over the West.” Rather, it is choosing justice over exploitation, solidarity over division, and equality over hierarchy. The GGI affirms that the Global South is not a passive recipient of history but an active author of the future.
China has declared that it stands with Africa and the Global South on the right side of history. Africa, in turn, sees in the GGI a reflection of its own long struggle for dignity, independence, and self-determination. Together, China and Africa can ensure that the 21st century will not be the age of renewed imperialism, but the age of shared progress.
- Mafa Kwanisai Mafa is a dedicated Pan-Africanist and social justice advocate, blending decades of activism and scholarship. A prolific writer, he unites intellectual rigor with grassroots efforts to promote freedom and dignity across Africa. An internationalist with farming roots, his work balances global solidarity with local resilience.
