BY TULPAR JANIBYEK
Assistant Professor of Narxoz University / Former Editor of Kazakhstan National TV, Kazakhstan
China’s encounter with the modern system of global governance is inseparable from its gradual integration into the international political and economic order. During the early decades of the People’s Republic of China, Beijing remained relatively distant from many institutions that constituted the post-war international system. This situation changed substantially after China’s reform and opening-up policies began in the late 1970s. Economic liberalization, expanding international trade, increasing foreign investment, and participation in international institutions gradually transformed China from a relatively peripheral actor into a central participant in global affairs.
China’s accession to the World Trade Organization in 2001 represented a particularly important turning point. Integration into the multilateral trading system accelerated China’s participation in global production networks and contributed to the country’s emergence as one of the world’s largest economies and trading powers. Over time, however, China’s relationship with global governance evolved beyond participation. As its economic, technological, and diplomatic capabilities expanded, Beijing increasingly sought to contribute to discussions concerning the reform of international institutions and the rules governing global cooperation.
The central question of this article is therefore not simply whether China participates in global governance, but how China has moved from participation to influence and what this transformation means for the future of the global governance system.
The Belt and Road Initiative and Global Public Goods
The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), launched in 2013, represents one of the most important instruments through which China has expanded its international economic and institutional engagement.
The initiative connects infrastructure development, transportation, energy, telecommunications, trade, investment, and development cooperation across multiple regions. It has therefore become more than an infrastructure program: it constitutes a broad network of economic and diplomatic relationships.
From the perspective of global governance, the significance of the BRI lies in its potential contribution to the provision of international and regional public goods. Infrastructure deficits remain a major obstacle to development in many emerging economies. By financing and constructing roads, railways, ports, energy systems, and digital infrastructure, Chinese institutions and companies have contributed to the expansion of connectivity.
At the same time, the BRI has generated substantial international debate concerning debt sustainability, environmental standards, transparency, local employment, and political influence. These debates demonstrate that China’s growing role in global governance cannot be evaluated solely according to the scale of its investments. It must also be assessed according to the institutional standards and long‑term development outcomes associated with these projects.
The BRI therefore illustrates both the opportunities and controversies surrounding China’s emergence as a global governance actor.
The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and Institutional Innovation
The establishment of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) represents another significant example of China’s institutional engagement.
The AIIB was designed to address infrastructure financing needs, particularly in Asia, while bringing together both developing and developed economies. Its establishment demonstrated that China could contribute not only financial resources but also new institutional arrangements to international development governance.
The significance of the AIIB extends beyond infrastructure financing. It demonstrates how China can participate in the creation of multilateral institutions while operating alongside established institutions such as the World Bank and Asian Development Bank.
Rather than necessarily replacing existing institutions, the AIIB can be interpreted as part of a more pluralistic international institutional environment. This supports the broader argument that China’s rise is contributing to the diversification of global governance structures.
Challenges and Criticisms
China’s expanding role in global governance also creates significant challenges.
First, strategic competition between China and the United States increasingly affects international institutions and global economic networks. Competition over technology, trade, semiconductors, investment, and security can fragment global cooperation.
Second, institutional trust remains important. China’s growing influence requires greater transparency and predictability if other countries are to regard its initiatives as genuinely multilateral rather than instruments of geopolitical influence.
Third, debt and development concerns surrounding some infrastructure projects require careful management. Sustainable financing, environmental standards, local participation, and economic viability are essential to ensuring that international development projects produce durable benefits.
Fourth, technological fragmentation threatens the development of a genuinely global digital economy. Divergent standards concerning data, cybersecurity, AI, and digital trade could produce competing technological ecosystems.
Finally, China must balance its national interests with its increasingly global responsibilities. A major power participating in global governance is expected not only to pursue national development but also to contribute to the stability and sustainability of the international system.
China’s encounter with global governance has evolved from limited participation to increasingly active institutional engagement and influence. Economic reform and international integration initially brought China into the existing global order. Subsequent economic growth, technological development, and diplomatic expansion have enabled China to participate more actively in shaping that order.
This transformation should not be interpreted simply as an attempt to replace the existing international system with a Chinese-centered order. Rather, China appears to be pursuing a combination of institutional participation, reform, network building, and the creation of complementary institutions.
The central challenge for the coming decades will therefore be whether China and other major powers can transform increasing interdependence into effective cooperation rather than geopolitical fragmentation. A more inclusive global governance system will require not only China’s participation but also the willingness of established and emerging powers to share responsibility, reform institutions, and preserve channels for international cooperation.
China’s “first encounter” with global governance has therefore become something much larger: a continuing process through which China is simultaneously being shaped by the international system and contributing to its transformation. The future of global governance will depend, in significant part, on how this relationship develops.
*The views and opinions expressed in the articles are solely those of the individual authors and do not reflect the position of the Secretariat of the Belt and Road Journalist Network.