The Global Governance Initiative (GGI), the latest global initiative that President Xi Jinping proposed, is probably the timeliest for global cooperation today.

The world today is at the most critical moment in human history. Humanity is now equipped with unprecedented powers: artificial intelligence, nuclear power, military power, and information technology. All these powers are extremely potent and unevenly distributed. Those with command of these powers are at a huge advantage over others, and, as humans, are tempted to exercise these powers to their advantage — often at the expense of our common interests.

I recently learned that the United States was invited to jointly lead with China in the Initiative on One Belt One Road (later called Belt and Road Initiative). The then-US secretary of state John Kerry had hoped that the US would work with China, saying that not taking up China’s offer was “the single biggest missed opportunity of my life”.

Sadly, while Kerry thought it was a good idea for the two countries to work together, most politicians in Washington thought otherwise. A Congress article published last year speculated that, “In 2015, China’s leaders changed the English name to the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), possibly to deflect from the initiative’s focus on developing China-centered and controlled global ties in a hub-and-spoke format.”

If the US is so worried about China using the initiative to further its own interests at the expense of the US or other countries, why did it not join the initiative and help guide its course to further the world’s best interests? If it found out that the US was somehow sidelined (which is highly unlikely) it could opt out any time. Instead, the US simply refused to participate, as it did with both the Kyoto Protocol and the Paris Agreement.  

The US is the world’s foremost superpower. If Washington is unwilling to participate, the GGI will be up against obstacles. One might speculate on why the US will not participate. The writing, sadly, is on the wall. If Washington believes in America First all the time, then there can be no effective global governance. The essence of governance is to prevent abuse of power. Fair-minded countries will agree that international rules should be fair and should never favor any particular country. American politicians imagine that China is like the US, trying to set rules that favor China (i.e., China-centered). Yet the whole point of the GGI is that no country, including the US and China, should try to bend the rules of global governance to its own advantage.

Only when the world is blessed with effective global governance, civilized cultures, peace and security, will physical infrastructure support and complement market activities that will bring a better livelihood to everyone on this planet

The world has suffered two world wars in the last century, and the suffering produced by these wars was unthinkably massive. Today, military technology has progressed to such an extent that the destruction resulting from a third world war is likely to leave no life on the planet.  

An article published by The Guardian seven years ago carried the title, Why Silicon Valley Billionaires Are Prepping for the Apocalypse in New Zealand. Somehow some billionaires think that they could survive and enjoy a good life despite an apocalyptic third world war. In my view, this is wishful thinking. If we value our lives and Planet Earth, we must act fairly and prop up global governance.  

More than two decades ago, on Feb 15, 2003, large anti-war protests were held globally to oppose the impending invasion of Iraq led by the US. Sadly, notwithstanding millions of people demonstrating worldwide, the protests failed to avert the destructive war. This was a failure of global governance.

Today, Israel has effectively razed Gaza into a human hell. Equipped with far stronger military power and intelligence and backed by the US, Israel seems to be able to do anything to the Palestinians with impunity. The world cannot stop the continuous bombing, killing, starvation and suffering. This is a failure of global governance.

Will the US agree to be a partner in the GGI? I hope this is not wishful thinking, but the soft power of the US is at stake if it declines. America cannot be a great country if it is not even a partner in global governance.

The world is clearly pro-peace and pro-sustainable development. We are talking about ESG (environmental, social, and governance) every day. Global governance is the most important dimension of governance because our very survival is at risk. In a chat with my schoolmates I remarked that should another world war break out, there would be no escape, not even in New Zealand, and not even with the best preparation by the billionaires. They might hold out for months. But the world’s supply chains would all be destroyed; agriculture and industry would be destroyed. Even billionaires and trillionaires could not hold out very long.  

If we are truly concerned about sustainability, we must rebuild trust and work together. China is likely to face a great challenge in promoting the GGI without the US as a partner. The GGI is the most fundamental institutional infrastructure that the world needs. Without it, humanity cannot talk about civilization. Only when humanity is truly civilized and lives within a framework of effective and fair-minded globalist governance can we have true security. Only when the world is blessed with effective global governance, civilized cultures, peace and security, will physical infrastructure support and complement market activities that will bring a better livelihood to everyone on this planet.

The author is an honorary research fellow at the Pan Sutong Shanghai-Hong Kong Economic Policy Research Institute, Lingnan University, and an adjunct professor at the Academy for Applied Policy Studies and Education Futures, the Education University of Hong Kong.

The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.