In 2017, President Xi Jinping unveiled his all-encompassing vision of the “Community of Shared Future for Mankind,” often referred to as the “Community of Common Destiny” – a comprehensive concept redefining not China’s foreign policy alone, but rather challenging the status quo forces that pursue the prevailing global political order. Instead of proposing a selective engagement of interest-driven collation-based transactional relations, Xi’s dream offers an inclusive, collective, and mutually beneficial paradigm for international relations. Through iterative, actionable, novel, and appealing proposals like the Global Development Initiative (GDI), Global Security Initiative (GSI), Global Civilization Initiative (GCI), and recently unfolded Global Governance Initiative (GGI), China has traversed a long distance, shaping the visionary rhetoric into reality, offering insights for proposed future institutional practices. The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) has been used as a key platform in this transformational process. The recent Tianjin Summit, held from 31 August to 1 September 2025, has been showcased as a mega success, displaying the resolute commitment of member states towards an alternative collective good, as opposed to the Western model of transactional engagement.
The idea of a shared future, though predating 2017, was adopted by Xi as the centerpiece of his vision for the world, where all members exercise their rights irrespective of their size, resources, and status, and work towards mutual benefits, with all members being equal. The concept is the antithesis of the existing global order, which is governed by power politics, unilateralism, and hegemonism, offering a substitute model for global governance entrenched in the principles of making the United Nations the highest authority in International Relations, equal status of all sovereign states, and democratization of global relations as contrasted to “hegemonism of one country”. To make this vision a reality, China in last one decade under Xi, introduced several visionary interlocking global frameworks: GDI (2021) aimed at accelerating sustainable development among member states primarily through cooperation in pursuance of collective good, thereby minimizing inequalities, GSI aligning along the concept of comprehensive and cooperative security based on respect for sovereignty, peaceful settlement of issues, and by adopting policy of non-interference, while GCI (2023) goes beyond the traditional norms of international diplomacy suggesting intercultural dialogue, respect for all civilizations, thus avoiding the notions of supremacy and perpetual cultural divide and clash of civilizations.
The recently concluded Tianjin SCO Summit in China has been, so far, the largest display of an emerging global order challenging the status quo ordained by the West for decades. Besides, other highlights that have captured international attention, China officially unveiled its Global Governance Initiative (GGI), complementing its earlier initiatives. These initiatives are choreographed in a sequential hierarchy, where one leads to another while still achieving the perfect outcomes of each. Where GDI deals with mutual development, GSI revolves around security, and GCI relates to cultural respect. The recent GGI aims to offer a new model for global governance, defining how rules are to be made, how international institutions are required to function, who has a voice, and who can influence.
During the recent SCO Summit, Xi, while outlining the charter of GCI, enumerated five fundamental principles: adherence to international law, respect for sovereignty and equality, multilateralism, a people-centric approach, and a focus on concrete steps rather than new declarations. The Summit also witnessed practical steps, such as the establishment of the SCO Development Bank, aimed at financing multidimensional projects ranging from infrastructure to regional cooperation, digital economy, tech innovation, energy, green industry, and higher and vocational education. It also promises concessional aid and easy loans, a Chinese invitation for cooperation in AI, and to become part of China’s lunar research station.
The Xi’s initiative and practical drive are gaining traction, as more countries from different geographical regions have expressed their support for the vision. The 2025 Tianjin Summit has demonstrated a firm resolve and commitment, showing that Xi’s vision is more than mere declarations and is taking structural form. However, this all would not be easy to accomplish due to obvious resistance from the West. In addition, there are fears and apprehensions that “shared future” may only mean a China-led future and later prove to be a replay of the Western-led existing global order. Nonetheless, China’s vision has progressed considerably from mantra to initiative. It is now moving towards the practical manifestation of institutionalization, offering an alternative to the West- and US-led global order. The success or failure of this initiative will largely depend on China’s vigor in pursuing it, the appeal for other members to cluster around, and how Beijing will be able to thwart Western resistance.
Lecturer at the University of Lahore in School of Integrated Social Sciences and a PhD scholar in International Relations specializing in China–Central Asia relations.
