“China’s Approach to Global Governance”—an interactive report from the Council on Foreign Relations—recounts China’s past and present international strategies and its growing influence over global governance. It specifically identifies four areas where “China’s evolving global governance strategy is most apparent” and could have the deepest impact in the future: global health, internet governance, climate change, and development finance.

“China has become a powerful force in global governance. Increasingly, its efforts appear to be deepening divides with other countries, particularly democracies that are committed to existing norms and institutions. Ultimately, this divide could make it harder for states to collaboratively address major international challenges.”

“If its economy continues to grow over the long term, China will more forcefully set the terms for global governance,” write CFR Senior Fellows Yanzhong Huang and Joshua Kurlantzick in a new interactive report. The report, “China’s Approach to Global Governance,” traces China’s historical efforts to define international rules and norms and examines Beijing’s growing influence over global governance today, including how countries address the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).

Looking ahead, China is likely to “wield greater power within long-standing organizations like the World Bank and United Nations and also will strengthen new, China-dominated institutions,” argue Huang, senior fellow for global health, and Kurlantzick, senior fellow for Southeast Asia. They argue that, on some issues, China is shouldering responsibility and promoting international solutions, while on others, it is trying to impose its own models and norms, which could prove globally divisive, especially in areas like development finance and internet governance.

The authors present a timeline of China’s approach to global governance from Imperial China to the present day. They further offer projections for how Beijing’s evolving global governance strategy will affect global public health including the management of COVID-19, internet governance and surveillance technologies, development finance, and climate change, among other issues.

View the Report