Global Governance and China-Africa Cooperation: Logical Motivation, Historical Foundation and Practical Needs

In 1875， French philosopher Ernest Renan openly stated， “We aspire not to equality but to domination. Countries inhabited by foreign races must become again countries of serfs， farm laborers， and factory workers.” This was a view of global governance based on racism in the 19th century. In 2018， Donald Trump， then President of the United States， in a meeting with members of Congress from both sides of the aisle to discuss reform of the immigration system， talked about immigrants from regions and countries such as Africa and Haiti， and questioned why the United States would take in immigrants from these “shithole countries”. In the United States and the West， there have been numerous such statements and practices， which show that the spectre of racism is undergoing a resurgence. From the perspective of historical continuity， the global order is still dominated by the West. However， there are signs indicating that the world is at a pivotal moment where the reform of the global governance system should be carried out without delay. Both China and African countries belong to the Global South. China-Africa cooperation has not only a deep historical foundation， but also the practical needs to promote the reform of the global governance system and the transformation of the global order.

Logical Motivation for System Reform： Global Changes at a Pivotal Moment

The global order in modern times was built on the basis of colonial rule. After the end of World War II， with the rise of the national independence movement， the United States replaced the old empires through the demonstration of power and policy arrangements， and began to monopolize global governance， including rule-making， information dissemination， and practical operation. This order follows the colonial pattern： a dominant group consisting mainly of Western countries or white people （including their proxies in the Southern countries） versus a group of Global South countries suffering from political oppression， racial discrimination and economic exploitation. Entering the 21st century， the Global South as a whole has grown in its overall strength， with a stronger call to change the unfair and inequitable situation. An ideal global order must be based on the common values of all humankind， advocate the principles of fairness， justice and inclusiveness， and represent the common interests of all countries in the world.

Along with the changes in the international balance of power， the world is approaching a “pivotal moment” of major changes， and the reform of the global governance system should not be delayed. In his address to the UN General Assembly on September 10， 2021， UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres warned that the world was facing a “pivotal moment” and that “all the old ways could lead to the collapse of the global order into a crisis-ridden， winner-takes-all world”， and that “much of the world’s unease is rooted in persistent poverty， hunger， lack of access to health care， education and income security， as well as growing inequality and injustice. 10 richest men saw their combined wealth increased by half a trillion dollars since the COVID-19 pandemic began while 55% of the world’s population， or 4 billion people are one step away from destitution.” Former U.S. diplomat and China expert Charles Freeman pointed out that “five centuries of EuroAtlantic hegemony have come to an end…this is a turning point in history， a pivotal moment.” The “pivotal moment” is highlighted in three aspects： Western civilization is mired in paradox; the Global South is self-reliant and opposed to hegemony; and emerging economies represented by China are pursuing the building of an equal and orderly multipolar world.

First， Western civilization is mired in the paradox of development. In recent times， Eurocentrism has politicized the concept of civilization， believing that “the Westerners/Europeans are civilized， and others are barbaric”. This has constituted the core of colonial discourse and became a tool for conquering and exploiting others. The international community is shaped as “an exclusive ‘club’ consisting of civilized nations”， and other “non-Western organized societies” or “non-European regions” are allowed to join the international community only with the approval of these civilized nations. However， the development of the “civilized” countries is now fraught with mounting problems， which are manifested in three paradoxes in the ways and results of the treatment between man and nature， between man and man， and between man and himself. To be more specific， these paradoxes include： the “civilized countries” bring greater damage to nature and to the environment; the “civilized countries” are more brutal in their ways of devastating lives; the “civilized countries” have the highest age-standardized suicide rate. We can therefore draw the conclusion that civilization is not determined but affected by the environment and that the universality of defining civilization in terms of physical markers （such as domestication， architecture， weapons， smelting， languages， religions） is questionable.

Second， the Global South is becoming more self-reliant and increasingly resistant to hegemony. The September 11 attacks in 2001 showed that the hegemonic position of the United States had begun to falter， and it had since implemented a series of erroneous strategies in the name of counter-terrorism， accelerating its own decline. Against this background， the power of the Global South， represented by emerging economies and developing countries， has continued to grow. They have been calling for and pushing for the reform of the inequitable international political and economic order， paying particular attention to safeguarding their own sovereignty and development rights and interests. For instance， the United States hoped to establish the U.S. Army Africa Command in Africa， with the intention of strengthening the coordination of its various military operations in Africa in the name of counter-terrorism， safeguarding its own economic interests and checking China’s expanding influence in Africa. This move was strongly opposed by most African countries. In the end， the United States could only set up its Africa Command in Stuttgart， Germany. In recent years， there has been a surge of opposition to Western hegemony in Africa， with France being forced to withdraw the last of its troops at the end of 2023 at the behest of the government of Niger. The transitional governments of Chad and Niger have also been calling for the withdrawal of U.S. troops in 2024. At the same time， countries of the Global South are firmly opposed to the manipulation of the regional situation by external forces. The Beijing Declaration on Ending Division and Strengthening Palestinian National Unity was officially signed on July 23， 2024， demonstrating the unity and self-reliance of the Middle Eastern countries in response to the regional changes.