According to recent media reports, a Chinese senior official from the Ministry of Finance (MOF) was appointed as Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) and Managing Director (MD) of the World Bank Group, and China became the third-largest shareholder in the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which highlights the country's increased role in international organizations.

Observers said that these new developments signify a growing role of importance for the country in international financial institutions and that they are a direct result of China's persistent efforts and also result of its increasing contribution to global governance as well as a more just and reasonable order in the international community.

China proposes the idea of "Global Governance"

China first publically voiced the idea of "Global Governance" on Oct. 12, 2015 when President Xi Jinping pushed for the innovative development of global governance through consultation, cooperation and share of benefits, during a CPC Central Committee Political Bureau meeting.

Actually, the idea was first raised in 1990 by Willy Brandt, former leader of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) and chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, aiming to jointly manage global political affairs with all stakeholders against the backdrop of world multi-polarization.

The idea encompasses five core elements, namely, values, regulations, the subject, the object, and the effects. One thing that needs to be clarified is that the goals of global governance are the universal values that exist beyond nationality, ethnicity, religion, ideology and economic development.

For universal values, every country has its own interpretations. The United States stresses democracy and human rights while China advocates common values, something President Xi noted as "peace, development, equality, justice, democracy and freedom" during his speech at the UN headquarters.

In global governance and diplomatic undertakings, the idea of universal values or common values, are something that cannot be ignored. In this connection, China put forward the idea of a "community of shared future," but this still needs to be better defined, interpreted and implemented.

As far as I'm concerned, China should advocate "peace, unity and harmony," which are the features of Chinese culture and Chinese diplomacy. In ancient times, a man of noble character would be the one who champions "unity without uniformity." In business operations, people would say that "harmony brings wealth." Concerning Chinese diplomacy, the country highlights "peace and development" as the trends of our times. "Peace," "unity" and "harmony" represent the unique wisdom of the Chinese nation. The reason why I founded the Charhar Institute and dedicated myself to the study of "peace" is to advocate this universally accepted idea.

Global governance calls for global talents

Global governance isn't an empty expression. It requires concrete implementations. It needs concerted efforts from government agencies, international organizations and non-governmental civil groups.

As the world's largest economy, China plays an irreplaceable role in global politics and economic stabilization. In terms of multilateral and bilateral diplomacy, and with regard to Iranian and North Korean nuclear issues, China is playing an active role.

China is also increasing its say in international organizations like the United Nations, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. Unfortunately, few Chinese people have assumed high-ranking posts in these organizations, which does not coincide with its great power status.

The reason lies in the scarcity of talent. Under China's education system, many language talents do not understand diplomacy, diplomatic personnel do not understand economics, and those familiar with foreign affairs tend to lack knowledge of internal affairs. Moreover, the above talents are normally those with junior rankings, which fail to meet the requirement of international organizations. This phenomenon could result in weak leadership in those organizations and a lack of influence in terms of rule making.

Non-governmental organizations, which can be compared to the cells of one's body, are an essential part of global governance but still lack a presence in China. More efforts are necessary on this front in order to give its due role to play in the international community.

Han Fangming is a founding chairman and chief sponsor of the Charhar Institute, a non-governmental think tank.

The article was translated by Guo Yiming. Its original version was published in Chinese .

Opinion articles reflect the views of their authors, not necessarily those of China.org.cn.