4 min readJul 13, 2026 06:25 AM IST
First published on: Jul 13, 2026 at 06:25 AM IST
Immediate issues tend to blur the future. A tariff threat, a war in West Asia, an oil shock and an export control order consume governments. Power, however, often moves quietly. China’s white paper, More Just and Equitable Global Governance, released as G7 leaders were meeting, is one such signal. While the old club focused on today’s pressures, China staked its claim to tomorrow’s rule book. India needs to take notice. The issue is not only China’s ambition. It is also India’s preparedness.
This is a challenge of anticipatory statecraft. By the time a crisis is visible, some choices have already been made elsewhere: In standards, lending clauses, technical bodies and diplomatic language. Under Donald Trump, the United States is treating the old order less as a system to defend than as leverage to use. Europe speaks of values, but is distracted by war in Ukraine and concerns about US tariffs and Chinese manufacturing exports. The Global South has grievances, but no common draft. China, meanwhile, has placed its version of the next order on the table.
President Xi Jinping proposed the Global Governance Initiative (GGI), at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in September 2025, a gathering also attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin. The white paper gathers China’s earlier initiatives on development, security and civilisation, along with the Belt and Road Initiative, into one larger claim about global governance. China’s critique has appeal because many of the complaints are true. The Security Council still looks more like 1945 than 2026. Africa has too little voice. IMF quotas and World Bank shares lag behind economic change. Climate finance is promised faster than it is delivered. The WTO dispute system is weakened. Technology rules are often written by countries that already own the technology. Sanctions outside the UN system are used often, and not always consistently. China has attracted 43 countries as Friends of GGI, including 21 from Africa. The coalition is uneven, but real.
The paper also reveals where Beijing thinks power will move next. It names artificial intelligence, cyberspace, outer space, the deep seas, polar regions, climate governance, public health, trade and international financial architecture. These domains will shape who controls data, who finances infrastructure, who writes AI safety tests and how much choice the Global South actually has.
Several ideas in the white paper overlap with India’s own positions: Sovereign equality, international law, multilateral decision-making and development as a common purpose. India too wants UN reform, fairer finance, a stronger Global South and open technology access. It also opposes small groups writing rules for everyone else.
China’s record is less tidy than its language. It speaks of sovereignty, but the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor runs through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. It invokes international law, but not always when the law cuts against Chinese claims. While Beijing favours a multipolar world, it baulks at a multipolar Asia. It speaks of UN-centred rule-making, yet uses critical mineral export controls as leverage. China’s development offer can create dependence when loans, ports and digital systems lack transparency.
China’s white paper is an invitation to debate global reform. More importantly, it is a test of India’s capacity to look ahead. AI rules, space governance and health security are not foreign policy files alone. They shape India’s development and security too.
India already has the NITI Aayog to think across ministries on domestic transformation. That habit is now needed for changes outside India that will shape its growth, trade, technology and security. Who is making sure India sees these shifts before they become constraints? NITI Aayog’s mandate could be widened. MEA’s Policy Planning and Research Division could be strengthened. The National Security Council Secretariat could also ensure these issues are treated together across Ministries and not in separate files. The task is clear: Spot proposals early, align ministries, bring in domain experts and think tanks and build coalitions before negotiations begin. The future will not wait for India to finish responding to the present. If Delhi arrives late, it may still get a seat. By then, the choices will have already narrowed.
The writer is former permanent representative of India to the United Nations, and dean, Kautilya School of Public Policy, Hyderabad
India needs to take notice. The issue is not only China’s ambition. It is also India’s preparedness. 
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