Xi Jinping’s Vision of the International Order: Unpacking China’s Global Initiatives

Session 3 of the DÉCRIPT program's Indo-Pacific seminar
DÉCRIPT_WP4S3_Image
Oriental pearl tower, Shanghai, Chine © Freepik‎

Title : Xi Jinping’s Vision of the International Order: Unpacking China’s Global Initiatives

Guests : Matteo Dian (University of Bologna) and Silvia Menegazzi (LUISS)

Moderator : Sinan Chu (GIGA / Sciences Po, CERI)

Abstract  : 

This seminar session offers an analysis of the three global initiatives (san da changyi) launched by Beijing between 2021 and 2023: the Global Security Initiative (GSI), the Global Development Initiative (GDI), and the Global Civilization Initiative (GCI). Together, these flagship proposals represent China’s most systematic effort under Xi Jinping to articulate an alternative vision of international order, grounded in Chinese norms, political values, and governance principles, and explicitly positioned as a counterpoint to the Western-led Liberal International Order.

The session examines the origins and implications of these initiatives by situating them within the broader trajectory of Chinese foreign policy. Rather than treating the GSI, GDI, and GCI as isolated policy platforms, it approaches them as components of a coherent strategy linking security, development, and civilizational discourse.

Through this framework, Beijing seeks to project itself as a global norm-setter beyond Asia, targeting in particular the Global South and groupings such as BRICS. By analyzing how China connects geopolitical security, economic development, and ideological narratives, the session sheds light on the emergence of a China-centered vision of global governance and its implications for the future of international order.

This session is based on the guests’ book China’s Blueprint for Global Leadership (Palgrave Macmillan Cham, 2025).

Date, time : Wednesday, March 11, 2026, at 3pm - 5pm (Paris time).

Place, room : Université Bordeaux Montaigne, Bibliothèque de Lettres et Sciences Humaines (Salle BUDL 608), 4, avenue Denis Diderot, 33607 Pessac Cedex

Format : Hybrid (Link sent before the event)

Organizing committee:

  • Rémi Castets (Université Bordeaux Montaigne, D2iA)
  • Jérôme Doyon (Sciences Po, CERI)
  • Jean-François Huchet (Inalco, IFRAE)
  • Christophe Jaffrelot (Sciences Po, CERI)
  • Alexandre Gandil, postdoctorant, programme DÉCRIPT (Université Bordeaux Montaigne, D2iA).

Registration is open until March 11 at 4:00 p.m. (Paris time):

Registration link