Politics
Global Unity Starts with Equal Opportunities
Proposing the Global Governance Initiative (GGI) at the “Shanghai Cooperation Organization Plus” meeting in Tianjin, Chinese President Xi Jinping highlighted five principles for the Initiative: to adhere to sovereign equality, to abide by international rule of law, to practice multilateralism, to advocate the people-centered approach, and to focus on taking real actions.
Reforming and improving the current global governance system starts from pursuing equality and should strive for a new system that benefits all. This is not only China’s belief, but also a principle China has acted on as a decades-long practitioner of global governance.
Equality in global governance first and foremost means all nations, regardless of political or economic system, size, history or religion, are entitled with equal rights to sovereignty and development. More importantly, it means all nations have equal rights in choosing their own national paths of development and political system. Their choices in building up a national system based on their own history, culture, tradition and national conditions should be respected. Equality would only ring hollow if such rights were not guaranteed.
This principle of equality proposed in China’s GGI is a reflection of the fundamental realities of our world today.
The first reality we need to confront is that inequality is a feature that defines our age. Although tech innovation under globalization may provide opportunities for Global South countries to overcome their disadvantaged position in a stratified global trading system, Global North countries have continued to dominate the system through their accumulated advantages in capital, human resources and knowledge. A report in January this year by the World Bank found that due to barriers in trade, tech and others, the overall economic growth for developing economies dropped from 5.9 percent in the 2000s to 5.1 percent in the 2010s to 3.5 percent in the 2020s. The gap between rich and poor countries has only widened. Adding to the disparity among countries, the income inequality within nations remains constant. A May report by the UN this year discovered that two-thirds of the world’s population live in countries where income inequality is growing and more than a third of the world’s population lives on between 2.15 and 6.85 dollars a day.
Another reality we need to acknowledge is that while the evolving issues of our shared future such as urbanization or the global decarbonization cause might provide chances for equalization, they also pose risks for further marginalization for the already disadvantaged down the road. Take the ongoing revolution brought about by artificial intelligence (AI) as an example. World Bank data shows that compared to 80 percent and 93 percent in upper-middle and high-income nations, internet access is just 27 percent in low-income countries and 52 percent in lower-middle-income countries. Thus, high-income countries are holding a distinct advantage in capitalizing on the values brought by AI thanks to their superior digital infrastructure and abundant AI development resources. Plus, AI is challenging development models in emerging markets that previously relied on export-oriented manufacturing by making manufacturing more technology and capital intensive. The traditional way of using more labor to improve productivity is gradually running out of time, which will be particularly hard for these economies moving forward.
In its decades of practices in global governance, China has been providing its answers to the question of equality. Since the founding of the People’s Republic of China, equality has stayed at the core of China’s foreign policy, evident in several key policy proposals such as the “Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence,” a community with a shared future for humanity, etc. A member of the Global South community itself, China also pursued equitable global governance by advocating the rights of the Global South. China has pushed for stronger representation of Global South countries within multilateral mechanisms such as the reform of the International Monetary Fund, and supporting the African Union in becoming a G20 member, among others. China also gave its support to the growth of under-developed economies over the years. For instance, starting from December 2024, China granted zero-tariff treatment to all the least developed countries in Africa with which it has diplomatic relations on 100 percent of their products.
In all, confronting the disparity and unfairness in the global governance system we have now and upholding the principle of equal rights for all is a premise for improving it. It is also one of the starting points of the Global Governance Initiative that China has just proposed.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was martyred in US and Israeli strikes, state media confirmed, as another wave of attacks hit the country on Sunday.
Several countries, global bodies and prominent groups responded to the assassination of Iran’s supreme leader, urging de-escalation.
Pakistan
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday denounced the targeting of Iran’s supreme leader in joint strikes by the United States and Israel, saying such actions were a “violation of the norms of international law”.
In a post on X, PM Shehbaz said that it was an age-old convention that the heads of state or government should not be targeted.
“Pakistan also expresses concern over the violation of the norms of international law. It is an age-old convention that the heads of state/government should not be targeted.”
Russia
President Vladimir Putin described Khamenei’s killing as a “cynical murder” that violated “all standards of human morality and international law”.
“Please accept my deep condolences in connection with the murder of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Seyed Ali Khamenei, and members of his family, committed in cynical violation of all norms of human morality and international law.”
China
China said it “strongly condemns” the United States and Israel’s assassination of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, calling again for a halt to military actions.
The assassination was “a serious violation of Iran’s sovereignty and security, a trampling on the aims and principles of the UN Charter and the basic norms of international relations”, Beijing’s foreign ministry said in a statement.
“China firmly opposes and strongly condemns this,” it added, calling for an “immediate halting of military operations”.
Malaysia
Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim on Sunday “unreservedly” condemned the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
“I unreservedly condemn the killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. This act places the Middle East on the edge of grave and sustained instability. I extend my condolences to the Islamic Republic of Iran and to the Iranian people at this profoundly difficult momen,” wrote
Indonesia’s Ulema Muslim Clerical Council
“The Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) expressed its deepest condolences for the death of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, as a result of the Israeli-American attack on February 28.
“The United States, which is playing a central role in managing the Palestinian conflict through the BoP (Board of Peace), faces a major question: is this strategy truly aimed at a just peace, or is it actually strengthening an unequal security architecture and burying Palestinian independence? Therefore, the MUI urges the Indonesian government to revoke its membership from the BoP.”
North Korea
North Korea condemned the US and Israeli strikes as an “illegal act of aggression”.
The attacks “constitute a thoroughly illegal act of aggression and the most vile form of violation of sovereignty in their nature”, a Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson said, according to state media.
Iranian president
“The martyrdom of the Supreme Leader at the hands of Israel and the criminal America was a great disaster for our country… America and Israel should know that it will bring them nothing but embarrassment.”
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on Sunday claimed it had launched ballistic missile strikes targeting a US aircraft carrier, identifying the vessel as the USS Abraham Lincoln, as part of what it called “Operation True Promise 4.”
In a statement, the IRGC’s public relations office said four ballistic missiles were fired at the carrier, adding that Iran’s military campaign had entered a “new phase.” The group warned that both land and sea would become the “burial place” for what it described as aggressors.
Multiple Waves of Strikes Announced
Earlier, the IRGC said it had launched the seventh and eighth waves of strikes under the same operation, in response to what it termed ongoing aggression by the United States and Israel.
Iran claimed it had carried out precision strikes on military targets in Israeli territory, including areas near Tel Aviv and Haifa. It also alleged that Israeli officials had taken shelter due to heightened security concerns.
Targets Across the Gulf
The IRGC further stated that it had targeted US-operated facilities in West Asia, including the US Fifth Fleet base in Bahrain, as well as installations in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
There has been no immediate confirmation from US or Israeli officials regarding the reported missile strikes or the extent of any damage.
Rising Regional Tensions
The developments mark a sharp escalation in regional tensions following reported military exchanges between Iran, Israel and US forces over the weekend.
Independent verification of the claims remains pending, and international observers have urged restraint amid fears of a broader conflict across the Middle East.
A number of Iranian senior leaders, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, have embraced martyrdom in the “unprovoked and unwarranted” airstrikes by Israel and the United States.
As crowds gathered in Tehran, explosions rang out, and the Israeli military announced that it was again striking targets in the heart of the city — as more blasts were heard in Jerusalem, Riyadh, Dubai, Doha and Manama.
Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian declared Khamenei’s assassination a “declaration of war against Muslims” and warned: “Iran considers it its legitimate duty and right to avenge the perpetrators and masterminds of this historic crime.”
Iranian state media have confirmed the killing of several senior figures:
1. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, supreme leader of Iran
2. Ali Shamkhani, representative of the Supreme Leader in the Supreme Defence Council
3. General Abdolrahim Mousavi, Iran’s Armed Forces chief of staff
4. Major General Mohammad Pakpour, commander-in-chief of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC)
5. Aziz Nasirzadeh, Minister of Defence
6. Gholamreza Rezaian, police intelligence chief of Iran
Separately, the daughter, son-in-law, and granddaughter of Ali Khamenei also embraced martyrdom in the US and Israeli airstrikes.
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