The Chinese and English editions of Xi Jinping: The Governance of China (Volume V) on display at Wangfujing Bookstore in Beijing Photo: Chen Mirong/CSST

The International Forum of the Overseas Studies on Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era (2025) was held in Beijing from Nov. 12–13 under the theme “Changes Unseen in a Century and the Governance of China.” Featuring three parallel sub-forums and a youth forum, the event gathered approximately 200 guests from 35 countries and regions.

Gao Xiang, president of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) and director of the Research Center for Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era at CASS, noted in his opening remarks that the Chinese and English editions of Xi Jinping: The Governance of China (Volume V) were released in China and overseas in July 2025. The volume, which offers a comprehensive and systematic presentation of the latest developments in Xi’s thought, has resonated strongly both at home and abroad and now serves as an authoritative, up-to-date reference for understanding China’s progress and future trajectory in the new era.

Guided by Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, Gao stressed, China has steadily advanced its modernization drive, broadening the range of pathways available to developing countries seeking independent modernization and contributing fresh insights to the building of a community with a shared future for humanity. By reinvigorating the world socialist movement, China has ushered in new prospects for human advancement.

Jin Minqing, director general of the Institute of Contemporary China Studies at CASS and deputy director of the CASS Research Center for Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, described Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era as Marxism for contemporary China and the 21st century. As the distilled essence of Chinese culture and the Chinese spirit of the new era, it also embodies the Eastern wisdom contributed by Chinese communists to the world—adding valuable certainty to a turbulent global environment and offering a “compass” for emerging and established major countries seeking to avoid falling into the so-called “Thucydides Trap.”

Former President of Costa Rica José María Figueres stated that Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era offers crucial guidance for China’s modernization and national rejuvenation, adding that the thought draws on China’s long historical experience and continues to shape China’s engagement with the world. Over the decades, he explained, China has become a significant force for promoting global peace and development, showing its commitment by advancing initiatives such as the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), the Global Development Initiative (GDI), the Global Security Initiative (GSI), the Global Civilization Initiative (GCI), and the Global Governance Initiative (GGI) to promote a new type of international relations characterized by inclusiveness, dialogue, and shared prosperity.

Anatoly Tozik, former deputy prime minister of Belarus, director of the Confucius Institute of Sinology at Belarusian State University, and chairman of the Belarus-China Friendship Society, emphasized that the CPC has consistently adhered to a people-centered approach to governance, consistently upholding a pragmatic spirit that is grounded in its historical heritage while drawing on beneficial development experiences from abroad.

Paolo Ferrero, former Italian minister of social solidarity, commented that the vision of building a community with a shared future for humanity proposed by President Xi calls on all peoples to recognize their interconnected destinies, advocates for mutual respect, and embodies universal values. This stance goes beyond Western liberalism, which tends to equate Western values with “universal values” and Western historical experience with world history. The Chinese vision, Ferrero argued, raises fundamental questions about humanity’s future and deserves to be placed at the heart of the international communist movement in the 21st century.

José Luis Centella, president of the Communist Party of Spain, vice president of the Party of the European Left, and director of the “Belt and Road” Research Center of Spain, highlighted that the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development remains the roadmap for global sustainable progress. Yet more than 85% of its specific targets have stalled or veered off track. Against this backdrop, he said, China’s GDI—put forward in 2021—is not a unilateral proposal but a sincere appeal for the international community to build toward inclusive, people-centered, and sustainable development.

Martin Jacques, former senior fellow from the Department of Politics and International Studies at the University of Cambridge, remarked that the most distinctive feature of China’s foreign policy in the new era is its originality. This quality can be seen in the BRI, which has made substantial progress. Through this initiative, China champions and practices true multilateralism while strengthening ties with other developing countries. It is also evident in the vision of building a community with a shared future for humanity, which contrasts sharply with the deeply entrenched Western model of alliance-building. Jacques observed that today, the old world is fading while a new one is struggling to emerge. Yet the contours of the latter are becoming increasingly clear—a global order led by the majority and grounded in the Global South.

The goal of global governance is not power competition but the pursuit of common dignity and prosperity for all humanity, stated Kin Phea, director general of the International Relations Institute at the Royal Academy of Cambodia. As an important component of Xi Jinping Thought on Diplomacy, the GGI echoes the GDI, the GSI, and the GCI, collectively forming China’s approach to promoting the building of a community with a shared future for humanity. For developing countries such as Cambodia, he said, the GGI presents new opportunities to gain a stronger voice in global decision-making and more equitable access to development resources in an increasingly multipolar world.

The forum was sponsored by CASS and organized by the Research Center for Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era and the Academy of Marxism at CASS, as well as the World Association for China Studies.