International rules should aim to realize the common interests of all countries in the world, rather than to achieve the interests of certain countries at the expense of other countries. International rules should be sufficiently inclusive. Only by recognizing the differences between countries, including differences in civilization, system, level of development and other aspects can different countries be regarded as a whole and attention be truly paid to the common interests of the world.

Participating in the discussion of the theme “Multilateralism and Win-Win Cooperation” reminds me of the special address which President Xi Jinping made at the World Economic Forum Virtual Event of the Davos Agenda on January 25, 2021. The title of President Xi Jinping’s special address was Let the Torch of Multilateralism Light up Humanity's Way Forward. This address was dedicated to solving one dilemma facing mankind: without multilateralism, the way forward for mankind will be extremely difficult, and may even fall into darkness. I particularly noticed that in his address President Xi Jinping called for “staying committed to international law and international rules instead of seeking one’s own supremacy.” I think this statement goes straight to the core of multilateralism in the world today and puts forward an idea for solving various issues. I would like to take this opportunity to express three views on multilateralism and international rules. 

1. All countries in the world share common interests, which must be realized through international rules

No one will deny that besides their own interests, all countries in the world share common interests, including interests to work together to address climate change, prevent infectious disease crises, and safeguard a world order of peace, stability, prosperity, and development.

Can countries automatically realize common interests if each of them only cares about its own interests? Adam Smith once said that there is a pair of "invisible hands" that makes everyone unconsciously promote the realization of social interests while pursuing their own interests. We now know that this pair of "invisible hands" is the market mechanism, but the market does have its flaws. To make up for market flaws, all countries need to formulate laws, and draw up regulations, regulatory measures and various other rules, so that market operations can realize the overall interests of society. Between countries, such rules are equally needed to realize the overall interests of the world. Kant, a liberalist, also argued that the relationship between countries would only contain war if there were no laws. Only when countries give up their barbaric freedom and adapt to open and mandatory laws can permanent peace be achieved.

It can be seen that if each country only cares about its own interests, the common interests of all countries in the world cannot be realized automatically. If we want to realize the common interests of all countries in the world, we need a set of international rules to support it. It can also be seen that the most important significance of international rules is to realize the common interests of all countries in the world or the overall interests of the world.

2. The international rules advocated by the United States ignore the interests of other countries, let alone the common interests of the world

Good rules are conducive to the realization of the overall interests of individual countries and the common interests of all countries in the world, but not all rules are good rules. 

In a market economy, if the formulation of rules is dominated by interest groups, the market will be distorted and the overall interests of society will be harmed. Regulatory capture is a typical example. Regulated industries capture government regulators or legislators, raise entry barriers, and restrict new entrants, so as to protect the monopolistic position of operators that have already entered the industries. Such rules are harmful to the overall interests of society.

Worldwide, the international rules currently advanced by the United States aim at realizing U.S. interests only and cannot realize the common interests of other countries in the world. For example, it artificially divides the world into two or more blocks based on ideology, democracy and human rights, subjecting international economic activities to different constraints in different blocks. This artificially hinders the effective allocation of resources around the world, while deliberately creating conflicts between countries and harming the overall interests of the world. Another example is that the United States habitually puts its domestic laws above international rules, and cites its domestic laws to unilaterally impose restrictions on or even sanctions against the economic activities of other countries to safeguard its own interests at the expense of other countries. Moreover, using the pretext of environmental or labor protection, the United States often forcibly and substantially raises in international agreements the labor and production costs of emerging market countries, thus undermining the comparative advantages of emerging markets and distorting the allocation of global resources. What is more, the Biden administration no longer promotes market opening up. Rather, it tries to implement trade and investment protectionist measures around the world on the grounds of protecting its domestic workers and improving the resilience of supply chains. It can be seen that the so-called "rule-based international order" currently advanced by the United States is an order that completely ignores the overall interests of the world and the common interests of other countries in the world, and readily harms the overall interests of the world and the interests of other countries simply to realize its own interests.

The world needs a new set of international rules to realize the common interests of all countries in the world.

3. How to realize the common interests of all countries in the world through international rules?

Firstly, it is necessary to expressly state that international rules should aim at realizing the common interests of all countries in the world. It is normal for all countries to care about their own interests and attempt to advance their own interests in international exchanges. However, if countries only pursue their own interests, the common interests of the world will be ignored and cannot be realized. Therefore, good international rules should aim at the realization of common interests, and promote countries to maximally realize their own long-term interests in the process of realizing the common interests. 

Secondly, international rules cannot realize the interests of some countries at the expense of the interests of other countries. The practice of deliberately raising the labor costs of emerging market countries substantially through international agreements and the unilateral imposition of tariffs on and even sanctions against other countries based on domestic laws is a typical practice of benefiting oneself at the expense of others, which is a manifestation of hegemony. It will not only harm the interests of other countries and erode the common interests of the world, but also ultimately damage the interests of those who resort to such practice.

Finally, international rules should be sufficiently inclusive. Only by recognizing the differences between countries in civilization, system and level of development and other aspects can different countries be regarded as a whole and attention be truly paid to the common interests of the world. The inclusiveness of international rules requires that the world should not be artificially divided into different blocks on the grounds of ideology, social system and geopolitics. The inclusiveness of international rules also requires that countries with a high level of development bear certain capacity-building responsibilities for countries with a low level of development. The inclusiveness of international rules requires that international rules must be multilateral rules. Only inclusive international rules that embrace true multilateralism can truly realize the common interests of all countries in the world.

The author is Yao Zhizhong, Researcher Professor of the Institute of World Economics and Politics/National Institute for Global Strategy of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences

Source: Chinese Academy of Social Sciences