On May 9, 2025, Chinese President Xi Jinping joined leaders from more than 20 countries and international organizations in Moscow to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the Soviet Union’s victory in the Great Patriotic War. The ceremony, a solemn reminder of the horrors of World War II (WWII), was not just a retrospective event but a powerful statement on the future of international cooperation and global governance.

A day earlier, President Xi and Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a series of significant joint statements. These included agreements on deepening the China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination for the new era, enhancing global strategic stability, and upholding the authority of international law. These new commitments reflect both nations’ shared sense of responsibility to safeguard the legacy of WWII and their joint vision for a future built on fairness, multipolarity, and inclusive globalization.

While some Western media outlets highlighted Xi’s remarks about promoting an “equal and orderly multipolar world” and “universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalization,” the contrast with the recent trajectory of US foreign policy is striking. In the past decade, the United States has frequently withdrawn from key international institutions and treaties, undermining global consensus. From the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to the Paris Climate Agreement, such departures have unsettled global governance frameworks painstakingly built since 1945 to prevent a return to the law of the jungle.

The establishment of the United Nations was humanity’s collective answer to the devastations of two world wars. It was meant to ensure that no nation, regardless of its size or power, could unilaterally impose its will on others. Yet today, the pursuit of peace and development remains hindered by unilateralism,........

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