Chinese foreign minister says organisation will transcend ‘you-lose-I-win’ zero-sum mindsets and improve representation of Global South
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi led a landmark signing ceremony in Hong Kong on Friday to set up the world’s first intergovernmental organisation on mediation, as he urged countries to go beyond zero-sum mindsets and improve representation of the Global South.
Most of the 33 signatories of the Convention on the Establishment of the International Organisation for Mediation were African countries, such as Algeria, Ethiopia and Cameroon. Alongside them were five countries – including Pakistan, Laos and Indonesia – from Asia, five from Latin America and the Caribbean, five from Oceania and two from Europe.
Wang, China’s top diplomat, said the new legal body would fill the “institutional gap” in international mediation and serve as “an important public good” in the field of the rule of law, ensuring better global governance.
“The birth of the mediation centre will help transcend the ‘you-lose-I-win’ zero-sum mentality, promote the amicable resolution of international disputes and foster more harmonious international relations,” Wang told the audience of legal experts and diplomats.
