Jeffrey Sachs Photo: Courtesy of Sachs

By Leonardo Sobreira

September 7, 2025

Economist Jeffrey Sachs, one of the world's most prominent public intellectuals, said in an interview with TV 247 that China's recently announced Global Governance Initiative marks an unprecedented step toward building an alternative, multipolar, and more equitable world order.

The initiative was launched during the latest summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in Tianjin, China. Sachs argued the gathering sent a clear signal to the US.

"The Tianjin meeting of the SCO once again said: 'No, thank you. We're here.' The global majority is coming together, whether through the SCO or the BRICS, and telling the US: 'Stop pointing fingers at us. We won't accept impositions,'" Sachs told journalist Leonardo Sobreira.

China as a global innovation leader

Sachs emphasized that China has achieved the position of global leader in innovation across highly competitive industries through sustained economic and political effort.

"China has the world's largest industrial base. It produces solar modules, electric vehicles, green shipping, hydrogen infrastructure, high-speed rail… They've made extraordinary progress, moving from poverty to prosperity, from a technology user to a technology innovator. They worked hard to reach this point, and they saved extensively — which is also crucial," he said.

According to Sachs, China's financial reserves have allowed it to fund large-scale overseas investment more efficiently than the US, particularly through its Belt and Road Initiative.

"China used part of these savings to help other countries finance their investments. That's the Belt and Road Initiative. It makes sense for China to invest abroad, not just at home. If those investments yield good returns, it's a smart move... Claims that the program creates unsustainable debt are really expressions of envy. The US lacks this capacity and couldn't do anything similar. China deserves praise for using its savings to promote global development. This is a wonderful program that should be expanded," Sachs said.

An alternative vision for global governance

Sachs added that Beijing offers a genuine alternative for global governance rooted in the United Nations and free trade.

"China doesn't say it will lead — it says it will help build a world centered on the United Nations, sovereignty, noninterference in domestic affairs, open trade, and ecological civilization," Sachs noted. "There's no doubt: what we're witnessing is the end of a Western-led world. The reality is multipolarity."

The SCO summit

The SCO summit, the largest in the organization's history, was held in Tianjin from August 31 to September 1. More than 20 foreign leaders, along with representatives of international organizations, attended the meeting.

Founded in 2001, the SCO includes China, Russia, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Pakistan, Uzbekistan and Belarus. Observer states include Afghanistan and Mongolia, while dialogue partners range from Azerbaijan, Armenia and Egypt to Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Sri Lanka.

(Reported by Brasil 247 on September 7, 2025)