World wants 'justice, not hegemony' - Xi Jinping

China’s president Xi Jinping has called for a shake up global governance, including challenging the existing hegemony of big countries.

In a speech to the annual Boao Forum for Asia, Xi said some countries wanted to “build barriers and decouple works against economic and market principles”, actions with few benefits that would only hurt other nations.

“The world wants justice, not hegemony,” he said. “A big country should look like a big country by showing that it is shouldering more responsibility.” Global governance, Xi added, should be “a community with a shared future for mankind”, Reuters reported.

Xi did not name any countries, but commentators took his remarks to be largely directed at America. Chinese officials have previously referred to US hegemony when criticising the influence Washington asserts on the global stage.

China, one of the world's largest economies, has been widely criticised by many in the international community, most notably for perceived human right abuses in Hong Kong and its treatment of Muslim Uighurs in the Xinjiang region. Washington and Beijing also became embroiled in a bitter trade war under the Trump administration.

China, however, believes global governance is too concentrated in the hands of a few major nations, and has long argued that it should instead reflect a wider range of perspectives from across the international community.

According to Bloomberg, Xi told the Forum: “International affairs should be conducted by way of negotiations and discussions, and the future destiny of the world should be decided by all countries.

“One or a few countries shouldn’t impose their rules on other countries, and the world shouldn't be led on by the unilateralism of a few countries.”