President Xi Jinping’s repeated calls for reform to global governance show he’s determined to put China on an equal footing with the US in managing world affairs, analysts say. The statements also indicated Beijing would pursue a new order that better reflected its increased economic clout, they said. Xi stressed the need to change the status quo in a speech at a study session of the decision-making Politburo on Tuesday. He made similar statements during his recent visit to the United States, where he held a summit with US President Barack Obama, and in his speech at the United Nations headquarters. Xi wants a world order in which no power is able to interfere in what China considers its ‘internal affairs’ Benjamin Herscovitch, China Policy “China wants to be recognised as an important player and the new order should also reflect the balance of developed/emerging economies,” said Jingdong Yuan, an associate professor at the University of Sydney’s Centre for International Security Studies. Benjamin Herscovitch, research manager of China Policy, a Beijing-based research and advisory company, said Xi’s vision “entails a relationship of equals between China and the United States”. Xi wanted a world where “Washington would no longer lecture Beijing from on high about human rights, cybersecurity and territorial disputes, and would instead recognise China’s so-called legitimate right to conduct its affairs as it sees fit”, Herscovitch said. “In short, Xi wants a world order in which no power is able to interfere in what China considers its ‘internal affairs’.” In his speech, Xi also called for new mechanisms and rules to govern international and regional economic cooperation. Yuan said Beijing wanted an order that reflected the change of economic balance in the world. Although the “US’ economic power has declined to a great extent, Washington still exercises enormous power in global finance”, Yuan said, pointing to the use of its dollars as a reserve currency and the influence its interest rate changes exert over the global economy. China wanted “an order that recognises both the new diffusion of power and diversity of different political, social and economic systems within the community of states”, he said. READ MORE: Japan joins India-US naval exercises in Indian Ocean where China is building its presence Herscovitch said Xi’s call for reform was consistent with China’s long-held view that international institutions should truly reflect the multi-polar character of the current world order. Analysts say Xi has tried to turn China into a voice for developing countries through such initiatives as the “One Belt, One Road” plan to forge new land and maritime economic corridors. Xi had recently been redoubling Chinese efforts to speak as a leader of developing countries around the world. “One key element of this is the claim that China’s own development initiatives, like ‘One Belt, One Road’,” he said. READ MORE: Talks between Beijing and Taipei end with no deal on air travel Since coming in to office, Xi has repeatedly called for China to redefine its relationship with the US and the rules of the global order. In the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis, many Chinese strategists concluded that China had emerged relatively stronger than the US, which was seen as being on an accelerating trajectory of inevitable decline. The West has often accused China of not being a “responsible stakeholder” internationally, but analysts say Beijing is reluctant to embrace institutions whose structures, leaders and policies were dictated by the West in the post-war era. READ MORE: China and Japan should move on from past, says Shinzo Abe, as countries agree system to avoid accidental clashes at sea Under Xi, Beijing has pushed assertive diplomatic and security policies and begun to influence those structures, they say. Yuan said a new order meant rules written 70 years ago in Bretton Woods and San Francisco should be rewritten. China wanted “to review, revise, and update rules”.