The West is making a grave strategic error by blocking reforms to global economic institutions, former diplomat and geopolitical consultant Kishore Mahbubani warned, arguing that clinging to outdated structures as the global economic balance shifts toward Asia is both "unwise" and against the West's long-term interests.

"The biggest structural change is happening, and this is in some ways the end of a 200-year cycle," said Mahbubani, founding dean of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore. "We're seeing the end of the era of Western domination of world history, and simultaneously the return of Asia."

Speaking at a side event during the annual Boao Forum for Asia on Wednesday, Mahbubani urged policymakers to look beyond short-term pressures. "So if global economic governance wants to adapt, it doesn't have to just adapt to short-term pressures. It's got to adapt to long-term structural changes," he said.

To illustrate the scale of the shift, Mahbubani pointed to a comparison: In 2000, the combined gross national product of the European Union was six times larger than China's. Today, the EU and China are roughly the same size. However, the EU holds about 26 to 27 percent of voting power in the International Monetary Fund, while China has about 6 percent.

He described this as resistance to a new global reality. "This is an example of how the West is resisting change, resisting adaptation to a new structural order," he said.

Mahbubani's message to Western countries was direct. "The West is being very unwise in not allowing the reform of the current institutions and giving greater space to China and other countries in the Global South," he said.

He noted that major global governance institutions such as the IMF, the World Bank and the World Trade Organization were all created by the West. "The conceptual foundations on which they rest are Western," he said.

Mahbubani argued that calls from the Global South for a greater voice in these institutions "are actually doing the West a favor".

When new powers rise, he said, they could choose to reject existing institutions and build new ones. Instead, China and other Global South countries are seeking to reform the current system.

"They simply want to reform it and adapt it to the new order," he said.

"So I hope that as a result of our meeting, we can persuade our friends in the West that it is actually in the West's longer-term interests to allow greater entry of Global South voices into these institutions," he added.

Echoing the theme of a shifting global landscape, Zhang Donggang, Party secretary of Renmin University of China, said the rise of Global South nations "has become an irreversible trend of the times".

"The greater the global economic turbulence, the more Global South countries must play their part. The deeper the world's governance reforms, the more their wisdom must be felt," he said.

"Faced with the severe challenges of deficits in peace, development and governance, Global South countries should become leaders in promoting harmony among world civilizations, contributors to global economic growth, reformers of international governance rules, pioneers in world peace and development, and builders of a community with a shared future for mankind," Zhang said.

He also highlighted the role of universities in shaping the future.

"The mission of a university is not only to solve the problems of today but also to shape the future, striving to become a force that shapes the common values of all humanity," Zhang said.

He stressed the importance of cultivating politically sound young talent and professionals for global governance, strengthening knowledge innovation to reinforce the foundations of global civilizational progress, and advancing technological and industrial transformation to generate momentum for human development.

houliqiang@chinadaily.com.cn