Beijing, Oct 13 (IANS): President Xi Jinping on Tuesday stressed the urgency to strengthen global governance and reform the system under the backdrop of increasing global challenges.

The reform, "an irresistible trend", is about "laying down rules for the international order and mechanisms" and "deciding in which direction the world will head", Xinhua quoted Xi as saying at a study session of the Communist Party of China Central Committee.

"It is not simply a case of competing for the high ground of economic development but what roles and functions nations will play in the long-term systemic arrangement of international order," said Xi.

The rise of developing countries has brought "revolutionary changes" to the world order. For centuries, powerful countries divided the world and competed for profits and power through war and colonisation, but that has been replaced in today's world by setting down rules and mechanisms to balance interests, he said.

"Today, more than at any time before, countries need to negotiate. Problems are not limited within borders and challenges can not be handled by any country alone," the president said.