3 years on, China-proposed Global Development Initiative gathers momentum for speeding up modernization

A Chinese expert introduces desert plants to people from central Asian countries at a desert research station in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, June 13, 2023. [Xinhua/Zhou Shengbin]

As the world's largest developing country, China always considers its growth in the context of the common development of all humanity. The country has provided development assistance to over 160 countries.

BEIJING -- Three years ago, Chinese President Xi Jinping proposed the Global Development Initiative (GDI) at the general debate of the 76th session of the United Nations (UN) General Assembly, calling for building a consensus on pursuing development, promoting shared growth and helping accelerate the implementation of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

The initiative has since been continuously substantialized, its implementation mechanisms increasingly refined, and practical cooperation under its framework has gradually taken shape, thereby offering China's solution to bridging the development gap in Global South countries as well as building a better world together.

DEVELOPMENT AS PRIORITY

"The international community must pursue the larger interests of all countries, respond to people's concerns, and restore development to the center of the international agenda," said Xi at the BRICS-Africa Outreach and BRICS Plus Dialogue in Johannesburg, South Africa, in August 2023, once again urging countries to seek development together.

The GDI lists "prioritizing development" at the top of its six core concepts and principles, which aligns with the needs of the times and has received widespread recognition and active support from the international community.

More than 100 countries and many international organizations including the UN have supported and participated in the GDI. Additionally, more than 80 countries have joined the Group of Friends of the GDI.

As the world's largest developing country, China always considers its growth in the context of the common development of all humanity. The country has provided development assistance to over 160 countries.

At the opening ceremony of the second High-Level Conference of the Forum on Global Action for Shared Development held in July in Beijing, Vanuatu Prime Minister Charlot Salwai hailed his country's joining the Group of Friends of the GDI in early this year as another milestone in China-Vanuatu relations, referring to Vanuatu as a beneficiary of this initiative.

A demonstration center for the China-Africa (Ethiopia)-United Nations (UNIDO) Cooperation was established during this conference. UNIDO Director-General Gerd Muller said that the demonstration center, which focuses on industrialization, agricultural modernization and talent development, plays a significant role in sharing China's development experience, promoting advanced Chinese technologies and attracting investment.

Abu Bakr al-Deeb, an advisor to the Cairo-based Arab Center for Research and Studies, said the GDI "seeks to enhance world partnerships to be more just and balanced" and protects more people from the impacts of hunger, poverty, and conflict, which is particularly important when the world is facing many challenges and tensions.

Participants of the 2nd Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in Agriculture try local produce while visiting an agricultural science and technology innovation center in Sanya, south China's Hainan Province, Nov. 14, 2023. [Xinhua/Yang Guanyu]

HIGH-QUALITY DEVELOPMENT

The GDI has created a global open platform focused on poverty reduction, food security, development financing, climate change, green development and the digital economy, among other key areas.

These key areas "all speak to the development aspirations of emerging economies, most of which are based in Africa," said Cavince Adhere, a Kenyan specialist on international relations.

From providing food assistance and nutritional meals for impoverished women and children to promoting Juncao planting technology in over 100 countries, the initiative embodies the Chinese proverb that it "not only gives people fish but also teaches them how to fish."

"This initiative has not only enhanced global awareness of development issues but has also offered innovative solutions to address complex challenges such as poverty, infrastructure development, and climate change," Benjamin Mgana, chief editor of Foreign News of the Guardian in Tanzania, told Xinhua.

China has also promoted a large number of "small-scale yet impactful" projects under the framework of the GDI to create education and employment opportunities worldwide, such as teaching technical skills to Tajikistani youth through the Luban Workshop and helping Ethiopian women start businesses with the "replace plastic with bamboo" initiative.

Selcuk Colakoglu, director of the Ankara-based Turkish Center for Asia-Pacific Studies, said the GDI offers a model of high-quality growth for developing countries.

In Cuba, the three solar photovoltaic power stations built with Chinese assistance, each with a capacity of 4 megawatts, shine brightly under the Caribbean sun. Deborah Rivas, deputy minister of Foreign Trade and Investment of Cuba, said the project holds great significance to Cuba's national economy and its people.

The GDI also provides opportunities for many companies in fields such as green energy and artificial intelligence, where China is playing an increasingly important role, said Bernard Dewit, chairman of the Belgian-Chinese Chamber of Commerce.

People attend a seminar themed "Strengthening Sino-African Relations: Reflections on Two Decades of FOCAC" at the University of Nairobi in Nairobi, Kenya, on Sept. 13, 2024. The seminar was held to assess milestones achieved since the inception of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) more than two decades ago. [Xinhua/Wang Guansen]

SOUTH-SOUTH COOPERATION

During the 2024 Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) held earlier this month in Beijing, development was a keyword that resonated throughout the three-day event, with participating countries expressing their unified support for the GDI.

The GDI is highly compatible with the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the African Union's Agenda 2063 and the development strategies of African countries, and "has injected strong impetus into common development across the world," said a joint statement on deepening cooperation between China and Africa within the framework of the GDI released during the summit.

Under the initiative, China has upgraded the Global Development and South-South Cooperation Fund, increasing its capital to 4 billion U.S. dollars. The total number of global development projects established has surpassed 1,000, with over 500 projects completed or currently in implementation.

In South-South cooperation, China never attaches any political conditions and consistently offers sincere support for developing countries to enhance their self-development capabilities, while continually exploring new fields and methods for collaboration.

China was the first to explicitly support the African Union's membership in the Group of 20, calling for greater representation of developing countries in global decision-making bodies.

It also remains committed to developing and improving multilateral cooperation frameworks such as the BRICS and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization to amplify the voice of developing countries in international affairs.

Madagascar's President Andry Rajoelina told Xinhua in a recent interview that China has demonstrated a "constant commitment" to Africa's development and opened up new prospects for countries including Madagascar in key areas such as infrastructure and industrialization.

With the joint efforts of the Global South, "we can not only accelerate our own development but also make a significant contribution to building a fairer, more multipolar world," he added.