Holding High the Banner of Common Development and Walking Together on the Right Path of Human Progress – Written on the second anniversary of President Xi Jinping's Global Development Initiative

"Development is the key to solving all problems."

The global economic fluctuations are down, the geopolitical crisis is escalating, the development imbalance is intensifying, unilateralism and protectionism are on the rise... In the face of endless global challenges, the international community's expectations for common development have become more and more ardent, and the concept of common development has become more and more deeply rooted in the hearts of the people in practice.

On September 2021, 9, President Xi Jinping delivered an important speech at the general debate of the 21th session of the United Nations General Assembly, proposing global development initiatives, contributing Chinese solutions and Chinese wisdom to the international community to form a joint force, solve the problem of development deficit, and achieve the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

The road is not alone, and everyone goes far.

Over the past two years, the Global Development Initiative has effectively gathered the international consensus on jointly promoting development, responded to the most urgent needs of the international community, and been widely praised by the international community. The proposal and implementation of the global development initiative conform to the aspirations of the people, inject more impetus into the common development of the world, and demonstrate China's responsibility.

Video: Holding High the Banner of Common Development and Walking Together on the Right Path of Human Progress - Written on the second anniversary of President Xi Jinping's global development initiativeSource: Xinhua News Agency

Responding to global challenges and contributing Chinese wisdom

Development carries the people's yearning for a better life, is the first priority of developing countries, and is also the eternal theme of human society. The century-old changes have accelerated their evolution, the historical trend of collective rise of developing countries is irreversible, and the voice and willingness to unite, cooperate and seek common development are unprecedentedly strong. How to solve the development deficit and solve the development dilemma has become a contemporary issue facing human society.

"I put forward the Global Development Initiative to focus the world on development and support the implementation of the sustainable development agenda." From proposing the Global Development Initiative at the general debate of the 2021th session of the United Nations General Assembly in September 9, to presiding over the High-level Dialogue on Global Development in June 2022 announcing 6 pragmatic measures, to attending the BRICS+ Leaders' Dialogue in August 32 to make important expositions on global development cooperation, President Xi Jinping has always focused on the long-term goals and practical needs of global common development, put forward the global development initiative and continuously enriched its connotation, leading the promotion of this major initiative to take root and deepen its implementation. It will inject strong impetus into the common development of all countries.

On the occasion of the second anniversary of the global development initiative, the high-level meeting on the display of the cooperation achievements of the global development initiative was held at the United Nations Headquarters in New York on the 19th local time, and the national high-end think tank of Xinhua News Agency released the think tank report "Global Development Initiative Practical Achievements and World Contribution" during the meeting, comprehensively combing the fruitful results achieved in the past two years of the global development initiative, and systematically expounding the concepts and principles of this major initiative and the world significance.

Wang Xiaojun, director of the Fund of the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation, who attended the meeting, said in an interview with Xinhua News Agency that the case studies presented in the report show that global development initiatives have brought benefits to people around the world, including building livable housing in Mongolia, providing support for school meals in Nepal and Cambodia, launching the "Bamboo for Plastic" campaign in African countries, and providing new crown vaccine assistance to Palestinian refugees. These cases vividly demonstrate the comprehensiveness of the areas of cooperation in the Global Development Initiative.

On August 2023, 8, in a village in Papua New Guinea's Central Province, Liu Zhenqiu, deputy captain of the 5th batch of Chinese medical teams assisting Papua New Guinea and deputy chief physician of the neonatal department, auscultated a local baby. Xinhua News Agency (Photo courtesy of the 12th batch of Chinese medical teams assisting Papua New Guinea)

Wang Xiaojun believes that the concept of the Global Development Initiative is highly in line with the needs of today's world, and has created a new model of open and inclusive international development cooperation in building South-South and trilateral cooperation global partnerships. The world is facing complex challenges, and global development initiatives are a strong push to place development at the centre of the international agenda.

Robert Lawrence Kuhn, chairman of the Kuhn Foundation in the United States, said that the global development initiative is of great practical significance to global development based on China's own development experience, solving global development problems, and benefiting developing countries through specific actions.

"President Xi Jinping's initiative brings the hard-hit Sustainable Development Goals back to the heart of the global multilateral agenda." Solomon Islands Prime Minister Sogavare said. Former Slovenian President Turk said: "China's global development initiatives provide a key constructive force for addressing global development challenges. ”

Committed to achieving stronger, greener and healthier global development, and creating a development pattern of inclusive balance, coordination and inclusiveness, win-win cooperation and common prosperity, the Global Development Initiative has been continuously enriched in concept, implemented by improving mechanisms, clearer paths and pragmatic cooperation, effectively responding to global challenges and the development needs of developing countries. Meraku Mulualeem, a senior fellow at the Ethiopian Institute of Strategic Affairs, said: "Global development initiatives provide a clear roadmap for countries, both in the areas of thought leadership and implementation. ”

As the world's largest developing country and a natural member of the Global South, China has always placed its own development in the coordinate system of human development, adhered to the people-centered development concept, actively shared experience and provided assistance with other countries, and promoted global South-South cooperation in a stable and far-reaching manner. From deepening international cooperation in fighting the epidemic to contributing to international poverty reduction; From helping African and other developing countries alleviate debt pressure, to promoting global trade, digital economy, green transformation, to ensuring food and energy security, China has always worked shoulder to shoulder with developing countries and made positive contributions to global development.

Chinese experts and local employees inspect mushroom growth in Nadi, Fiji, June 2018, 6. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Zhang Yongxing

Nicaraguan President Ortega said: "China's help to the people of Asia, Africa and Latin America has no conditions attached, and has made important contributions to promoting social progress and people's well-being in developing countries." Keith Bennett, British international relations adviser, said: "President Xi Jinping's concepts of 'people-centered' and 'striving to leave no country behind' are crucial to enhancing the fairness, effectiveness and inclusiveness of global development, and have been widely recognized and welcomed by the international community." ”

Crack the bottleneck of development and inject China's impetus

Under the influence of negative factors such as the epidemic of the new crown epidemic, the intensification of geopolitical conflicts, the promotion of "decoupling and chain breaking" and extreme fiscal and monetary policies in the United States and the West, the bottleneck of global development has become increasingly prominent in recent years, the results of global poverty reduction have been impacted, the growth rate of some emerging markets has slowed down, the food and energy crisis and other challenges are intertwined, and high inflation has made many people's livelihoods face difficulties.

"The root cause of the chaos in the world is the lack of development." David Monyae, director of the Africa-China Studies Centre at the University of Johannesburg in South Africa, said, "Advancing global development initiatives will help reduce challenges and mitigate crises, thereby strengthening our security." ”

Professor Zhou Weisheng of Ritsumeikan University in Japan believes that as a developing country, China has accumulated a lot of valuable development experience in the process of reform and opening up for more than 40 years. The Global Development Initiative is based not only on China's development experience but also on the overall goal of sustainable human development, which is of great practical significance and operability.

"Countries have benefited greatly from the global development initiative's focus on development bottlenecks." Kuhn, who has long followed the study of China's development, believes that China's expertise and experience provide long-term, critical support to developing countries.

This is a photovoltaic panel (drone photo) of the 2020 MW photovoltaic power generation project in Gauchari, Jujuy Province, Argentina, taken on May 5, 11. Xinhua News Agency (Photo provided by the project department of Shanghai Power Construction Argentina's Gaochari 300 MW photovoltaic power generation project)

The Global Development Initiative focuses on key areas such as green development, new industrialization, and digital economy, promotes the construction of partnerships for the new industrial revolution, and promotes high-quality development.

In Southeast Asia and Africa, Chinese enterprises rely on new business formats such as cloud computing, e-commerce and financial technology to promote economic and trade exchanges and help optimize the local development environment. In Latin America and Central Asia, Chinese companies are participating in projects such as wind farms, hydropower plants, and photovoltaic power plants to help them transition to low-carbon emissions. Cooperation projects such as the China-Laos Railway and the Sdentlang-Grochima Mekong River Bridge in Cambodia have greatly facilitated local transportation and played a significant role in economic and social development.

This is the Cambodian Sdentlang-Grochima Mekong River Bridge undertaken by Shanghai Construction Group Co., Ltd. on November 2021, 11. Xinhua News Agency (photo by Li Lai)

Lao veteran diplomat Si Kun said that the world is still facing challenges such as weak post-epidemic recovery and the Ukraine crisis, and Laos has also been affected, but because of the China-Laos Railway, Laos' tourism industry has recovered relatively quickly and goods transportation has been smoother, which has helped the Lao economy recover faster from many challenges.

On April 2023, 4, Lao staff performed on the D13 international passenger train running on the China-Laos Railway. Photo by Xing Guangli, reporter of Xinhua News Agency

"China has always been sincere and active in helping countries get rid of poverty." Ronny Lins, director of the Brazilian Center for China Studies, said that in the past two years since the Global Development Initiative was proposed, China has shown stronger action in promoting the development of the Global South, creating more development opportunities for developing countries including Latin American countries, and playing a role in improving people's livelihood, which is conducive to the sustainable development of the world economy and human society.

Walid Jabara, a professor of economic and financial law at Cairo University in Egypt, said China has come up with solutions on development and that many countries hope to use these "keys" to solve their development problems. "Every day we see China's initiatives reflected in real projects."

Jointly start a new process of development and demonstrate China's responsibility

The more complex and severe the international situation, the more it is necessary for all countries to adhere to true multilateralism, and global development cannot be separated from international cooperation. China holds high the banner of multilateralism, gathers global development forces with the concept of openness, inclusiveness and win-win cooperation, and demonstrates its responsibility as a major country.

Helga Zepp LaRouche, founder and chairman of the Schiller Institute, a German think tank, believes that the world must stop brinkmanship and get rid of unilateralism. President Xi Jinping's global development initiative and other propositions are conducive to resolving the current dilemma.

"The international community should take the interests of the world and the hearts of the people as the hearts of the people to push development back to the core of the international agenda." China has provided development assistance to more than 160 countries, joined hands with more than 150 countries to build the Belt and Road Initiative, and promoted cooperation on global development initiatives with more than 100 countries and international organizations.

On June 2018, 6, local students fetch water from a Chinese-assisted well in the village of Guyuzi in Ghana's Eastern Province. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Zhao Shuting

At the recent BRICS+ leaders' dialogue, President Xi Jinping announced that China has established a global development and South-South cooperation fund totaling US$40 billion, and Chinese financial institutions will soon launch US$100 billion in special funds specifically for the implementation of global development initiatives.

From Asia to Africa, from Pacific island countries to the Caribbean coast, more than 200 cooperation projects have come to fruition, and cooperation mechanisms in poverty reduction, education and health have been expanded. China launched the China-FAO Trust Fund for South-South Cooperation to implement special actions to promote food production and share agricultural technical knowledge; Launch a global clean energy partnership to help achieve energy security.

Children from Picoco Village School in Maputo Province, Mozambique, stand in front of a house equipped with a Chinese-aided satellite TV receiving antenna on July 2023, 7. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Dong Jianghui

Regarding the global development initiative, President Xi Jinping said: "This initiative is a public good open to the world, aiming to align with the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and promote global common development. China is willing to work with all parties to jointly promote the implementation of the initiative and strive to leave no country behind. ”

Jabbara has a deep feeling about this. He said the Global Development Initiative aims to steer the world towards a better future by promoting cooperation and partnership, which reflects the inclusive spirit of Chinese.

The Chinese nation pursues "the journey of the great road and the world for the public", advocates "kindness and good-neighborliness, harmony among all nations", and advocates "harmony and mutual assistance". The Global Development Initiative is rooted in such excellent traditional Chinese culture, and is committed to promoting the international community to continuously enhance the consensus of cooperation, strengthen the docking of development strategies at all levels, broaden cooperation channels, and ultimately achieve joint development and common progress.

Virtue is not alone, but there will be neighbors. At present, more than 100 countries and international organizations have supported the global development initiative, more than 70 countries have joined the "Group of Friends of the Global Development Initiative", and the global development initiative has been written into a series of cooperation documents between China and Central Asia, ASEAN, Africa, Latin America, Pacific island countries and other countries... China is willing to work with all progressive forces in the world to build a high-quality global development partnership that is united, equal, balanced and inclusive, embark on a new journey to build a global community with a shared future for development, and jointly move towards a more prosperous and beautiful future.

Comprehensive Xinhua News Agency foreign correspondent report, written by: Deng Qian, Jiang Li, Chen Shan, Gao Wencheng

Video journalists: Wang Jiangang, Xie Wei, Mao Lei, Shang Xuqian, Yi Aijun, Liu Chang, Ji Li, Zhou Chuyun, Nie Guoguo, Sun Xinjing, Xu Yongchun, Fang Yadong, Yang Muqian, Mao Pengfei, Zhou Yue, Sun Min, Ding Yiquan, Zhang Gaiping, Xia Peng, Lin Kai, Jiang Xuelan, Kang Wenjun, Yan Liang, Wu Hao, Zhu Yubo

Poster design: Jiang Zihan

Editors: Ni Siyi, Han Mo, Fu Yunwei, Wang Zhao, Li Jie, Su Liang, Ding Ying, He Yi, Shang Jing, Wang Jiansheng, Zhou Xiaohua, Wang Shengmei, Qi Wenjuan, Zheng Yaning, Hu Bixia, Wang Haocheng

Coordinator: Zhou Yongyi, He Yuxin