China's initiatives on development, security conducive to world peace, prosperity

BEIJING -- With the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China opening on Sunday, the world is paying close attention to the programs of action and overarching policies that will be formulated during the landmark event.

When delivering a key report to the CPC congress, Xi Jinping said China has always been committed to its foreign policy goals of upholding world peace and promoting common development, reiterating the country's dedication to promoting a human community with a shared future.

The world has once again reached a crossroads in history, and its future course will be decided by all the world's peoples, he said.

In the face of headwinds from setbacks in economic globalization, the COVID-19 pandemic and flare-ups of regional conflicts, global collective efforts are in urgent need to address growing deficit in peace, development, trust and governance. Against such backdrop, Xi has proposed the Global Development Initiative (GDI) and the Global Security Initiative (GSI).

Offering Chinese wisdom to human society standing at a crossroads, the two initiatives have been greeted with applause from the international community.

BRIDGING DEVELOPMENT GAPS

Development is at the top of governance agenda and the perennial theme of human society.

Epitomizing Xi's global vision and people-centered philosophy, the GDI aims to focus global attention on development, foster global development partnership, and achieve more robust, greener and more balanced global development.

Targeting the deficit of development, it aims to overcome the challenges brought by the pandemic and accelerate the implementation of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

"The holistic Global Development Initiative is a valued contribution to addressing common challenges and accelerating the transition to a more sustainable and inclusive future," said UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

Putting the people front and center, a fundamental pursuit of the initiative is to meet the aspirations of people around the world for a better life and realize the common values of humanity.

To that end, China has been walking the talk.

In January, China launched the Group of Friends of the GDI at the United Nations, and over 60 countries have joined it. In the same month, China launched Phase III of the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization)-China South-South Cooperation Trust Fund with a total amount of 50 million U.S. dollars, providing considerable resources for international cooperation in poverty reduction and food security.

In February, the China-Pacific Island Countries Climate Action Cooperation Center was inaugurated to support relevant countries in enhancing their capacity to cope with climate change.

The GDI is "a 'remobilization' of world development cooperation and a 'reaffirmation' of the people-oriented concept," said Fahd Almenei, researcher with the Center for Research and Intercommunication Knowledge of Saudi Arabia.

COMMON SECURITY

"With peace, a country enjoys prosperity, just as with rain, the land can flourish," Xi once quoted an Uzbek proverb.

The world today is not a peaceful place. And rivalry between two sets of policy choices -- unity or division, cooperation or confrontation -- is getting more acute.

Deeming that humanity is an indivisible security community, Xi proposed the Global Security Initiative to create a new path to security featuring dialogue over confrontation, partnership over alliance and win-win over zero-sum.

The GSI, which emphasizes the need for common, comprehensive, cooperative, and sustainable security, provides the right guiding philosophy to ensure global peace and security, said David Monyae, director of the Center for Africa-China Studies at the University of Johannesburg.

"The China-proposed Global Security Initiative is crucial as it comes at a critical time when the world is grappling with multiple crises," Monyae said.

Sergei Lukonin, head of the Department of Chinese Politics and Economics at the Institute of World Economy and International Relations of the Russian Academy of Sciences, said the GSI "can certainly bring additional new directions for the peaceful development of the whole world."

"I believe that the GSI will help build an indivisible, just and equitable security global community," said Joseph Matthews, a senior professor at the BELTEI International University in Phnom Penh.

CHINESE SOLUTION

As Xi has said, "only when countries develop together can there be true development; only when countries prosper together can there be true prosperity."

As a builder of world peace, a contributor to global development, a defender of the international order, and a provider of public goods, China has been committed to promoting the development of its own and the whole world at large.

China will continue to follow the Chinese path to modernization to achieve the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, and will continue to promote the building of a human community with a shared future, Xi has said.

"By doing so, we will create new opportunities for the world with new advances in China's development and contribute our vision and strength to world peace and development and human progress," he added.

Commenting on the two important initiatives, Sudheendra Kulkarni, former chairman of the Mumbai-based think-tank Observer Research Foundation, said the GDI and the GSI presented by China are of immense benefit to the international community.

"These initiatives are noble ones because they are in the interest of the whole mankind" and look for "the contribution of all countries in order to sustain peace and stability in the world and in order to work all together for the common interest," said Algerian Ambassador to China Hassane Rabehi.

In a highly interconnected world where non-traditional threats are more challenging, countries can promote peace and preserve the gains of development only through common development and cooperation, said Pramod Jaiswal, research director of Nepal Institute for International Cooperation and Engagement.

Therefore, China's vision of building a human community with a shared future is peculiarly worth appreciation, Jaiswal observed, voicing confidence that China has been playing a crucial role and will encourage more participation in the cause.