Full text: Address by Chinese Premier Li Qiang at the high-level meeting on the Global Development Initiative

UNITED NATIONS -- Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Tuesday delivered a speech at the high-level meeting on the Global Development Initiative.

The following is the full text of the speech:

Address by H.E. Li Qiang

Premier of the State Council of the People's Republic of China

At the High-Level Meeting on the Global Development Initiative

New York, September 23, 2025

Your Excellency Secretary General Antonio Guterres,

Your Excellencies Heads of State and Government,

Distinguished Guests,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Friends,

Development is a timeless theme for human society. At its very inception, the United Nations embedded the promotion of global development into its Charter. In the ensuing eight decades, all parties worked together to advance global development and achieved remarkable outcomes. The Global Development Initiative (GDI) put forward by President Xi Jinping at the UN General Assembly in 2021 aims to advance the broadest common interests of all humanity. It lays out six core principles that parties should uphold and plays an important role in spearheading shared development. To date, over 130 countries and international organizations have taken part in the implementation of the GDI, making it a widely supported global public good. Today, we are gathered here for the High-Level Meeting on the GDI to build greater consensus and foster greater synergy for development.

A review of history shows that when countries worked together in solidarity for shared benefits, global development would advance steadily and everyone would gain; when zero-sum mentality reared its head and division and confrontation rose, global development would come to a halt and everyone would lose. Currently, unilateralism and protectionism are on the rise, international cooperation on development is under serious strain, drivers for global economic growth become weaker, and the contest for available resources is heating up. To solve the many problems we now face, we must remain committed to development, dedicate all our efforts to it and work together to make the pie bigger. China stands ready to work with all parties to further implement the GDI, advance the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development at a faster pace, and reinvigorate global development.

First, we need to foster a stable and open international environment for development. Peace and stability underpin development and prosperity; openness and cooperation sustain economic growth. The overarching trends of multipolarity and economic globalization are irreversible. Decoupling, severing supply chains and bloc confrontation would only hurt the global economy, disrupt global order and create greater risks. We should jointly safeguard the UN-centered international system, uphold multilateralism and free trade, build an open world economy, and promote global development that is more dynamic.

Second, we need to build balanced and universally beneficial partnerships for development. Behind the growing North-South development gap in recent years are the inequalities and inequity in rights, opportunities and rules. Certain developed countries are reluctant to fulfill their pledges of development financing, and even cut off funding to global development institutions, which has seriously undermined North-South cooperation. More concrete actions are needed to promote universally beneficial and inclusive development. The North and the South should work in concert. Developed countries, in particular, need to fulfill their obligations, give more consideration to the needs of developing countries and actively address unbalanced and inadequate development.

Third, we need to cultivate future-oriented drivers for innovation-driven development. At present, rapid advances in technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and big data are becoming a powerful driver of global development. We need to seize the opportunities to enhance international cooperation on scientific and technological innovation, and oppose such moves as putting up walls and barriers and blocking the flow of technology. We need to explore the vast blue ocean of development and jointly cultivate and strengthen new drivers for economic growth. It is important to remove digital and AI divides, and speed up technology transfer and knowledge sharing, so that innovation-driven development can truly benefit the world as a whole.

Fourth, we need to promote green and low-carbon development with greater sustainability. Climate change, environmental degradation and overconsumption of resources are major challenges facing the world. Development is in urgent need of a green transition. Climate and ecosystem know no borders, and homeland Earth should be jointly preserved. We must strengthen the alignment of green development strategies, enhance global industrial collaboration in new energy, energy conservation and environmental protection, and circular use of resources, and work together to pursue more sustainable development underpinned by harmony between human and nature.

Over the decades, China has been doing its best to contribute to global development. Going forward, China will remain committed to supporting and promoting common development, take more proactive actions, and shoulder its due responsibilities.

China will continue to increase input in global development. In the past four years, with China's vigorous efforts, the GDI mobilized over 23 billion U.S. dollars to support the development and invigoration of the Global South, and launched more than 1,800 cooperation projects. In the next five years, China will implement another 2,000 "small and beautiful" livelihood projects in developing countries, and work with relevant countries and the World Health Organization to carry out more health projects. China will also continue to contribute funds to the "China Program" at the World Trade Organization (WTO) to help least developed countries integrate into the global trading system. Here, I would like to solemnly declare that as a responsible major developing country, China will not seek new special and differential treatment in current and future negotiations at the WTO.

China will continue to strengthen scientific and technological cooperation to empower global development. Over the years, China has readily shared its scientific and technological innovation outcomes, and advanced the AI Capacity-Building Action Plan for Good and for All, to help countries across the Global South enhance digital and intelligence capabilities. In July this year, China proposed the establishment of the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization. On behalf of the Chinese government, I wish to use this opportunity to put forward a new AI+ International Cooperation Initiative. We warmly welcome participation from all sides. In the next five years, China will establish a funding program dedicated to digital capacity-building within the Global Development Capital Pool to support the "Digital South" initiative under the GDI. China will also initiate an International Alliance of Sustainable Development Satellites to provide solid support of space observation data for global development.

China will continue to promote the green transition of global development. China has established the largest and most complete new energy industrial chain in the world, and enabled the cost reduction for global wind and photovoltaic power generation by over 60 and 80 percent respectively in the past decade. To date, China has carried out green energy cooperation projects with over 100 countries and regions, providing strong support for green development in the local communities. China will continue to make its contributions to filling the "green gap" of the world through the stable supply of its high-quality new energy products. In addition, over the next five years, China will carry out 200 maritime development cooperation projects to support small island countries in boosting sustainable development capacity, and implement a Clean Stove Project in developing countries to contribute to a clean, beautiful and sustainable world.

In the never-ending process of development, cooperation leads to a better future. With five years remaining, the implementation of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is on the home straight. With the GDI as a platform, China is ready to work with all countries to continuously deepen global development cooperation, and jointly create a better and more prosperous world.