Ecosystem of shared growth

China is connecting its domestic transformation with the aspirations of other developing nations across the Global South

China's newly proposed Global Governance Initiative is more than a diplomatic gesture to mark the 80th anniversary of the United Nations. It represents a blueprint for a new ecosystem of shared growth, where development, sustainability and cooperation are woven together. The initiative signals China's determination to help reform the global governance system, fostering a model of inclusive progress and connecting its domestic transformation with the aspirations of other developing nations across the Global South.

The fourth plenary session of the 20th Communist Party of China Central Committee unveiled its Recommendations for Formulating the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30)for National Economic and Social Development, outlining the next stage of China's economic and social transformation. Anchored in technological innovation, the green transition and high-quality growth, the 15th Five-Year Plan will define how China develops its economy and further contributes to the architecture of global governance and sustainable development across the Global South over the next five years.

This alignment of China's domestic strategy and global governance comes at a time when the world faces the intertwined challenges of climate change, debt distress and widening inequality. Emerging economies are struggling to industrialize without replicating the carbon-intensive models of the past. In this complex landscape, China's series of initiatives — the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative, the Global Civilization Initiative and the Global Governance Initiative — offer a comprehensive framework for "shared modernization" grounded in connectivity, innovation and sustainability.

Nowhere is this vision more vividly embodied than in the deepening China-Africa partnership, an evolving relationship that captures the promise of this new ecosystem. Take the China-Nigeria partnership as an example. Nigeria, one of Africa's largest economies and a pivotal force in the continent's energy and industrial future, has become one of China's most important partners in Africa. Bilateral trade reached a record high of $22.5 billion in 2023. The momentum has only intensified: between January and July 2025, trade surged 34.7 percent year-on-year to $15.48 billion. This rapid expansion makes Nigeria China's third-largest African trading partner, underscoring the growing strategic significance of the relationship.

Beyond the impressive numbers, this partnership reveals a structural transformation: a gradual shift from raw material exports toward deeper cooperation in infrastructure, manufacturing and renewable energy. It mirrors China's own evolution under successive five-year plans, where industrial policy, technology and sustainability became intertwined. For Nigeria, this alignment offers a window to learn from China's path — harnessing industrial cooperation and the green transition to drive inclusive growth.

China's cumulative investment in Nigeria surpassed $2 billion by the end of 2024, spanning large-scale projects such as the Lekki Free Trade Zone, Ogun-Guangdong Free Trade Zone, and major rail, road and power infrastructure projects. These projects have generated thousands of jobs while enabling local supply chains, technology transfer and training programs. They also illustrate a broader shift in China's engagement model: as China unveils its domestic growth strategy under the 15th Five-Year Plan, its external partnerships increasingly emphasize sustainability, innovation and institutional learning.

The 15th Five-Year Plan itself will mark a decisive pivot toward innovation-led and low-carbon growth. Among the headline priorities in the recommendations of the Central Committee are technological self-reliance in semiconductors, artificial intelligence and advanced manufacturing, accelerated digitalization and a major expansion of clean energy capacity. Crucially, these domestic ambitions are not inward-looking — they are being globalized through mechanisms such as the Global Development Initiative, the Belt and Road Initiative and the Global Governance Initiative, forming the connective tissue of a shared developmental future.

For Nigeria, these convergences create new possibilities for industrial transformation. Imports of Chinese machinery, transport equipment and renewable energy equipment components such as unassembled photovoltaic cells in 2024 signal Nigeria's growing integration into the global green supply chain. As China gradually expands its exports of clean technologies, Nigeria can leverage these linkages to leapfrog carbon-intensive industrialization, developing capacity in solar manufacturing, battery assembly and electric mobility. Such collaboration can help Nigeria convert its demographic and resource advantages into sustainable industrial competitiveness.

Equally important is the rise of green finance and institutional collaboration. In the next five years, China may focus on internationalizing its green financial standards, embedding them in multilateral cooperation platforms. This could allow partners such as Nigeria to access sustainable finance for industrial zones, renewable grids and low-carbon logistics — projects tied to measurable environmental benchmarks. The fusion of China's domestic green reforms with its international development strategy will generate a shared financial architecture for the Global South, enabling growth in a more sustainable way.

The Global Governance Initiative further extends this partnership from economics into the institutional realm. Through mechanisms such as the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, Nigeria and other African nations are engaging with these governance models, blending China's developmental pragmatism with multilateral best practices. The recommendations for formulating the 15th Five-Year Plan for "high-standard opening-up" suggest that China's future cooperation frameworks will integrate stronger sustainability, helping build institutional resilience along with other Global South countries.

Yet, significant challenges remain. Nigeria's trade deficit with China highlights the urgent need for export diversification and skills development to balance the trade relationship. Moreover, Africa's renewable energy generation still represents only 4 percent of global solar power, signaling the enormous scale of work ahead. Achieving the promise of this green partnership will require transparent project governance, debt sustainability and equitable technology transfer.

Despite these challenges, the direction of travel is unmistakable. As China advances into a new stage of modernization, its domestic goals and global commitments are increasingly interdependent. Its breakthroughs in digital infrastructure, green manufacturing and adaptive governance are directly reinforcing the ambitions of other developing nations seeking inclusive, sustainable growth. China's 15th Five-Year Plan, in this sense, is not just a national road map. It is a global development catalyst, defining how shared knowledge, sustainable finance and technological cooperation can reshape the future.

And for the international community, further partnership with China signals the beginning of a more balanced global order — one where development becomes a collective journey rather than a zero-sum contest.

As the United Nations celebrates eight decades of multilateral cooperation, China's 15th Five-Year Plan and its suite of global initiatives offer a forward-looking vision. Whether through solar corridors in Lagos, digital trade hubs in Nairobi, or green industrial zones stretching across Asia and Africa, this emerging ecosystem of shared growth has the potential to address global challenges — climate change, inequality and the energy transition — and turn them into shared opportunities. If realized with foresight, this blueprint could enable China, Nigeria and their partners across the Global South to turn shared aspirations into shared success, paving the way toward a greener, fairer, and more resilient global order for generations to come.

The author is an associate professor and the executive director of the Center for Nigerian Studies under the Institute of African Studies at Zhejiang Normal University. The author contributed this article to China Watch, a think tank powered by China Daily.

The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.

Contact the editor at editor@chinawatch.cn.