BEIJING: Chinese President Xi Jinping delivered a video speech to the opening ceremony of the celebration for the 60th anniversary of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), calling for fostering an international environment for peaceful development, following the trend toward open development, and promoting innovation-driven development, a message that resonated with the international community.
China’s pursuit of Chinese modernization through high-quality development will bring greater opportunities to the world, and building a community with a shared future for mankind will foster a brighter future for all, experts have said.
STANDING FIRMLY WITH GLOBAL SOUTH
In his video speech, Xi said China will always be a member of the Global South and the developing world, adding that China will actively seek to import more from other developing countries, step up cooperation in trade, investment and development, and help implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
The Global South has accounted for an increasing share of the world economy, and a significant portion of emerging markets and developing countries have embarked on the fast track of development, which has greatly promoted the process of world multipolarity.
The Global Development Initiative put forward by Xi has received positive responses from more than 100 countries and international organizations. The Global Development and South-South Cooperation Fund established by China has supported the implementation of more than 200 projects.
Holding humanity’s future and people’s well-being close to its heart, China will work together with all parties to give the world a bright future of peace, security, prosperity and progress, Xi noted.
Talat Shabbir, director of the Islamabad-based China-Pakistan Study Centre at the Institute of Strategic Studies, said that Xi’s call for universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalization provides countries across the globe with the opportunity to benefit from free trade and utilize their economic capacities to contribute to the global economy.
For developing countries, this means not only increased access to global supply chains but also opportunities to be part of the supply chains, Shabbir noted.
“These opportunities have also led Pakistan to develop special economic zones and increase the country’s capacity for renewable energy in the overall energy mix,” he added.
China’s opening up to the world is expanding. Through expos such as the China International Import Expo, the China International Fair for Trade in Services, and the Global Digital Trade Expo, an increasing number of products from Global South countries are entering the Chinese market, sharing opportunities and benefits from China’s high-quality development.
Paul Frimpong, executive director of the Africa-China Center for Policy and Advisory, a think tank based in Ghana, said that Xi’s address to the UNCTAD has sent a clear message to the world that China has always stood firmly with the Global South.
“China itself is part of developing countries and familiar with the challenges that developing countries are facing in terms of trade-related restrictions in the global arena, and I think Xi’s speech has provided us with important ideas about dealing with global challenges including the imbalanced development,” said Frimpong.
He noted that over the past years, the Belt and Road Initiative proposed by China has led to profound improvements in economic and social development of the African continent, which highlighted the vital role China has played in advancing globalization.
PURSUING TRUE MULTILATERALISM
In his video speech, Xi said that all countries, major ones in particular, should pursue true multilateralism, advocate an equal and orderly multipolar world, abide by the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, and support a more effective role of UNCTAD and other multilateral agencies.
“I welcome the increased support of China to UNCTAD, and also the reaffirmation by President Xi Jinping, his commitment to multilateralism and to the work of United Nations,” UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told Xinhua on Wednesday.
“I was very impressed,” said Rebeca Grynspan, secretary-general of UNCTAD. “This is a testament to our good relationship, a longtime relationship, between China and UNCTAD. President Xi’s support for UNCTAD really means a lot to us.”
“President Xi’s message shows his very strong support for multilateralism and international cooperation. These are really two key elements for sustainable development and for peaceful development for the whole world,” Grynspan added.
To practice true multilateralism and adhere to a global governance vision that emphasizes extensive consultation, joint contribution, and shared benefits, means that global affairs must be discussed by all, governance systems built by all, and benefits of governance shared by all, so that every country is a participant, contributor and beneficiary of world peace and development.
In recent years, China has supported and practiced multilateralism with concrete actions. It has promoted high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, actively participated in the construction of multilateral cooperation platforms such as the BRICS Cooperation Mechanism and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, and constantly enriched and improved the connotation of multilateralism, said Bambang Suryono, chairman of Asia Innovation Study Center, an Indonesian think tank.
In the past 60 years since the establishment of the UNCTAD, humanity has made significant progress. However, challenges such as climate change and deglobalization have posed threats to the effective functioning of multilateral institutions. China promotes “functional and genuine multilateralism, where every country can pursue its right to development as enshrined in the founding UN Charter,” said Adhere Cavince, a Kenya-based international relations scholar.
CHINESE WISDOM AND CHINESE SOLUTIONS
In his video speech, Xi said that it is important to build an open, inclusive and non-discriminatory environment for the digital economy, follow the people-centered, AI-for-good principle and strengthen AI-related rules and governance within the framework of the United Nations, actively advance green transition, and help developing countries join the trend of digital, smart and green development.
Grynspan said that Xi’s message was “so important,” adding that the calls for inclusive development, for green development, and for a more equitable world are “very strong messages that we absolutely share and thinking about UNCTAD.”
Electric vehicles, solar batteries and lithium-ion batteries, categorized as China’s tech-intensive and green “new three,” reported a combined export value of 1.06 trillion yuan (150 billion dollars) in 2023, jumping 29.9 percent year on year.
Wichai Kinchong Choi, senior vice president of leading Thai bank Kasikornbank, said China’s electric vehicles have gained popularity in Thailand and the country has introduced a wide array of new energy technologies and products from China, which has promoted its green transformation.
“Chinese technology would be conducive to accelerating the energy transition for developing countries, providing Chinese wisdom and solutions to solve the common problems faced by mankind,” he said.
Calling Chinese modernization and high-quality development “forward looking,” Iqbal Surve, chairman of South Africa’s Independent Media, said that China’s focus on leveraging new technologies aligns with the global trends towards digitalization and sustainability.
Sri Lankan international affairs expert Yasiru Ranaraja said that Chinese modernization provides valuable experience for developing countries including Sri Lanka, adding that China advocates the concept of win-win cooperation and is committed to achieving common prosperity, which conforms to the critical needs of the majority of developing countries.
