On September 16, Charge d’Affaires Zhao Jian published a signed article entitled "China’s Solution to Promote the Global Cause for Development and Security" on Kiribati mainstream newspaper, Uekera and Newstar, introducing the Global Development Initiative (GDI) and Global Security Intiative (GSI) proposed by President Xi Jinping. Following is the full text of the article:
The world today is under the complex impacts of the pandemic and profound changes, both unseen in a century. World economic recovery is facing headwinds. North-South gap keeps widening. The Ukraine crisis continues while food and energy securities are confronted with challenges. The implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (SDGs) is slowing down. However, the world may change, peace and development remain the dominant theme of the times. People’s desire and pursuit for a better life is stronger than ever before. In response to the various development and security challenges, China put forward the Global Development Initiative (GDI) and Global Security Initiative (GSI), to contribute China’s wisdom to tackle development and peace deficit, and to offer China’s solution to promote the global cause for development and security.
What are GDI and GSI?
In 2021, Chinese President Xi Jinping proposed the GDI at the UN General Assembly, which calls on the international community to pay more attention to development, strengthen international development cooperation and inject more impetus to the realization of the 2030 SDGs. Aiming to steer global development towards a new stage of balanced, coordinated, and inclusive growth, the GDI calls for staying committed to development as a priority, to a people-centered approach, to benefits for all, to innovation-driven development, to harmony between man and nature, and to results-oriented actions. The GDI has received warm welcome from international community since it was put forward. So far, more than 100 countries and international organizations have expressed their support for the GDI, and 60 countries including Kiribati have joined the Group of Friends of the GDI on the UN platform. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres responded positively and spoke highly of the GDI. He said the initiative is of great positive significance to promoting global equality, balance and sustainable development. The UN fully supports it and is willing to strengthen cooperation with China in this regard.
The GSI was first proposed by President Xi Jinping in a keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2022. The GSI champions the commitment in six areas: stay committed to the vision of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security; stay committed to respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries; stay committed to abiding by the purposes and principles of the UN Charter and rejecting the Cold War mentality; stay committed to taking the legitimate security concerns of all countries seriously; stay committed to peacefully resolving differences and disputes between countries through dialogue and consultation; stay committed to maintaining security in both traditional and non-traditional domains. The GSI sets out the core concept and important principles of upholding global security.
Both GDI and GSI are the global public goods put forward by China and follow the trend of the times featuring peace, development and win-win cooperation. The two initiatives have set out a blueprint for common development and world peace. Both GDI and GSI practice true multilateralism and adhere to openness and inclusiveness, which have fundamental differences with some West-led economic frameworks and security alliances. Both GDI and GSI present the vision of a community with a shared future for mankind since they are focusing on the way for the whole humanity to a better life. The GDI and GSI echoes and reinforces each other so that we shall advance them coordinately to achieve durable world peace and development.
What are China’s actions?
China is not only the proposer of GDI, but also a practitioner to implement GDI. In June this year, China hosted High-level Dialogue on Global Development and announced to upgrade the South-South Cooperation Assistance Fund to a Global Development and South-South Cooperation Fund, and add USD 1 billion to the fund on top of the USD 3 billion already committed. Last year, President Xi Jinping announced that China will step up support for other developing countries in developing green and low-carbon energy, and will not build new coal-fired power projects abroad. To help developing countries improve capacity building, China will provide 100,000 training opportunities to facilitate post-COVID economic recovery and social development. In addition, China’s commitment to promoting GDI and global development cause covers wider areas including poverty reduction, food security, pandemic response and vaccines, financing for development, climate change and green development, industrialization, digital economy, and digital-era connectivity. China stands ready to work with all parties to advance the GDI, contribute to quickening the realization of 2030 SDGs and to deliver more benefits to the people of all countries.
China has always pursued peaceful development and will always firmly uphold the GSI and remain a strong pillar for world peace. Among the major countries, China has the best peace and security record. China firmly upholds the authority and stature of the UN, stays the second largest contributor to the UN peacekeeping budget and has dispatched the most peacekeepers among the permanent members of the UN Security Council. Until last year, China has injected a total of USD 120 million into the China-UN Peace and Development Fund, which has supported 95 projects, benefited the developing countries in Asia, Africa, Latin America and Oceania. On Ukraine crisis, China takes an objective and fair stance on the basis of the merits and demerits of the issue, and vigorously advises peace and encourages talks. China stands ready to pursue the GSI with all parties to promote the political settlement of various international and regional hot spot issues and the maintenance of world peace and tranquility.
Promoting Peace and Development with Pacific Island Countries.
In May this year, during the visit to PICs, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi stressed that China will continue to pursue "four-pronged adherence" to developing relations with PICs, which is adherence to treating each other as equals, to mutual respect, to win-win cooperation and to openness and inclusiveness. This is a vivid practice of implementing GDI and GSI and fully shows that China treats PICs as good friends, good partners and good brothers. Wang Yi also mentioned to H.E. President Taneti Maamau that the development and revitalization of China and other developing countries are a historical necessity and our legitimate right. To help developing countries is to help China itself. Under this guidance, China is committed to supporting Kiribati for its self-driven development. China’s willingness and sincerity to fulfill the commitment are fully proved by the fruitful outcomes since the resumption of China-Kiribati relations in the fields like infrastructure, transportation, anti-COVID, livelihood, education and many more.
On the regional level, China is committed to deepening its cooperation with PICs to pursue common development and prosperity, such as setting up the China-Pacific Island Countries Poverty Alleviation and Cooperative Development Center and the China-Pacific Island Countries Climate Change Cooperation Center. China supports PICs to strengthen security cooperation and address regional security challenges through existing regional arrangements. China stands ready to help PICs to build up police service capacity.
China will continue to stride ahead together with all parties including Kiribati to promote the implementation of the GDI and GSI, so as to contribute wisdom and strength to the global development and world peace and to the building of a community with a shared future for mankind.
Please allow me to conclude with the Kiribati traditional blessings te mauri, te raoi, ao te tabomoa.