Significance and Implementation of the Global Development Initiative

The landscape of international situation is undergoing profound changes with growing challenges. How to narrow the development deficit and break through the development predicament is a task faced by the human society. In September 2021， President Xi Jinping put forward the Global Development Initiative (GDI) in his statement at the general debate of the 76th Session of the United Nations General Assembly， calling upon countries worldwide to stay committed to development as a priority， stay committed to a people-centered approach， stay committed to benefits for all， stay committed to innovation-driven development， stay committed to harmony between man and nature， and stay committed to results-oriented actions， so as to pursue more robust， greener and more balanced global development. The GDI has greatly facilitated the implementation of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development， and embodies China’s wisdom and strength in responding to global challenges.

A Catalyst for Accelerated Implementation of the

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Global sustainable development， which is in a critical period， is gravely frustrated by factors such as protracted and escalating geopolitical conflicts， proliferation and intensification of protectionism and overstretching of the concept of security.

First， the importance of development is declining. Countries worldwide urgently need to reach a consensus on accelerating development as it is under the threat of being politicized and marginalized. The US and its Western allies， with an aim to divert attention from domestic issues， and maintain their geopolitical interests and monopoly positions， have been hyping up the strategic competition among major powers， overstretching the concept of economic security， artificially building walls and barriers， and pushing for decoupling and severing of supply chains. All these have put the global development under a huge threat of being politicized and marginalized. Many normal exchanges and cooperation between countries conducive to sustainable development are becoming increasingly difficult， including international trade and investment， educational exchanges， scientific and technological cooperation， and cross-border travel. If this trend continues， development will be at the risk of slipping off the agenda of both domestic and international politics. What’s worse， the international community will fail to work together to deal with issues such as climate change， public health crises， and challenges brought by disruptive technologies. According to the Sustainable Development Goals Report 2024 released by the UN in June 2024， realization of the sustainable development goals as scheduled is facing severe challenges. Only 17% of the 169 targets of sustainable development goals are on track， nearly half are showing minimal or moderate progress， and progress on over one third has stalled or even regressed. By 2030， nearly 600 million people may still live in extreme poverty if current trends persist.

Second， there is a huge financing gap for development. Financial input is urgently needed for realization of the SDGs. As the Financing for Sustainable Development Report 2024: Financing for Development at a Crossroads released by the UN in April 2024 pointed out， financing challenges are at the heart of the current sustainable development crisis. Only by massively increasing financing for development and promoting the reform of the international financial architecture can the SDGs be rescued. The World Investment Report 2024 published by UNCTAD in June of the same year also showed that the mobilization of funds for SDG investment through sustainable finance products in global capital markets is slowing down due to global economic fracturing trends and geopolitical tensions. SDG investment has witnessed a 10% decrease with the most significant declines seen in two sectors， agrifood systems， also water and sanitation. However， in the face of the needs for sustainable development， developed countries have long failed to fulfill their commitments to foreign development aid. The"official"development"assistance of OECD-DAC members only accounts for 0.37% of their gross national income， far below the promised 0.7%. Therefore， UN Secretary-General António Guterres has publicly called for relevant countries to agree to a $500 billion annual stimulus for sustainable development and to provide affordable long-term financing for developing countries.

Third， the development gap between the North and the South keeps widening. Studies have shown that the fruits of globalization and industrialization have been distributed extremely unevenly across the globe. Different groups of countries vary a lot in the pace of achieving the SDGs， and the inequality between the richest and the poorest countries has increased. Compared with developed countries， developing countries are more vulnerable when facing challenges such as geopolitical conflicts， climate change and public health crises. Secretary-General Guterres said that the allocation of Special Drawing Rights issued during the pandemic was grossly unfair. G7 countries， with less efforts made to address global development issues， received 280 billion US dollars in SDRs. In contrast， least developed countries， with a population of 1.1 billion people， were allocated just over 8 billion US dollars. According to data released by UNCTAD， although global Official Development Assistance (ODA) reached record levels in 2022， aid specifically targeted at developing regions declined by 2%， or $4 billion.

To overcome huge obstacles to the realization of the SDGs， President Xi Jinping put forward the GDI with an aim to build a consensus on development and put development front and center on the international agenda. The GDI calls for building a global community of development to counter the attempts to create \"small yard with high fences\"， \"decouple\" and \"cut off supply chains\"， thus providing impetus for promoting global common development and facilitating the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The GDI advocates cooperation in eight major areas that are of the greatest concern to all countries， including poverty reduction， food security， climate change and green development， instilling new energy for implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

The GDI Promotes the Just Transformation of Global Development Governance

The lack of a voice and development knowledge is a major obstacle preventing the Global South from achieving sustainable development. For a long time， the North-South cooperation has been carried out around the domestic agenda of developed countries and development assistance projects have been implemented with not enough consideration of the real needs of developing countries. International development cooperation has become a tool for Western countries to transfer policies to the Global South. International financial institutions long dominated by Western countries including the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund have continuously forced developing countries to adhere to the so-called Washington Consensus. All these have made development cooperation less effective and aroused strong dissatisfaction among developing countries. The OECD frankly stated in its Development Co-operation Report 2023: Debating the Aid System published in 2023 that， critique of"the"roots， rationale and"operations of"the"international aid system is resulting in"calls for"fundamental change， manifesting， for"example， in"the"movements to"address colonial legacies and"racism in"the"sector.

The increased participation of emerging economies has reshaped the landscape of international development cooperation. Global development governance is no longer dominated by the West. Instead， South-South cooperation， which features respect for national sovereignty， non-interference in internal affairs and mutual benefit， prevails. It has challenged traditional donor-recipient relationship and the sharing of development knowledge is now a process of mutual learning instead of one-way transfer from Western countries to Global South countries.

The GDI is a result of collective rise of emerging markets and developing countries， as well as profound changes in the international development cooperation. The initiative also plays a leading role in South-South cooperation and triangular cooperation. The Global North and the Global South have more and more differences on major development issues such as the reform of the international financial architecture and UN development financing. It’s worth noting that China， as a natural member of the Global South， firmly stands on the side of the vast number of developing countries， actively promotes the reform of global development governance， safeguards the legitimate rights and interests of developing countries， and strives to increase the representation and voice of developing countries in international financial institutions and the global development governance system.

To Implement the GDI Through an Open and Inclusive Approach

Openness， inclusiveness and practical cooperation are important features of the GDI. Since its proposal， China has stepped up synergy between development strategies with other countries， encouraged the participation of various actors and supported the UN in leading the global sustainable development so as to ensure that the initiative will be implemented in an open and inclusive way.

First， step up synergy between development strategies and carry out result-oriented cooperation. The GDI shows full respect for autonomy of developing countries. It has been aligned with development strategies of other countries through policy coordination， so that countries involved can complement each other in light of their own natural endowments and development needs. To be specific， the initiative has been aligned with the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development， the African Union’s Agenda 2063， the ASEAN Vision 2025 and many other international， regional， and national development strategies to realize coordinated development. In addition， the initiative has also extensively pooled development resources. Many small yet smart livelihood projects have been carried out through utilizing the Global Development Project Pool， especially in such key areas as poverty reduction， climate change， health， and the digital economy. Efforts have been made to ensure that resources are used in areas where developing countries are in the most urgent need of help， so that projects carried out can truly improve local people’s livelihoods and enhance the long-term development capabilities of developing countries. For example， when attending the China-Africa Leaders’ Dialogue held in South Africa in August 2023， President Xi Jinping announced three proposals to support Africa’s industrialization， agricultural modernization， and talent development. Documents on development cooperation between China and Madagascar also focus on areas such as hybrid rice， industrialization， and human resources. All these fully demonstrate that conditions and needs of partner countries have been fully taken into consideration in the implementation of the GDI.

In June 2022， President Xi Jinping announced 32 measures China will take to implement the GDI at the High-Level Dialogue on Global Development with an aim to narrow the gap in capital and projects. In October of the same year， President Xi Jinping pointed out in the report to the 20th CPC National Congress that China is prepared to invest more resources in global development cooperation. It is committed to narrowing the North-South gap and supporting and assisting other developing countries in accelerating development. In July 2023， the First High-Level Conference of the Forum on Global Action for Shared Development was successfully held. The Beijing Statement released at the conference agrees to establish the Global Development Project Pool and the Global Development Capital Pool. What’s more， China has added another $4 billion to the Global Development and South-South Cooperation Fund， and raised $12 billion of special funds for global development from domestic and international financial institutions to offer financial support to GDI related projects. Since the proposal of the GDI， more than 1，000 projects have been included into the Global Development Project Pool， with over 500 of them being implemented.

To strengthen capacity building of partner countries， the GDI has put more resources into personnel exchange and training. Under the framework of the GDI， China will provide 100，000 training opportunities to developing countries to support their post-pandemic economic growth. By June 2024， 40，000 of them have been completed， covering all countries in the Group of Friends of the GDI. China has also held various training programs， such as the Workshop on Agricultural Products and Food Safety Management and the Workshop on Poverty Reduction and Development， to share its development experience and practices with other developing countries with an aim to help them cultivate more professionals and strengthen capacity building.

Second， encourage the participation of various entities to make the GDI more inclusive. The GDI advocates both bilateral and multilateral cooperation， and advocates participation of more entities and investment of more resources. To promote global sustainable development， countries worldwide need to step up synergy and expand the network of partners. China has all along encouraged various entities to participate in international development cooperation and leverage their respective strengths to jointly promote the implementation of the GDI. As of today， China has carried out more than 140 tripartite cooperation projects in over 60 countries with more than 20 international organizations.

China has attached importance to the alignment of the GDI with initiatives of other countries. The GDI is an open platform for international development cooperation and an initiative for development shared by all countries， both in the Global South and the Global North. China emphasizes that it welcomes more developed countries and international organizations to join the global development partnership， reach more consensus on development， and come up with a new model of tripartite cooperation in international development.

China has explored new forms of cooperation and attracted participation and contribution of various entities. The GDI has extensively mobilized the strength of the business community， academia， and civil society， and strengthened tripartite and multilateral cooperation to gather the broadest synergy for sustainable development. China used to deliver development assistance by using government funds and through bilateral cooperation between the governments. After the launch of the GDI， China began to offer aid to other countries by promoting international development cooperation， which can be undertaken both bilaterally and multilaterally， involving various entities， covering more areas， and attracting more resources. The Chinese government has carried out financing cooperation with both Chinese and foreign financial institutions， foundations， and other development partners. For the first time， it has mobilized $12 billion in special funds from Chinese and foreign financial institutions， making a major breakthrough in the financing methods of international development cooperation.

Guidelines on Global Development Capital Pool published in December 2023 stipulates that entities having the will and ability to fund the Global Development Project Pool projects may participate in the financing of Global Development Capital Pool， including Chinese entities， UN agencies and other intergovernmental international organizations， international financial institutions， international non-governmental organizations in consultative status with ECOSOC or recognized by China， governments， non-governmental organizations in consultative status with ECOSOC or recognized by China， and other relevant entities recognized by China.

Third， improve international cooperation mechanisms to foster strong synergy for common prosperity. To better implement the GDI， China has established a series of international cooperation mechanisms and platforms. The Group of Friends of the GDI founded at the UN in early 2022 has attracted the participation of more than 80 countries. A special working group has been set up by the UN to advance the Initiative. The Global Development Promotion Center Network has attracted over 70 countries， regions and international organizations to join in. And China has signed MOUs on cooperation regarding the GDI with more than 40 countries and international institutions， including Pakistan， Serbia， Sierra Leone， Chile and UNIDO.

China holds related forums on a regular basis including the Forum on Global Action for Shared Development， the Sunshine Forum on International Development Cooperation and the China-Indian Ocean Region Forum on Blue Economy Cooperation. It also held a thematic briefing on the Global Development Initiative and a high-level meeting on cooperation achievements of the initiative at the UN Headquarters. In July 2024， the Second High-Level Conference of the Forum on Global Action for Shared Development announced the establishment of the Secretariat of the Global Development Promotion Center Network and the Secretariat of the Joint Working Group between the CIDCA and the Bill amp; Melinda Gates Foundation. In February 2024， China signed a tripartite cooperation joint statement with UNIDO and the Ministry of Industry of Ethiopia. In July 2024， the \"China-Africa-United Nations\" Tripartite Cooperation Demonstration Center was inaugurated， which is the first tripartite demonstration project jointly implemented by China， African countries and the UN under the framework of the GDI. To implement the initiative， China has also signed cooperation documents with the UNAIDS， the IFRC and the AIIB， and has established cooperation mechanisms in areas such as emergency response and nuclear energy with Central Asian countries， the IAEA and the African Union.

Fourth， advance the Global Development Initiative， the Global Security Initiative (GSI) and the Global Civilization Initiative (GCI) in a coordinated way. Security and development， like two wings of a bird， are inseparable. Facts have proven that only by adhering to sustainable development can lasting peace be achieved， only by safeguarding international security can favorable conditions be created for sustainable development， and only by respecting the diversity of civilizations can a foundation be laid for common development and common security. A World Bank report shows that extreme poverty is more likely to occur in countries that are fragile and conflict-affected. By 2030， an estimated 60% of the extremely poor will live in fragile and conflict-affected situations.

China has coordinated the implementation of the GDI， the GSI and the GCI. After the proposal of the GDI in 2021， President Xi Jinping put forward the GSI at the Boao Forum for Asia in April 2022 and then the GCI at the CPC in Dialogue with World Political Parties High-Level Meeting in March 2023. Coordinated implementation of these three initiatives is a strategic measure taken by China to systematically address the deficits in peace， development， security and governance and to promote the building of a community with a shared future for mankind.

Conclusion

The GDI is a major strategic move made by China in the face of possible derailing of the realization of the SDGs. It aims to build an international consensus on promoting development， foster new drivers for global development， and establish a high-quality global development partnership that features unity， equality， balance and inclusiveness. It is a practical， cooperative， open and inclusive initiative that embodies China’s wisdom and strength. It calls on all relevant parties to jointly promote global development and build a global community of development.

——————————————

Mao Ruipeng is Senior Research Fellow of Shanghai Institutes for International Studies