Development is the ardent expectation of people all over the world and the common value of all mankind. The world today is facing the superimposed challenges of major changes unseen in a century and the once-in-a-century pandemic, and global governance is facing many new propositions and challenges. On June 24, 2022, in the face of the era of “what’s wrong with the world and what should we do,” Chairman Xi Jinping delivered an important speech at the high-level dialog on global development, proposing to “jointly build a global development partnership.” This is not only a response to history and reality but also an outlook for the future prospects of global governance.
Participation in global development cooperation is the secret to China’s governance miracle
Over the past 70 years since the founding of the People’s Republic of China, we have achieved a historic change from a state of poverty to the second largest economy in the world. The people have achieved leap-forward development from poverty to nourishment and from a generally well-off to an all-round well-off society, creating one governance miracle after another. Behind this, China’s active participation in the practice and innovation of global development cooperation is inseparable.
As early as the founding of the People’s Republic of China, the Chinese government expressed its willingness to cooperate with other socialist countries. After the Bandung Conference in 1955, the scope of China’s foreign aid expanded from socialist countries to other developing countries. After the reform and opening up, based on the development and changes of the world situation, cooperation with Western countries was included. Since the beginning of the new century, with China’s accession to the WTO, China has begun to deeply participate in global development cooperation: From signing the United Nations Convention against Corruption to fully participating in international economic cooperation under the G20 framework, from proposing the Belt and Road Initiative to signing the Paris Agreement, and from proposing to build a community with a shared future for mankind to proposing the Global Development Initiatives, China has continued to accelerate its participation in global development cooperation and put the realization of sustainable development goals into practice. China is the first developing country to achieve the poverty reduction target of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals and has contributed more than 70% to global poverty reduction. China has transformed its role from an initial participant and contributor to global development cooperation to today’s leader and has been hailed by the United Nations as a “leader in the implementation of sustainable development goals.”
Decoding the miracle of China’s development, it is not difficult to find the secrets: First, we have always upheld the development concept of openness, cooperation, and mutual success, have always taken development as the top priority, have opened the door to seek development, and strive to build a new highland for opening up as global development cooperation helps to further improve our own governance level and capability. Second, while participating in global development cooperation, China has also demonstrated to the outside world our major achievements and valuable experience in advancing the modernization of national governance, providing Chinese solutions and propositions for global governance and jointly promoting global sustainable development.
Exclusion of global development cooperation is the cause of Western governance dilemma
At present, governance crises such as social polarization, intensification of multicultural conflicts, populism, and national separatism in Western governance have increasingly become major obstacles to global peace and development. One of the important reasons why Western countries are caught in a governance dilemma is the Western rejection of global development cooperation in concept and practice.
On the one hand, unlike China, which actively advocates and participates in global development cooperation, in recent years, Western unilateralism, protectionism, and egoism have been rampant, and anti-globalization voices have been rampant. On the other hand, contrary to China’s emphasis on “South-South cooperation” in international development cooperation, the international development cooperation exaggerated by the West adheres to a “Western-centric” stance, such that international cooperation is often accompanied by political and economic conditions, and the two sides of the cooperation lack equality and mutual benefit. Among them, it is particularly obvious that the West has built a relationship of hierarchy and subordination in cooperation with African countries. The real purpose of the West’s cooperation in this region is not to help them eliminate poverty and achieve sustainable economic and social development but to take control of Africa through cooperation and keep it attached to the asymmetric structure of dependence on the West.
History and reality have proved that the Western neoliberal governance propositions and practices under the Washington Consensus ignore the development demands of other countries and are increasingly questioned and reflected in developing countries and regions. In contrast, the concept of global development cooperation proposed by China and the Belt and Road and other initiatives focus on the expectations and pursuits of people of all countries for peaceful development, fairness and justice, and win-win cooperation, which are highly in line with the needs of all parties and the trend of the times, and they have been widely praised and widely recognized by the international community.
Deepening cooperation and building a global development partnership
The world today is in a period of great development, great change, and great adjustment. At the same time, peace and development are still the themes of the current era, which is in line with the trend of world historical development. Therefore, it is necessary to accurately grasp the “times” and “trends” in the great changes unseen in a century, carry forward the common values of all mankind, deepen global development cooperation, jointly build a global development partnership of solidarity, equality, balance, and universal benefits, shaping the future path of global governance.
Building a united global partnership for development: Solidarity and cooperation are the most powerful weapons to overcome all difficulties. We must resolutely defend multilateralism, consolidate the internal solidarity of developing countries, deepen “South-South cooperation” and “North-South cooperation,” form a synergy of global governance, and join hands with other countries to promote the building of a community with a shared future for mankind.
Building an equitable global partnership for development: All countries, big or small, strong or weak, rich or poor, are equal members of the international community. To this end, countries should adhere to the principle of equality and non-discrimination, and respect each other’s development paths. Developing countries and least developed countries should participate more deeply in the global decision-making process. The North and the South should bridge differences through equal dialog and resolve disputes through negotiation and consultation. It is necessary to practice the concept of international relations of mutual respect and win-win cooperation in global governance and to promote equal rights, equal opportunities, and equal rules for all countries in international cooperation.
Building a balanced global partnership for development: Unbalanced and insufficient development is a common problem faced by all countries around the world, and it is also a prominent problem among countries. To solve this problem, on the one hand, all countries need to participate in global development cooperation, improve the voice and representation of developing countries, encourage more parties to participate in development cooperation, expand the interests of participants, and draw out the largest concentric circle. On the other hand, we must promote the common development of the international community by promoting and improving global governance so that the global governance system reflects the wishes and interests of the vast number of developing countries, narrows the development gap between the North and the South, and eliminates the development deficit.
Building an inclusive global development partnership: Mankind is a whole, the earth is a homeland, and no one or no country can survive alone. Therefore, in our global development cooperation, we must uphold the concept of global governance based on extensive consultation, joint contribution, and shared benefits. We must create an inclusive and win-win model, and encourage business circles, social groups, and media think tanks to participate in global development cooperation. We must let people all over the world share the fruits of economic globalization and make development achievements more beneficial to all parties.
“By agreeing with one heart, everything is possible.” From the proposal of a community with a shared future for mankind, the Belt and Road Initiative, the common values of all mankind, the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative, and the joint construction of a global development partnership, we can see the common concept contained in it: Seeking cooperation and promoting development is an irresistible trend of the times and is the direction for responding to the call of the times and for strengthening global governance. Only by upholding and promoting the common values of all mankind, jointly building a global development partnership, and deepening global development cooperation, can we promote the development of the global governance system in a more just and equitable direction.