By He Yin, People’s Daily
Chinese President Xi Jinping called on countries to “work together to promote economic recovery” and stressed that they should stay committed to building an open world economy, increase macro policy coordination and keep global industrial and supply chains stable to promote balanced, coordinated and inclusive global development when addressing the opening ceremony of the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2022 via video link on April 21.
Countries should follow a people-centered approach, place development and people’s well-being high on the agenda and advance practical cooperation in such key areas as poverty reduction, food security, development financing and industrialization, in a bid to address uneven and inadequate development, Xi pointed out, adding that China is working with the international community on the solid implementation of the Global Development Initiative (GDI) he proposed last year.
Xi’s proposals demonstrate China’s sense of responsibility and unwavering commitment to advancing the global development cause and build a global community of development with a shared future.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has seriously eroded the gains the world has made in poverty reduction over the past decade. Uneven recovery is aggravating inequality across the world, further widening the North-South divide,” Xi noted.
The impacts of the Ukraine crisis have continued to spill over into more regions, putting more strain on the world economy, which has already faced with fragile and weak recovery.
Changes of the world, of the times and of history are posing severe challenges to the global development cause, which must be taken seriously by humanity.
The pandemic has resulted in the relapse of several emerging nations into poverty and instability. Numerous people in developed countries are also living through a hard time due to the pandemic.
“Safety and health are the prerequisite for human development and progress,” Xi said, emphasizing the need of countries supporting each other, better coordinating response measures and improving global public health governance, so as to form strong international synergy against the pandemic.
More than 10 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered globally, but about 83 percent of Africa’s population has yet to receive a single dose. The top priority for countries at the moment is to close the immunization gap.
China has honored its commitment to making Chinese COVID vaccines a global public good and tried to ensure their accessibility and affordability in developing countries, according to Xi. The country has provided over 2.1 billion doses of vaccines to more than 120 countries and international organizations, and will follow through the pledged donation of 600 million and 150 million doses of vaccines to Africa and ASEAN countries respectively.
The global industrial and supply chains have been disrupted; commodity prices continue to climb; and energy supply remains tight. These risks amplify one another and exacerbate the uncertainties surrounding economic recovery.
The global low inflation environment has notably changed, and the risks of inflation driven by multiple factors are surfacing. If major economies slammed on the brakes or took a U-turn in their monetary policies, there would be serious negative spillovers. They would present challenges to global economic and financial stability.
Xi urged countries to increase macro policy coordination, turn to science and technology for more growth drivers, keep global industrial and supply chains stable, and prevent serious negative spillovers from policy adjustments in some countries to promote balanced, coordinated and inclusive global development.
In the planet that we call home, humankind shares the same future. Only by staying on top of the dominant trend of economic globalization and adhering to the times’ tendency of peace, development and win-win cooperation can human beings jointly surmount difficulties and embrace a brighter future.
True development is development for all and good development is sustainable. The entry into force of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) and the completion and operation of the China-Laos Railway have effectively improved regional “hard connectivity” of infrastructure and “soft connectivity” of rules and standards, demonstrating how win-win cooperation between countries drives development.
China has actively pressed ahead with high-quality Belt and Road cooperation for high-standard, sustainable and people-centered growth, injecting strong impetus into the sustainable development of countries along the routes of the initiative. The GDI proposed by China has been echoed and supported by the United Nations and other international organizations and nearly 100 countries. These are convincing evidence of China’s efforts to promote the global development cause in pursuit of win-win results.
As the Ukraine crisis continues to escalate, geopolitical factors are encumbering global economic recovery and further disrupting the global development cause; developing countries are bearing the brunt of the effects.
China has persisted in promoting peace talks and stressed that all parties should create the necessary environment and conditions for advancing peace talks. This is a decision made by the country not only for world peace and security, but for global development.
“A review of human history teaches us that the more difficult things get, the greater the need grows to stay confident,” Xi pointed out. China will continue to join hands with various countries and create tremendous synergy through win-win cooperation to together overcome various roadblocks along the way, promote balanced, coordinated and inclusive global development, and push forward the global development cause.
