"Facts have shown once again that amidst the raging torrents of a global crisis, countries are not riding separately in some 190 small boats, but are rather all in a giant ship on which our shared destiny hinges." The world today is witnessing profound changes and a pandemic both unseen in a century. With globalization interlinks the security and prosperity of all countries, solutions fixated on the peace and development for the world community is highly expected.
Last September, at the General Debate of the 76th session of UNGA, President Xi Jinping proposed the Global Development Initiative (GDI), calling for greater international synergy to speed up the implementation of the 2030 Agenda, and achieve stronger, greener and healthier global development. Ever since its introduction, the Initiative has been warmly received by the international community, with the establishment of Group of Friends of GDI within UN systems and supports from more than 100 countries and international organizations.
GDI’s prevailing credits to its prioritization of development as key to the global challenges. Recent years have witnessed setbacks in global development, with the pandemic leaving one hundred and forty million people falling back into poverty. Progress in the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) has fallen short of expectations. Against such backdrop, the GDI adheres to the people-centered philosophy and prioritizes development, providing stronger and more targeted support to developing countries. With poverty alleviation, food security, COVID-19 and vaccines, financing for development, climate change and green development, industrialization, digital economy, and connectivity as development priority areas, the Initiative will inject new energy to speed up the progress of 2030 Agenda.
To achieve the development with no one left behind, GDI emphasizes on global partnership and collaboration. GDI upholds the spirit of openness and inclusiveness, welcoming the participation of governments and all forms of civil society. The Initiative is ready to align itself with multiple international or regional cooperation mechanism, including 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent and development strategies of SIDS. With action-oriented approach, GDI calls for mobilizing more international resources to offer concrete support for global development, especially priority targets of developing countries, which shows China’s commitments of providing more of its own development cooperation resources to the Initiative, so that people from different countries can really benefit from such cooperation.
To respond to the urgent need of the international community to maintain world peace and prevent conflict and war and echo the common pursuit of all countries in the world to adhere to multilateralism and maintain international solidarity, Global Security Initiative (GSI) is announced by President Xi at the opening ceremony of the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference in April this year as another global solution China proposed for the common desire of the world to overcome difficulties and jointly create a better world.
“What kind of security concept does the world need and how can countries achieve common security?” is the key question GSI proposed to explore. The Initiative champions solidarity as its core, advocating the vision of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security, and work together to maintain world peace and security. Countries need to dear the principle of indivisible security and take seriously the legitimate security concerns of all others, including respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries, upholding non-interference in internal affairs, and protecting the independent choices of development paths and social systems made by people in different countries. In doing so, a balanced, effective and sustainable security architecture will be built for the world community.
Aiming at addressing security threats and improving the global security governance system, GSI serves as a well-rounded, systematic proposal, maintaining security in both traditional and non-traditional domains, and calling for countries coordination in regional disputes and global challenges such as terrorism, climate change, cybersecurity and biosecurity. Emphasizing multilateralism as its approach to solving global security issues in all aspects, the Initiative calls for rejection of Cold War mentality, group politics and bloc confrontation. What the world needs is to uphold the international system with the United Nations at its core, adhere to the international order underpinned by international law and the basic norms of international relations based on the purposes and principles of the UN Charter and to take the legitimate security concerns of all countries seriously while oppose the pursuit of one's own security at the cost of others.
GSI has emphasized on both development and security, contributing to the strong recovery of the world economy. It focuses on the theme of development, concentrating on actively improving people's livelihood, narrowing the development gap and promoting balanced, coordinated and inclusive global development. China champions to build the open economy, strengthen policy coordination through actively implementing GDI, so as to accelerate the schedule of UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and promote sustainable security of the global development.
China and Pacific island countries are neighbors across the ocean and friends at all times. As development partner sharing weal and woe with the PICs, China stands ready to assist in the fight against challenges of pandemic, climate change etc., joining hands with PICs to implement GSI and pave way to sustainable development with high quality.
The world should pursue a just cause for common good. GDI and GSI have echoed the call for peace, development, cooperation and mutual benefit for the global community. China is willing to work with the international community to make the initiatives take root and bear fruit, so as to make the world more peaceful, secure and prosperous.
By H.E. Chao Xiaoliang, Chinese Ambassador to Samoa