Chinese initiatives proving vital for gains by emerging economies, seminar told

Chinese-proposed plans such as the Global Development Initiative, or GDI, and the Belt and Road Initiative, or BRI, are providing both a reliable guide and concrete benefits for developing countries striving to realize economic modernization, officials and experts said on Tuesday.

These views were aired at an online seminar hosted by the China Institute of International Studies. The participants said that China, as a global model of modernization, has continued to focus on helping other developing countries despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, among other economic challenges.

Wendell Mottley, an economist, politician and former athlete for Trinidad and Tobago who served as the country's finance minister in 1991-95, said: "Global governance is wobbling under pressure from a downward spiral occasioned by the pandemic, climate change and the now precipitous unwinding of the post World War II architecture ... and the solution to our planetary problems demands global cooperation and effective multilateralism."

He notes that the GDI has special significance for small Caribbean island nations, including his country.

"We are on the front line of climate change. Sea levels are rising, salt is permeating our freshwater aquifers, and almighty hurricanes threaten to wipe out 100 percent of our GDP," said Mottley, who adds that the Caribbean region has noted Chinese President Xi Jinping's pledge in the GDI to look after "the special needs of developing countries".

The Chinese leader first put forward the GDI during the General Debate of the 76th Session of the United Nations General Assembly in September last year.

"We would like to work with China to reform the present inequities of the financial system by removing from the balance sheet of small developing nations the potentially massive costs of climate change adaptation," Mottley said.

Mahindra Ramesh Ramdeen, chief executive of the Trinidad &Tobago Manufacturers Association, said that the past two years have brought many challenges, but the efforts of the Chinese government, via the BRI, have allowed countries to recover to some level of normalcy. At the same time, the initiative has built bridges for cooperation among trading partners.

"The Chinese government must be commended for their efforts in this regard. It is one path toward people-centered development, and this initiative would go a long way in assisting developing countries to achieve some level of economic prosperity and growth," he said.

Yu Jiang, deputy secretary-general of the Xi Jinping Thought on Diplomacy Studies Center and vice-president of the China Institute of International Studies, said: "China highly emphasizes the integration of self-development into world development as a whole."

Reliable reference points

The GDI and the BRI, together with the Global Security Initiative proposed by Xi in April, are not only forging synergies for nations to practice the concept of a community with a shared future for mankind but are also providing reliable reference points for developing countries in their efforts to achieve modernization, he said.

Yu said they also demonstrate the Chinese attitudes of sincerity and responsibility to foster closer communication and enhanced cooperation with other nations on major topics, in order to promote world peace and development. "Good development is development for all," he said.