Luo Zhaohui: China’s intl development cooperation helps reshape China’s relations with the world

Luo Zhaohui, chairman of the China International Development Cooperation Agency (CIDCA), attended and addressed an international forum on China's global relations via video link on Oct 29.

In his address, Luo said that the world is experiencing profound changes and a pandemic, both unseen in a century, which have brought setbacks to globalization and the world economy and enlarged the gaps between developing and developed countries. Under those circumstances, China has responded proactively and proposed the concept of a community with a shared future for mankind, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and the Global Development Initiative (GDI), contributing Chinese wisdom, solutions, and strength to resetting development agenda and realizing common prosperity of humanity, and made breakthroughs in China's reform and opening-up. These achievements have reshaped China's relations with other parts of the world.

As reiterated at the recently concluded 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, China will always adhere to the foreign policy of upholding world peace, promoting common development, and building a community with a shared future for mankind. Luo said that China is a country that keeps its promises, and is an advocate as well as a doer in maintaining world peace and promoting development.

Specifically, China proposed the BRI in a bid to promote common development. So far over 140 countries and 30 international organizations have joined the initiative, which has yielded rich fruits such as the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, the China-Laos Railway, the first expressway in East Africa, the first cross-sea bridge in the Maldives, and 82 economic cooperation zones all over the globe.

In sync with the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, China proposed the GDI, which brought the issue of development back to the limelight. To fully implement the GDI, China announced 32 major measures in June, including establishing the Global Development Promotion Center, hosting a Forum on Global Action for Shared Development, upgrading China's South-South Cooperation Assistance Fund into the Global Development and South-South Cooperation Fund, which was enriched by an extra $1 billion donation from China, and providing 100,000 more opportunities for training and seminars for developing countries. So far over 100 countries and international organizations including the UN have supported the initiative and over 60 countries have joined the Group of Friends of the GDI.

In terms of international anti-pandemic cooperation, China took the lead in building a global community of health for all. China has provided large volumes of anti-pandemic supplies to 153 countries and 15 international organizations, dispatched medical expert teams to 34 countries, and provided over 2.2 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines to over 110 countries and four international organizations. The assistance work is still ongoing, Luo said, adding that he remembers presidents or premiers of over 30 countries going to their airports to receive the vaccines, which they called "much needed". The same leaders took the lead in being vaccinated.

Moreover, China has offered assistance in various ways to empower socioeconomic development of the recipient countries. Ranging from complete projects to human resource training, China's foreign assistance in the past 72 years has completed thousands of supply projects and tens of thousands of technical and human resource development projects, benefiting over 400,000 people in developing countries.

Luo said that China's unique model on international development cooperation is well received in the recipient countries. It adheres to the principle of extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits, respects sovereignty and human rights, does not interfere in internal affairs of other countries and attaches no political conditions. The cooperation channels are transforming from bilateral cooperation between governments to diversified bilateral and multilateral cooperation. In terms of types of cooperation, "small yet smart" people's livelihood projects are supplementing the traditional projects. In 2018, the CIDCA was established to better coordinate and lead China's international development cooperation.

Luo said that as reflected in the report to the 20th CPC National Congress, China is willing to increase resource input in global development cooperation in a bid to reduce gaps between developed and developing countries, and to unswervingly support accelerated development of the developing countries. China's foreign assistance and international development cooperation will be based on building a community with a shared future for mankind and high-quality building of the Belt and Road and the GDI, and China will enhance coordination capacity and modern governance of foreign assistance to jointly create a better future for mankind.

China will continue to carry out foreign assistance. Over the past 70 years, China has stood side by side with other developing countries and demonstrated "helping others in times of need" to the international community. Luo said that China will uphold the right approach to justice and interests, treat all nations as equals, attach no political strings to the assistance, and refrain from interfering in other countries' internal affairs, while helping other developing countries to the best of its ability and contributing to the realization of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Luo added that China will strengthen coordination to improve overall efficacy of foreign assistance, adhere to the approach of "showing people how to fish" to help achieve sustainable development, pay attention to local conditions to fully tap local advantages, strengthen international cooperation and South-South cooperation with a focus on post-pandemic recovery, and expand cooperation in such areas as public health, climate change, biological diversity and agriculture in a bid to fully implement the GDI.

China will always adopt a people-centered approach in international development cooperation, prioritizing "small yet smart" people's livelihood projects. And the top priority will remain elimination of starvation and poverty. China's foreign assistance not only directly benefits people's lives in recipient countries, but also fosters China's development and its people's welfare.

Luo went on to say that China will strive for a joint building of a new paradigm of international development cooperation, where China's and the UN's 2030 agendas are met, as are the visions and channels of the donor and recipient countries, the central and local governments are in sync in policies, connected in projects and aligned in funding, and enterprises are fully supported by governmental platforms, funding and preferential policies.

The forum was jointly organized by the China Institute of Reform and Development, China Daily, the Bank of China and the China Public Diplomacy Association. Around 500 representatives from 17 countries and regions and five international organizations attended the forum themed on grasping opportunities and tackling challenges for both China and the world both online and offline.