Expert on China's intl development cooperation in HR: Sharing experiences and promoting development

China not only shares its experiences but also promotes development through China-aided human resource development cooperation projects, said Zhang Haisen, vice-president of the Institute of World Influential Education Center and director of the Center for International Development Innovation under the University of International Business and Economics, in a recent interview with China News Service.

He said that China is ready to grow more "seeds of talent" in the Global South's modernization drive through precise alignment, digital empowerment and long-term evaluation.

This year marks the fifth anniversary of the China-proposed Global Development Initiative (GDI), which aims to build consensus, cultivate new momentum and advance development for all countries.

China-aided human resource development cooperation projects, a shining example of the country's international development cooperation, have spanned over 70 years. According to the China International Development Cooperation Agency (CIDCA), the nation has conducted about 15,000 such projects across more than 180 countries and organizations, cultivating more than 500,000 professionals in diverse fields.

Zhang said that China has cultivated governance and technical talents for developing countries through various methods, such as inviting trainees to study in China and dispatching high-level experts. Through this, he said, the GDI's major cooperation aspects, such as poverty reduction, food security, climate change response, green development and the digital economy, were significantly advanced.

Zhang noted that the cultivation of professionals transformed the GDI from a top-level plan into an initiative serving the grassroots communities, thereby shifting foreign aid from merely providing resources to building self-sufficiency. Such efforts supported the collective self-reliance of the Global South and facilitated the development of developing countries, he said.

"In addressing varying needs of other developing countries, China adopts the strategies tailored to their local conditions," Zhang said.

He noted that for some developing countries, China emphasized imparting basic skills, such as Juncao growing techniques that were beneficial to agricultural innovation, poverty alleviation and food security in the recipient country. For countries and regions with higher national income and more advanced technologies, China focused on the cooperation in the cutting-edge facets, such as the digital economy and industrial park management, Zhang said.

On the occasion of the fifth anniversary of the GDI, China plans to host the third High-Level Conference of the Forum on Global Action for Shared Development to consolidate development consensus and promote win-win cooperation.

Zhang emphasized that at this critical juncture, China needs to review the results of its cultivation of professionals and align them with the goals of the United Nations' 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

"With global development facing severe challenges, the evaluation of China's training holds great referential significance," Zhang said.

The forum will promote China's strategic alignment with other developing countries in human resource development, he said.

Zhang highlighted the importance of international cooperation in bridging the digital divide between the Global North and South. He cited the CIDCA's special fund for digital capacity-building to show how China would help partner countries focus on application scenarios, cultivate local educators, develop digital ecosystems and participate in global digital governance. He said that China would launch training programs related to the digital economy and artificial intelligence and build the "Digital South" brand to establish a more inclusive international digital order.

As for human resource development cooperation in the future, Zhang called for deepening tripartite cooperation on the supply side, precisely catering to needs and establishing a cross-border database for talent evaluation, in order to assess the outcomes at the individual, organization, and society levels. This will enable the international community to ride on the newest trends of international development cooperation, he said, and meet the needs of developing countries.