Global Development Initiative (GDI) Empowers the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development

In September 2021, Chinese President Xi Jinping attended the General Debate of the 76th Session of the United Nations General Assembly via video link and proposed the Global Development Initiative (GDI) for the first time. The GDI is China’s solution to promoting global development and building a global community with shared development. It enriches, develops, and innovates global development theory, and holds significant importance for advancing the construction of China’s relationship with the world in the new era. The GDI injects strong momentum into getting the UN 2030 Agenda back on track after the pandemic, and maintaining the mainstream of global development amid escalating geopolitical conflicts.

Characteristics of GDI as New Global Public Goods

The GDI is a new type of public goods that combines conceptual guidance and action-oriented approaches. It is characterized by qualities such as commonality, cooperation, inclusiveness and innovation.

Firstly, commonality. The GDI is proposed to all countries and regions around the world. It seeks to address challenges shared by all countries and requires collective efforts from the international community to achieve the common development of all countries and build a global community with shared development. Although countries differ a lot in terms of local conditions and development levels, they all face numerous common issues and challenges that transcend borders, such as sluggish post-pandemic economic recovery, climate change, environmental crises, uneven and unequal development, public health concerns, energy and food security, etc. These issues require joint efforts from international organizations, governments, enterprises and non-governmental organizations (NGO) to figure out and implement comprehensive solutions. At the same time, there are common development opportunities in all countries, like scientific and technological innovations including digital technologies and artificial intelligence (AI), renewable energy and green economy, education revolution and skills improvement etc. This requires all stakeholders involved to join hands to turn them into tangible outcomes.

Secondly, cooperation. The GDI highlights the necessity, importance and feasibility of cooperation. We need international cooperation to solve either cross-border problems in global development or interdependence and vulnerabilities in international economic relations. International cooperation is key to tackling structural problems like climate change, public health and security, as well as uneven and unequal development. International cooperation is also the only way to promote scientific and technological progress and cultural exchanges, share knowledge and innovation outcomes. The GDI emphasizes that cooperation drives development, and development supports cooperation. It also identifies key areas for cooperative development and development cooperation.

Thirdly, inclusiveness. The GDI focuses on development partners, people’s livelihood and human rights, supports “vulnerable countries” and harmonious coexistence between human and nature. All these reflect a people-centered concept, the inclusiveness among individuals, societies, countries and the environment, and are concrete manifestations of an inclusive multilateralism advocated by the UN. To achieve an inclusive development shared by all is the fundamental way to solve inequity and eliminate the root cause of conflicts. Only by formulating and implementing inclusive laws and policies, creating inclusive institutions and environments, facilitating broad social dialogues, citizen participation and global cooperation, can we eliminate unequal, inadequate and uneven development and achieve the goal of common development, not leaving any country behind.

Fourthly, innovation. The GDI introduces innovative concepts, principles, paths, and strategies for global development, offering guiding significance for the future of global innovation and development amid profound changes of a scale unseen in a century.

To start, the GDI proposes innovative concepts. The GDI has for the first time systematically advocated concepts like development coming first, people-centered, universally beneficial and inclusive, innovation-driven and harmonious coexistence. These innovative concepts not only summarize China’s reflections on and experience in modernization but also offer forward-thinking solutions to the global challenges facing development today.

Then, all parties have made many innovative mechanism arrangements. In addition to the Group of Friends of the Global Development Initiative (GDI), China has specially established the Global Development Promotion Center (GDPC) as a shared platform for introducing concepts, innovation methods, pooling resources and promoting actions to implement the GDI. As for now, the GDI has established diverse cooperation mechanisms and platforms including the High-level Conference of the Forum on Global Action for Shared Development, the Global Development and South-South Cooperation Fund, the Global Development Digital Promotion Platform, project database, innovation training centers and Global Development Promotion Center Network.

Lastly, there are innovative and practical measures and actions. During the BRICS-Africa Outreach and BRICS Plus Dialogue held in July 2023, China announced a special fund totaling $10 billion to implement the GDI. At the first High-level Conference of the Forum on Global Action for Shared Development held in August 2023, all parties approved the Guidelines on Global Development Project Database and the Guidelines on Global Development Project Database Fundraising.