China, a staunch pioneer in pursuit of better shared world

COMMON DEVELOPMENT

The past year marked the 20th anniversary of China's entry into the World Trade Organization, the 30th anniversary of China's joining the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, a manifestation of China's integration into the global economy.

Amid the rise of unilateralism and protectionism, China has been advancing economic globalization with openness as a hallmark and shared prosperity as a vision.

As the only major economy to register positive growth in foreign trade in goods in 2020, China has made important contributions to keeping global industrial and supply chains stable and boosting world economic recovery.

Over the years, the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has become a popular international public product and the world's largest international cooperation platform, with 141 countries and 32 international organizations having signed relevant cooperation documents with China.

From the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor to China-Laos Railway, from the China-Europe freight train service to the Port of Piraeus, from the Mombasa-Nairobi Railway to the Chinese-Belarusian industrial park, progress has been made in an array of key projects that stretch across continents and brought substantial benefits to local people.

By 2020, China's trade with BRI partner countries exceeded $9.2 trillion, and its aggregated direct investment in these countries reached nearly $140 billion.

"China has, by far, the most experience in designing and building infrastructure in recent decades and its commitment to work with the developing world is a major step in redressing deep global imbalances," Robert Lawrence Kuhn, a public intellectual and chairman of the Kuhn Foundation, told Xinhua.

To facilitate more balanced and sustainable post-pandemic global development, China has put forward the Global Development Initiative, which has won the endorsement and support of multiple international organizations including UN agencies and nearly 100 countries.

Besides, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership's entry into force on Jan. 1, a historic step forward in economic globalization, will allow the region and the whole world to better share China's development opportunities.

"We must take a people-centered approach and make global development more equitable, effective and inclusive, so that no country will be left behind," Xi stressed at 16th G20 Leaders' Summit via video link in October 2021.