Shared future envisioned in outline

Fifty measures were unveiled on Wednesday at the third High-Level Conference of the Forum on Global Action for Shared Development, underscoring China's commitment to advancing global development.

The measures, listed in a shared future actions plan released after the conference, cover all major regions with a concentration on developing countries, including Asia, Africa, Latin America and the South Pacific. The plan also prioritizes eight key cooperation areas outlined in the Global Development Initiative.

Addressing the opening ceremony of the conference, Foreign Minister Wang Yi said that more human resources training programs will be implemented to help developing countries strengthen their capacity for self-reliant development and resilience.

Wang said that China will help the Global South countries promote digital and smart development.

According to Wang, since the GDI was proposed by President Xi Jinping five years ago, China has held more than 10,000 capacity-building programs for developing countries, training more than 200,000 professionals.

He said that China is set to rally both domestic and international resources to support the development and vitalization of the Global South, noting the implementation of 2,000 small yet beautiful livelihood projects over the five-year period.

He called on developed countries to earnestly fulfill their development finance commitments, deepen South-South cooperation, attract diversified participants, adopt innovative means to expand access to finance and truly resolve the issue of unbalanced and inadequate development.

Mozambican President Daniel Francisco Chapo said that the GDI represents an important contribution to mobilizing collective efforts around concrete priorities such as poverty eradication, food security and sustainability.

International cooperation must evolve from a model centered on assistance to a model based on partnership, he noted.

Chapo listed priorities including promoting industrialization, development financing guarantees, technology, digitalization and green transition, which he said are essential for the success of a global development agenda.

"The future of global development will not be determined by the intentions we declare, but the decisions we take and the actions we implement," Chapo said.

Francisco Kalbuadi Lay, vice-prime minister of Timor-Leste, said that China's experience offers valuable lessons, particularly for developing countries such as Timor-Leste in Southeast Asia, as they seek to achieve inclusive and sustainable progress.

"The spirit of this forum reminds us that global progress requires collective effort. It requires that countries work together, support one another, and build partnerships based on mutual respect and shared benefit," he said.

Adrian Thomas, minister of tourism, creative economy and culture of Grenada, said that development must no longer be viewed as charity, but as a right, dignity and justice in practical form. "If the international community is serious about peace and shared prosperity, then it must also be serious about creating a fairer and more responsive development order," said Thomas.

The Caribbean nation particularly values China's emphasis on pragmatic cooperation in areas such as the blue economy, renewable energy and digital public infrastructure for small island developing states, he said.

Grenada also welcomes continued cooperation in renewable energy, digital transformation, climate resilience and cultural exchange, he said.

These contributions matter not only because they are useful, but because they reflect a form of international engagement that responds to the actual needs of people, he added.

Hosted by the China International Development Cooperation Agency, the two-day conference was attended both online and offline by representatives from over 140 countries, international and regional organizations and other related agencies.

Also on Wednesday, Vice-President Han Zheng hosted a group meeting with foreign representatives attending the forum.