BRI & Xi’s Global Development Initiative | By Dr Mehmood Ul Hassan Khan
It seems that world order is once again going to be changed because of ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine.
Conflicting security concerns have already produced serious dints in the regional economic recovery drive and global economy is now feeling the heat of tussle between Kremlin and Kiev.
In addition to this, imposition of unilateral economic sanctions of the US and the EU on Russia has already produced negative trends in the world financial & banking system. International payment system is under great stress. Aviation sector is under-performed.
Crude oil markets have crusaded the healthy prospects of world economy. Commodity markets have ruined the future prospects of community development around the globe. Energy & food security has become looming threats which have devastating repercussions.
In this connection, China’s One Belt & One Road Initiative (BRI) has once again emerged as the only hope to support global economic drive, stimulate regional economies, eradicate poverty and last but not the least, achieve greater regional connectivity through immense socio-economic development and infrastructural development in all the member countries connecting all the continents of the world.
In the ongoing geopolitical conflicts, contradictions and conspiracies around the globe the BRI stands for development, dialogue and diplomacy.
It also portraits spirits of cooperation, coordination and global collaboration against unilateralism, unjust world economic system, West’s political domination and last but not the least grand program of South-South development.
Last year, President Xi of China presented an innovative Global Development Initiative (GDI) at the UN General Assembly and pinpointed the numerous emerging socio-economic challenges faced by developing countries.
The GDI has a multiplier effect which is a public good open to the whole world. It primarily aims to form synergy with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and boost common development across the world.
He committed that China stood ready to work with all partners to jointly translate the Initiative into concrete policy action and make sure that no country should be left behind in this global process of joint, inclusive, holistic and comprehensive development.
It is a national commitment of China to stay dedicated to development as a priority. It needs to place development high on the global macro policy agenda, strengthen policy coordination among major economies and ensure policy continuity, consistency and sustainability to achieve the desired goals of economic growth. Thus it has economic and political resemblance with the BRI. So, both are complementary to each other.
It needs to foster global development partnerships with more equal and balanced orientations, forges greater synergy among multilateral development cooperation processes and speeds up the implementation of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
It stays committed to a people-centered approach which is the one of the main pillars of BRI. Thus BRI & GDI share similar growth agenda.
Its salient features safeguard and improve people’s livelihoods and protect and promote human rights through development and make sure that development is for the people and by the people, and that its fruits are shared among the people.
So GDI also stands for human development, people’s-friendly policies, people’s genuine protection by generating self-economic reliance without any socio-economic and geopolitical discrimination and geostrategic compulsions.
It aims to continue work so that the people will have a greater sense of happiness, benefit and security and achieve well-rounded development.
It stays committed to development as a priority. It commits to put development high on the global macro policy agenda, strengthen policy coordination among major economies and ensure policy continuity, consistency and sustainability. Thus economic happiness is the ultimate goal of the GDI in which BRI would play an important role.
It suggests employment of such means as debt suspension and development aid to help developing countries, particularly vulnerable ones facing exceptional difficulties, with emphasis on addressing unbalanced and inadequate development among and within countries. Staying committed to innovation-driven development. We need to seize the historic opportunities.
Thus basis of the GDI is economic relief, policy relaxation and priority reorganization of economic assistance parameters to equally distribute economic goods at the doorsteps of people. So it may produce trickle-down effects in which BRI has greater supportive role.
It tends to create technological revolution and industrial transformation, redouble efforts to harness technological achievements to boost productivity and foster an open, fair, equitable and non-discriminatory environment for the development of science and technology.
It should foster new growth drivers in the post-COVID era and jointly achieve leap frog development. Even extended BRI Silk Health Program has same policy priorities.
It purposes harmony between man and nature. It needs to improve global environmental governance, actively respond to climate change and create a community of life for man and nature.
It accelerates transition to a green and low-carbon economy and achieves green recovery and development. Green BRI has direct economic correlation with this policy agenda of the GDI. Thus BRI and GDI share befitting propositions.
In this context, China will strive to peak carbon dioxide emissions before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality before 2060.
It requires tremendous hard work, and China will make every effort to meet these goals. China will step up support for other developing countries in developing green and low-carbon energy, and will not build new coal-fired power projects abroad. It stays committed to results-oriented actions.
Acquisition of green energy, ecological development, preservation of bio-diversity, development of renewables and last but not the least, green finances is the cornerstone of BRI. Thus BRI and GDI equate green equation.
It suggests to increase input in development, advance on a priority basis cooperation on poverty alleviation, food security, COVID-19 response and vaccines, development financing, climate change and green development, industrialization, digital economy and connectivity, among other areas, and accelerate implementation of the UN2030Agenda for Sustainable Development, so as to build a global community of development with a shared future.
Thus it has various economic policy similarities with BRI which is a good omen for the world economic growth, recovery drive and future prospects.
In this connection, China has pledged an additional three billion US dollars of international assistance in the next three years to support developing countries in responding to COVID-19 and promoting economic and social recovery.
Since health has become one of the major issues so amalgamation of BRI and GDI is need of the hour.
To conclude, President Xi Jinping’s proposed Global Development Initiative is a holistic concept of steering global development toward a new stage of balanced, coordinated and inclusive growth in face of the severe shocks of COVID-19.
GDI encourages putting development high on the global macro policy agenda, strengthening policy coordination among major economies and ensuring policy continuity, consistency and sustainability.
It stands for fostering equal and balanced global development partnerships through forging greater synergy among multilateral development cooperation processes.
The central point of the GDI is to safeguard and improve people’s livelihoods as well as to protect and promote human rights through development.
It supports innovation-driven development and harmony between man and nature. Thus BRI & GDI present a win-win proposition for the member countries and the world alike.
News Source: Pakistan Observer
