The theme of this year’s G20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro is “Building a Just World and a Sustainable Planet,” with central topics including the fight against hunger and poverty, and sustainable development. This shows that the G20 has become a governance mechanism dedicated to promoting world development in various aspects.
When China hosted the G20 Hangzhou Summit in 2016, it placed development at the center of macroeconomic policy coordination for the first time, adopting the G20 Action Plan on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the G20 Initiative on Supporting Industrialization in Africa and Least Developed Countries.
From Hangzhou to Rio, China, along with other G20 members, has been committed to a common goal—building a just world of common development. To build a just world, common development is crucial. In pursuit of this goal, China has continuously contributed Chinese wisdom and solutions, assisting countries in the Global South in achieving high-quality development.
Enhancing Trade, Investment and Cooperation
A notable change at the Rio Summit is that the African Union participated as a G20 member for the first time, giving a louder voice to the countries in the “Global South.” So far, 52 African countries and the African Union have signed a memorandum of understanding with China on cooperation in jointly building the “Belt and Road”.
Through the Belt and Road Initiative, China has greatly increased investment and trade cooperation with participating countries, promoting infrastructure construction, capacity cooperation, and trade facilitation. This has not only strengthened economic ties between China and these countries but has also driven local economic growth, job creation, and improvements in people’s livelihoods.
As an advocate and promoter of an open economy, China has continuously explored the path of opening up, including hosting the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation three times and the China International Import Expo seven times, as well as implementing unilateral visa-free policies for multiple countries. It also announced at the Rio Summit that it will give all least developed countries having diplomatic relations with China zero-tariff treatment for 100 percent tariff lines.
As a member of the Global South, China has demonstrated its long-term commitment to cooperating with developing countries at this G20 Summit by announcing eight action plans to support global development, including pursuing high-quality Belt and Road cooperation. With the AU officially becoming a G20 member, China’s cooperation with more Global South countries within the G20 will be upgraded in quality, and cooperation under the Belt and Road framework will become closer and more diversified. China will comprehensively build interconnected physical and digital infrastructure, leveraging its digital technology and experience to empower these countries’ green development and help them achieve sustainable development.
China’s Poverty Reduction Experience Enables Common Development
In recent years, the status of countries in the Global South has risen, and at the same time these countries have shown stronger development needs and aspirations. Poverty reduction is one of the most realistic and urgent tasks for many countries in the Global South. According to data from the World Food Programme, more than 730 million people globally still faced hunger in 2023. Eliminating poverty remains one of the greatest global challenges and a common mission for all humanity.
The topic of “Eliminating Hunger and Poverty” is front and center at this year’s G20 Summit, indicating the importance of deepening cooperation to make progress and change the situation. The Rio Summit launched the Global Alliance against Hunger and Poverty. On the same day, Chinese President Xi Jinping announced China’s decision to join the alliance. The alliance aims to gather partners to obtain financial and technical support, thereby helping countries make progress in reducing poverty and hunger through effective public policies.
China has achieved a complete eradication of extreme poverty, raising 800 million people from poverty. According to the international poverty standard set by the World Bank, China’s contribution to global poverty reduction has exceeded 70%.
China has always adhered to a people-centered development philosophy, considering poverty alleviation as the fundamental task and key indicator for building a moderately prosperous society in all respects. China has implemented a targeted poverty alleviation and eradication strategy, ensuring that poverty alleviation policies are precise and tailored to individual households and individuals. China has promoted poverty alleviation work together with economic development, actively guiding the flow of talent, capital, and technology to impoverished areas to facilitate their economic growth.
While eliminating its own poverty, China has provided economic assistance, technology transfer, and human resource training to developing countries through frameworks such as South-South cooperation. Additionally, China has provided financial support to developing countries through multilateral financial institutions like the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.
At this year’s G20 Summit, China announced more measures to implement the Global Development Initiative. Building on the over 1,100 development projects already in operation, the country will build a Global South research center and utilize 20 billion U.S. dollars of development funds to support developing countries and deepen cooperation in areas such as poverty reduction, food security and the digital economy.
China’s poverty reduction efforts have been a systematic and comprehensive endeavor. The successful eradication of poverty nationwide demonstrates the effectiveness of China’s governance philosophy, and development and poverty reduction strategies and measures, contributing Chinese wisdom and solutions to the cause of global poverty alleviation.
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