China’s contribution to economic progress and world peace

President Xi Jinping delivered a keynote address to the delegates at the Boao Forum for Asia in Hainan on Tuesday. The key message of his speech is about trade, economic development, cooperation and world peace and continued prosperity to all nations in Asia and the rest of the world. Xi used the 40 years of economic reform and the opening up of China as a blueprint to showcase how countries can make progress and prosper under a peaceful world order through hard work, perseverance and free trade.

The progress made by China in the last 40 years was a social and economic miracle that could be emulated by developing countries, a lesson for aspiring nations to chart their own destinies and to achieve modernization and economic well-being for their people.

The Chinese formula for growth and development may not be applicable to all countries but is still useful as a starting point for countries that are seeking the right path to prosperity without the need to reinvent the wheel.

While China has transformed itself from an agrarian economy into an industrialized and trading nation in the last four decades, the progress and well-being of China do not only benefit the people of China but also have great influence on other nations and contributed to profound changes in the world, Xi said. China has found its way, and is showing the way for other developing nations to do so. Every country can attain the same kind of development as China without resorting to war, but through trade and peaceful development. Every country can achieve growth and prosperity on their own with the right spirit and determination.

China’s contributions to the world are not just words but in deeds and in kind. The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) would build a new and all inclusive international infrastructure of ports, highways and railways, supported by financing through the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), for a better and more interconnected world for trade and commerce, economic cooperation and cultural exchanges. Never in the history of human civilization has such a grand project of such scale been conceived and implemented with the cooperation of nearly 100 countries, all with the same purpose and objective, with a single mind, to promote trade and economic development for the prosperity of human kind. The complexities and engineering effort involved, the finances, and the political will to see it through, are a fine example of human enterprise, cooperation, mutual trust, goodwill and the pioneering spirit of all the participating nations as one people.

The economic spin off from the BRI alone would sustain the growth and prosperity of the Asian countries and the world for several decades to come. Without this massive infrastructure project, the world economy would have gone into a tailspin and probably lead to a recession. Without the BRI, many Asian countries would not enjoy economic vitality and capital investments and high economic growth rates.

This China initiative is perhaps the greatest contribution of China to countries in Asia and the rest of the world. The success of the BRI would be a big motivation and encouragement for countries in Asia to want to work more closely as one people for the good of all the people in Asia and the world.

The Boao Forum would be a good platform for Asian leaders and thinkers to share their ideas, views and recommendations for more mutually beneficial projects and cooperation involving multiple parties and countries, mega projects that would otherwise be limited and difficult to take off with the limited resources of a single country. Asian countries should jointly work towards the betterment of Asians and the people of the world in general. There is a common goal for all Asian leaders to bring about peace, stability and prosperity to Asia and the world.

China would play its part to open up its economy to the rest of the world, to share and provide more opportunities for business, trade and cooperation. China will protect the current world order and free trade system and will fight against protectionism and isolationist policies.

The author is a political observer from Singapore.