Initiative works to offset impact of global crises

Editor's note: China Daily presents a series of analyses to help readers around the world better understand the how and why behind China's views and decisions on the Ukraine situation. This is the fifth installment of the series.

Amid the Ukraine crisis and an economic downturn catalyzed by sanctions and the COVID-19 pandemic, an increasing number of countries, policymakers and international organizations are looking to further work with Beijing on the Global Development Initiative in order to offset multiple impacts and keep global growth afloat.

First put forward by President Xi Jinping in September last year, the initiative includes eight priority areas for global teamwork－poverty alleviation, food security, COVID-19 response and vaccines, development financing, climate change and green development, industrialization, digital economy and connectivity.

The Global Development Initiative has been supported by the United Nations and other international organizations, and "China is working with the international community on the solid implementation of the GDI", Xi said at the opening ceremony on April 21 of the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2022.

Speaking of the impact brought by the Russia-Ukraine conflict, UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed warned on Monday that "many developing countries are reeling from the crippling effects of an uneven recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic", and "the war in Ukraine is now sending shock waves through global food, energy and financial markets".

Earlier this month, both the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank cut their respective global growth projections for 2022.

Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman warned on Wednesday that unintended consequences brought by the sanctions have an "immediate and strong impact on countries in this digitally connected world".

Siddharth Chatterjee, UN development system resident coordinator in China, said the Global Development Initiative "holds great potential to help the world recover from the recent setbacks and accelerate the realization of the Sustainable Development Goals".

"The UN system will always welcome any initiative from the member states to mobilize resources and boost support for internationally agreed development agendas," he added.

As the Ukraine crisis and related sanctions have dampened global prospects on inflation, supply chains and food security, and are worsening the wealth disparity among nations, the Chinese initiative meets the dire needs of developing countries at the moment to keep economies and people's well-being afloat, according to officials and scholars.

Hegemony-driven moves such as imposing sanctions, cutting supplies, decoupling and using economy, finance, science and technology as weapons "disturb global economic order, distort global market mechanisms, obstruct global technological advance and disrupt global production and supply chains", said Wu Hailong, president of the China Public Diplomacy Association.

"Given the spillover effect of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, global development is faced with increasing difficulties", and development is the master key to resolving various problems, Wu told a webinar on April 19.