China is firm promoter of innovative development and interconnected growth

China has been highlighting the Global Development Initiative since President Xi Jinping raised the concept last autumn. The Chinese leadership has pursued strengthening strategic thinking, increasing strategic resolve, and better balancing domestic and international imperatives.

The key characteristics that can be considered as a holistic approach are promoting development that is open, cooperative, and beneficial to everyone; pursuing common development by working for a peaceful international environment; and protecting and promoting world peace by using China’s development model.

Pursuing a path of peaceful development is a choice made by the Communist Party of China. The core of the party, CPC Central Committee General Secretary Xi Jinping has the clear-sighted appraisals of the evolving socioeconomic dynamics of the world. Thus he has introduced grand narratives of development, broader alignments, and cooperation to achieve future aspirations.

A historical review shows that the primary motivation behind China’s progress has been guided by Deng Xiaoping Theory, the Theory of Three Represents, and the Scientific Outlook on Development over the past decades prior to Xi’s vision, all dedicating to innovative and sustainable growth.

As the saying goes, “A boat that sails against the current will be pushed backward if it does not keep moving forward’’. In this aspect, China shoulders an important mission in promoting world economic stability and growth vis-à-vis innovative developments. In recent years, thanks to President Xi’s innovative projects, the economy of many third-world and developing countries has gradually emerged from the depths to which it plunged and continued to move in a positive direction. China’s immediate priority is to coordinate macroeconomic policies, jointly overcome development challenges, reduce economic risks, and achieve economic prosperity, financial stability, trade growth, job creation and improved public wellbeing.

In this era, major developments have been occurring due to China-proposed Belt & Road Initiative (BRI) that is becoming a global phenomenon, and regional connectivity. Under these transformations, the vision of building a community with a shared future holds much relevance to eradicating differences and moving toward dialogue among civilizations with interconnected growth. China is fully implementing the thought on diplomacy for new-era of “Socialism with Chinese Characteristics”, and continues working to create favorable external conditions for realizing the Chinese dream of national rejuvenation and promoting the building of a human community with a shared future.

To understand the international situation, China has a correct view of history and its role. Dr. Sun Yat-sen, the pioneer of China’s democratic revolution who led the campaign to end the rule of the Qing Dynasty in 1911, once stated, "The tide of history is mighty. Follow it and prosper; resist it and perish."

Looking back on the history of the world, we can see that all those who engaged in acts of aggression or sought expansion, in the end, met with failure. This is the law of history. A prosperous and stable world provides China with opportunities, and sustainable development offers opportunities for the world.

For interconnected growth, it is important to respect and understand each other’s cultures. The great ancient Chinese philosopher Mencius once stated, "Things are born to be different." Civilizations are distinct from each other because of their unique qualities, not because they are better or worse. There should be more exchange and dialogue between countries that belong to different civilizations and subscribe to different models of development so that they can utilize each other’s strength to improve themselves and achieve innovative developments through mutual learning communication.

It is clear that if a nation is resilient and strong from the inside, it will automatically present a great model of development and set an exceptional precedent for others. This can be witnessed by taking the Chinese nation as a case study. The country has been enhancing its composite national strength, enabling people to enjoy the benefits that peaceful development brings and keep tamping the material and social foundations of the path to peaceful development. The Chinese nation is a peace-loving nation and a firm advocate of peace amid chaos since the Russia-Ukraine conflict began in February.

Presently, China is in its best period of development in modern times while the world is undergoing the most profound and unprecedented changes in a century. These two realities are intertwined and mutually influential. There are, therefore, many favorable external conditions for successfully carrying out diplomatic work both at present and in the period ahead, along with the vision of building a community with a shared future. To establish a global vision to better achieve set targets is crucial to tackling common challenges with a shared approach to sustainable global development.

The author is Executive Director, Center for Global & Strategic Studies (CGSS), Islamabad. The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.