Nigeria Times

By He Yin, People’s Daily

China is not only advocating but also acting on the vision of building a global community of shared future.

Over the past decade, from promoting high-quality development of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), to proposing and implementing the Global Development Initiative (GDI), Global Security Initiative (GSI), and Global Civilization Initiative(GCI), China, with firm beliefs and solid actions, has worked with all relevant parties to consolidate greater efforts for lasting peace, create a favorable environment for common security, inject stronger confidence into common development, provide important impetus for cultural exchanges, and take more actions for ecological protection. China has continuously contributed to the building of a global community of shared future.

The BRI is a vivid example of building a global community of shared future, a public good and a cooperation platform provided by China and welcomed by the international community.

By July 2023, more than three-quarters of countries in the world and over 30 international organizations had signed agreements on Belt and Road cooperation with China.

Over the past decade, China has laid the groundwork and set up the frameworks of BRI cooperation, delivering tangible results and achieving sustainable progress. Together, participants in the initiative have jointly advanced “hard connectivity” of infrastructure, “soft connectivity” of rules and standards and “people-to-people connectivity” among partner countries. This has effectively promoted the development of participating countries, constantly giving local people of BRI countries a stronger sense of fulfillment and happiness.

Flagship projects of the BRI, such as the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, the China-Laos Railway, the Jakarta-Bandung High-speed Railway and the Mombasa-Nairobi Railway, have lent strong impetus to local economic and social development. The China-Europe freight trains have made 77,000 trips in the past ten years, carrying 7.31 million twenty-foot equivalent units and becoming an important bridge for international economic and trade cooperation. Luban workshops have helped young people in more than 20 Belt and Road countries acquire vocational skills. The BRI aims to help China and the rest of the world share opportunities and seek common development.

Development serves as the material foundation for security and civilization. Through the GDI, China has made its contribution to resolving challenges to development and advancing global development.

The fundamental aim of the initiative is to accelerate the implementation of the UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Its core requirement is a people-centered approach, its foremost philosophy is united, equal, balanced, and inclusive global development partnerships, and its pivotal measure entails results-oriented actions to bolster stronger, greener, and healthier global development and jointly build a global community of development.

China has hosted the High-level Dialogue on Global Development and presented 32 important measures to implement the initiative. So far, half of these measures have been implemented or achieved early fruits. The library of the GDI projects is expanding, with over 200 projects achieving good results.

UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina J. Mohammed noted that strengthening cooperation within the framework of the GDI is key to achieving the common objectives for people and the planet.

Security acts as the fundamental prerequisite for development and civilization. Through the GSI, China has boosted confidence for maintaining and realizing common security and universal security.

The initiative calls for adapting to profound changes in the international landscape through solidarity, addressing traditional and non-traditional security risks and challenges with a win-win mindset, and creating a new path to security that features dialogue over confrontation, partnership over alliance and win-win over zero-sum.

Over the past three decades and more, China has sent more than 50,000 personnel to UN peacekeeping operations in over 20 countries and region. China has been calling for the resolution of conflicts and working tirelessly to promote peace. It has facilitated the restoration of diplomatic relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran and has been actively involved in resolving international and regional hotspot issues. China is actively committed to international cooperation in various fields, including counter-terrorism, public health, digital governance, bio-security, and climate change.

China’s actions fully demonstrate its role as a responsible major country in safeguarding world peace and stability. International personages pointed out that the GSI fills the void of a viable global security architecture, and China’s successful implementation of this initiative fully proves that China is a defender of global peace and security.

Civilization provides the cultural-ethical support for development and security. Through the GCI, China has injected impetus into promoting mutual learning and building an open and inclusive world.

The initiative calls for jointly advocating respect for the diversity of civilizations, jointly advocating the common values of humanity, jointly advocating the importance of inheritance and innovation of civilizations, and jointly advocating robust international people-to-people exchanges and cooperation. It makes a sincere call for the world to enhance inter-civilization exchanges and dialogue, and promote human progress with inclusiveness and mutual learning.

China has hosted gatherings including the Communist Party of China (CPC) in Dialogue with World Political Parties High-level Meeting, the CPC and World Political Parties Summit, and the Conference on Dialogue of Asian Civilizations. It has promoted diverse forms of civil diplomacy, city diplomacy, and public diplomacy. It has also celebrated splendid cultural and tourist “years” and festivals.

China actively promotes the establishment of a global network for dialogue and cooperation on civilizations, strengthens international cultural exchanges and cooperation, and promotes mutual understanding and friendship among peoples of all countries, offering cultural-ethical support for the building of a global community of shared future.

The future of humanity is bright, but it will not come without effort. To build a global community of shared future, confidence and determination are of foremost importance; a broad mind and a global vision are central; a sense of responsibility and a will to act hold the key.

China will continue to work with all parties, hold high the banner of building a global community of shared future, and build an open, inclusive, clean and beautiful world that enjoys lasting peace, universal security, and common prosperity.

By He Yin, People’s Daily

This year’s Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holiday saw packed tourist sites, sold-out cinemas and restaurants, and record-high numbers of travelers, showcasing vigorous vitality across China.

This has drawn significant global attention in recent days. It is believed the vibrant holiday activities mirrored the steady upward trajectory of China’s economy, and conveyed to the world the country’s confidence in and strength of economic development.

Some said the snapped-up air and train tickets as well as the fully booked hotels represented powerful momentum of the world’s second largest economy, and some said the surge in domestic consumption and sustained high railway passenger volumes boosted the country’s economy.

Facing a complex external environment this year, the Chinese economy has withstood pressure and continued recovery, stabilizing its scale while improving quality. China’s economic growth remained among the top of major economies globally.

The latest released data shows that in September, as policy effects continue to accumulate, positive factors in economic performance kept increasing, China’s manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), non-manufacturing business activity index and Composite PMI output index stood at 50.2 percent, 51.7 percent, and 52 percent respectively, all staying in the expansionary zone. It indicates an upward turn in economic prosperity.

Citibank recently raised its forecast for China’s economic growth this year. Rebeca Grynspan, Secretary-General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), said China has significant fiscal room to deliver a rebound and support the economy.

The demand of China’s massive market is a key advantage for the country’s economic growth. During the eight-day Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holiday, China saw 826 million domestic trips and 753.43 billion yuan ($104.72 billion) in domestic tourism revenue, up 71.3 percent and 129.5 percent year-on-year respectively on a comparable basis, and 4.1 percent and 1.5 percent higher than 2019. This once again demonstrated to the world the resilience and vitality of the Chinese market.

With a population of over 1.4 billion and more than 400 million middle-income earners, China is the world’s second largest consumer market, largest online retail market, and an emerging middle-to-high end market, as well as one of the most promising mega markets globally. As policies to restore and expand consumption take effect, China’s consumption potential will be further unleashed, playing a bigger role in driving economic growth.

China is steadily expanding opening up, making its market increasingly attractive.

Recently, the country has introduced a series of targeted measures to further optimize the foreign investment environment and attract more investment from overseas.

China’s general manufacturing sector is now fully open, and the negative list has removed restrictions on foreign investment in the manufacturing sector in free trade zones.

A survey released by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade shows nearly 90 percent of foreign companies are satisfied with aspects like acquiring business premises, taxation, market access, cross-border trade, and promoting market competition in China. Over 90 percent are also satisfied with foreign investment policies introduced since the fourth quarter of 2022.

In the first eight months this year, 33,154 new foreign-invested companies were established in China, up 33 percent year-on-year. The active investment by multinational corporations demonstrates their confidence in the Chinese market and economic development.

China firmly supports openness and cooperation, and its steady economic growth presents important opportunities for the world.

From expanding a globally-oriented network of high-standard free trade areas to implementing the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, and from expanding the Belt and Road partnership to working actively to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, China has constantly deepened bilateral and multilateral economic partnerships for mutual benefit and common development.

This month, China will host the third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation. Representatives from over 130 countries and international organizations have confirmed to attend the event.

“The Belt and Road Initiative is an ambitious economic cooperation project that seeks to revive the ancient Silk Road and promote orderly flow of economic factors, efficient allocation of resources, and market integration regionally and globally,” wrote Juan Esteban Musalem, president of the Chilean-Chinese Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Tourism in an article. He said China remains a non-stop economic engine powering global growth and development, just as it has for the past 40 years.

The vibrant Chinese market during the holiday demonstrated the resilience, potential and dynamism of the Chinese economy. By accelerating the construction of an integrated national market, further leveraging its advantages as a super-large economy, stimulating market vitality and social creativity, and expanding high-level opening up, China will continue supporting global economic growth and creating more opportunities for all.

By He Yin, People’s Daily

The high-profile third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation is expected to be held in Beijing. It will be not only the grandest event to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), but also an important platform for relevant parties to advance high-quality Belt and Road cooperation.

Together, participants in the forum will learn from past experiences, draw a blue print for future cooperation, and lead Belt and Road cooperation toward better development. They will scale new heights, enhance their partnership, and demonstrate their strength in coping with challenges of the times and building a global community of shared future.

Chinese President Xi Jinping extended sincere invitation to relevant parties at the 23rd Meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. He said, “Ten years ago, I proposed the BRI, and on its tenth anniversary, China will hold the third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation. I welcome your participation. We should work together to broaden the Belt and Road as a ‘path of happiness’ benefiting the whole world.”

His invitation received warm response. Russia said the BRI conforms to the development of Eurasia, and the Russian side is looking forward to the third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation. Vietnam said it firmly supports the major initiatives proposed by Xi and supports China in holding the third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation. Hungary said it would actively join the forum.

As of the end of September, representatives from over 130 countries and multiple international organizations had confirmed participation in the forum. It fully indicates the international community’s confidence in and expectation for high-quality Belt and Road cooperation.

Over the past decade, the BRI has transformed from an abstract overall outline into a meticulously detailed blueprint, becoming the most welcomed global public good as well as the largest platform for international cooperation.

By July this year, more than three quarters of all countries in the world and over 30 international organizations have signed Belt and Road cooperation documents with China. The BRI has so far established more than 3,000 cooperation projects and galvanized nearly $1 trillion of investment.

Over the past decade, participating countries have sowed the seed of cooperation and jointly reaped the fruits of cooperation, achieving shared prosperity through mutually beneficial cooperation.

The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and the Silk Road Fund have provided financing support for hundreds of projects. The China-Laos Railway has converted Laos from a landlocked country to a land-linked one. The Jakarta-Bandung High-speed Railway is the first one in Southeast Asian countries to run at a speed of 350 km/h. The Mombasa–Nairobi Standard Gauge Railway has boosted local economic growth by over two percent.

The fruitful outcomes of the BRI fully proves that the “belt of development” and “road to happiness” for all humanity will deliver more prosperity to more people and constantly enhance the sense of fulfillment and happiness for people of participating countries, as long as it follows the principle of wide consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits, pursues open, green and clean cooperation, aims at high-standard, sustainable and people-centered growth and continues seeking high-quality development.

The third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation will further build consensus and pull efforts from relevant parties, so as to deepen Belt and Road cooperation.

Today, the world has entered a new period of turbulence and transformation. It is undergoing major shifts, division and regrouping, leading to more uncertain, unstable and unpredictable developments. The journey of global economic recovery remains long and tortuous. Unilateralism and protectionism are mounting. Particularly, certain countries are pursuing decoupling and severing of supply chains in the name of “de-risking,” posing threats against the security and stability of international industrial and supply chains.

Facing common challenges, relevant parties need to strengthen political mutual trust, connectivity, trade facilitation, financial integration, and people-to-people exchanges, actively launch cooperation in health, green development, digital industry and innovation, foster new areas of growth, and demonstrate their will and capability to share opportunities, tackle challenges and jointly build a better future.

The third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation will include an opening ceremony, three high-level forums on connectivity, green development and digital economy, and six thematic forums on trade connectivity, people-to-people communication, think tank exchanges, clean Silk Road, subnational cooperation and maritime cooperation. A CEO conference will also be held during the event.

Like-minded partners will come together to discuss cooperation plans and outline a development blueprint. Together, they will practice true multilateralism and set new milestones of Belt and Road cooperation. This will inject confidence into addressing the challenges of the times and achieving global sustainable development.

“But either in good times or bad, either on a smooth road or a thorny path, we will uphold the spirit of partnership, keep in mind what brought us together, and march forward without hesitation,” said Xi at the welcoming banquet of the second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation.

Looking forward to the third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation, each participant should have the belief that people of all countries deserve a better future, and Belt and Road cooperation will definitely bring about a better world.

By Liao Ruiling

China’s outbound direct investment (ODI) in 2022 reached $163.12 billion, ranking second in the world, according to a report jointly released by the Ministry of Commerce, the National Bureau of Statistics and the State Administration of Foreign Exchange.

The report comprehensively reflects China’s ODI in 2022, including the flow and stock, the country’s ODI in major economies, the composition of outbound direct investors, and the composition of ODI enterprises.

The Thar Coal Block-I Coal Electricity Integration project in Pakistan operated by Shanghai Electric supplies electricity to 4 million local households. In Hungary, a server is being produced every minute on average in an automated and intelligent factory built by Chinese technology company Lenovo…

In recent years, Chinese companies have accelerated their pace of “going global,” continuously increasing their overseas investment.

According to the report, China’s ODI flow has ranked among the top three globally for 11 consecutive years, and accounted for over 10 percent of the world’s total for seven years in a row. The country’s ODI stock reached $2.75 trillion at the end of 2022, ranking among the top three in the world for six consecutive years.

Chinese enterprises are now doing business in over 80 percent of the countries and regions in the world. By the end of 2022, domestic investors in China had set up 47,000 overseas enterprises in 190 countries and regions worldwide, with nearly 60 percent in Asia, 13 percent in North America and 10.2 percent in Europe. Among them, 16,000 were established in Belt and Road countries.

“As evidenced by China’s high global rankings in ODI flow and stock, Chinese enterprises are developing rapidly and strengthening their presence in the global market, and improving local infrastructure and creating massive jobs with their projects launched worldwide,” said Yu Miaojie, president of China’s Liaoning University.

By doing so, Chinese enterprises have promoted unimpeded trade, financial integration and people-to-people bonds, thus driving global economic development, Yu added.

Chinese companies are increasingly expanding their presence overseas and investing in a wider range of industries. According to the report, in 2022, China’s ODI spanned across 18 major sectors of the economy. Notably, investments exceeding $10 billion were made in areas such as leasing and business services, manufacturing, finance, wholesale and retail, mining, and transportation.

Green investment has become a major highlight. “In recent years, China’s outbound investment has maintained steady expansion, and the quality has also improved, with significant growth in the field of new energy,” said Liu Qiao, Dean of the Guanghua School of Management at Peking University.

Statistics showed that new energy was the sector that saw the highest number of outbound investment projects in the power industry last year, accounting for approximately 58 percent of the total.

Among them, there were eight solar power projects, accounting for 33 percent, with an investment of $1.33 billion. Six projects were wind power projects, accounting for 25 percent, with an investment of $519 million.

Chinese enterprises pursue win-win cooperation to assist other countries’ economic development when they go global. The report said that in 2022, Chinese enterprises overseas paid a total of $75 billion in taxes to the countries they invested in, up 35.1 percent. The total number of employees of these companies surpassed 4.1 million at the end of 2022, of which nearly 2.5 million were local employees.

In 2022, China’s outbound investment stimulated $256.6 billion worth of imports and exports of goods. Additionally, non-financial Chinese enterprises operating abroad generated $3.5 trillion in sales revenue, a 14.4 percent increase compared to the previous year.

Dorothy Tembo, Deputy Executive Director of the United Nations International Trade Center, said at the 23rd China International Fair for Investment and Trade that trade and investment will revive the global economy, promote economic development and create more jobs in a sustainable manner, no matter the capital is to or from China.

China’s outbound investment has maintained a sound momentum since this year. According to statistics released by the Ministry of Commerce, China’s non-financial ODI increased 18.8 percent year-on-year to 585.61 billion yuan ($80.3 billion) in the first eight months of the year. In particular, Chinese enterprises’ non-financial ODI in Belt and Road countries reached 140.37 billion yuan, up 22.5 percent year-on-year.

Meanwhile, the turnover of the overseas contracted projects amounted to 648.62 billion yuan, up 6.1 percent from a year ago, and the total value of the newly signed contracts was 863.34 billion yuan, up 2 percent from a year ago.

By Wen Hongyan, Yang Xuebo, Xu Qing, Song Jingsi, People’s Daily

The Chinese civilization has weathered vicissitudes and been passed down from generation to generation. It remains the only great ancient civilization that has developed in an unbroken line while retaining a coherent national identity down to the present day.

The five prominent features of continuity, innovativeness, unity, inclusiveness, and peaceful nature together shape the Chinese civilization, forming its profound values and systems.

The Chinese civilization, which has stretched for more than 5,000 years, provides strong cultural-ethical support for Chinese modernization.　

Chinese modernization represents the renewal, not the destruction, of the country’s ancient civilization. It is a modernization originating from China’s own land, not one mimicking other nations. It stems from the continuous development of the Chinese civilization, not from any rupture in its cultural heritage.

Modernization is a comprehensive development process that includes economic, political, cultural, social, and ecological aspects. It is a significant symbol of the development and progress of human civilization.

“As we have upheld and developed socialism with Chinese characteristics and driven coordinated progress in material, political, cultural-ethical, social, and ecological terms, we have pioneered a new and uniquely Chinese path to modernization, and created a new model for human advancement,” said Chinese President Xi Jinping at a ceremony marking the centenary of the Communist Party of China (CPC).

Today, China’s economy is shifting towards high-quality development, and there is a continuous emergence of material achievements, which lays a solid material foundation for Chinese modernization.

Democracy is a common value of all humanity and a distinctive feature of modern political civilization.

When visiting the Gubei civic center in Changning District of Shanghai in November 2019, Xi talked to Chinese and foreign residents attending a consultation meeting on a draft law. He said China is on the path of socialist political advancement with Chinese characteristics, and people’s democracy is a type of whole-process democracy. His remarks revealed the features and advantages of socialist democracy.

The CPC initiated the National People’s Congress and the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, which has a close relation to the Chinese civilization’s people-oriented philosophy, idea of collective governance, political tradition of “republic” and “deliberation,” and political wisdom of “inclusiveness, mutual learning, and seeking common ground while reserving differences.”

China has a unitary state structure and a regional national autonomy system. It conforms to the general trend of cohesion within the Chinese nation and unity in diversity.

China did not follow the old Western path, but rather has created its own modernization path suited to itself. China did not directly copy Western democratic models, but has created its own form of democracy with Chinese characteristics.

Democracy takes different forms, and there is no one-size-fits-all model. It would be totally undemocratic to measure the diverse political systems in the world with a single yardstick or examine different political civilizations from a single perspective.

In today’s China, democracy has turned from a value into an institution and governance mechanism. The 1.4 billion Chinese people are enjoying rights and dignity like never before.

The essence of modernization is the modernization of people. Replacing backwardness with progress and eliminating poverty with prosperity aligns with the historical trend and represents the moral imperative of human progress.

People-centered development philosophy has introduced a series of pioneering initiatives to promote common prosperity and realize fairness and justice, doing everything to resolve the most practical problems that are of the greatest and most direct concern to the people, and making active efforts to solve the most pressing difficulties of high concern to the people. As a result, the people’s sense of gain, fulfillment, and security has become more substantial, better assured, and more sustainable.

China abandons the Western path of modernization that is capital-centered, polarized, full of materialism, expansion and pillage. It represents the direction of the progress of human civilization.

While pursuing happiness for the Chinese people and rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, the CPC has also contributed to human progress and world harmony.

“Hegemonism is not in China’s DNA; nor does China have any motivation to engage in major-power competition. China stands firmly on the right side of history, and believes that a just cause should be pursued for the common good,” said Xi at the closing ceremony of the BRICS Business Forum 2023 on Aug. 22. He once again explained China’s unwavering commitment to the path of peaceful development from the perspective of civilization.

Facing the changes of the world, of the times and of history, the CPC always uphold humanity’s common values of peace, development, equity, justice, democracy and freedom. It is committed to promoting mutual learning among civilizations and advancing human progress.

Chinese modernization, as a new form of human advancement, will draw upon the merits of other civilizations and make the garden of world civilizations more vibrant.