Zhang Donggang and Lin Shangli: The Theoretical Value and Practical Significance of Building a Global Development Community
Development is the eternal theme of human society, carrying the people's aspiration for a better life.
On September 21, 2021, during the general debate of the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly, President Xi Jinping proposed the "Global Development Initiative" and the advocacy for "building a global community of development with a shared future." On August 24, 2023, President Xi Jinping delivered a speech at the BRICS-Plus Leaders' Dialogue, proposing to "strengthen confidence, unite as one, and work together to build a community of development, ensuring that no single country is left behind in the process of world modernization." Development is the foundation and the key to solving global problems. As a new concept and approach proposed to answer the questions of global development, the proposal of a global community of development constitutes a profound grasp of the current global development situation. It embodies the global economic governance outlook contained within Xi Jinping Thought on Economy, and serves as a new type of international public good provided by China to promote the implementation of the Global Development Initiative and the building of a community with a shared future for humanity. It possesses significant theoretical value and practical meaning.
Understanding the Profound Historical Logic: A Value Guide for Solving Global Development Dilemmas
General Secretary Xi Jinping has emphasized that development is real only when all countries develop together. The proposal of a global community of development represents a major breakthrough over the old models of global economic development. Looking across world history, especially since the Industrial Revolution, the economic development of many countries was built upon predatory exploitation and unequal trade. This old development model not only exacerbated the wealth gap between nations but also triggered frequent conflicts and turbulence. Building a community of development directly confronts the many quandaries of today’s world. Its core lies in promoting the common development of all countries and achieving win-win cooperation. It is a new breakthrough over traditional economic development models, creating a new paradigm for international development cooperation. It embodies a global economic governance outlook based on equality, oriented toward openness, driven by cooperation, and aimed at sharing, providing new ideas for solving global development dilemmas.
Building a global community of development has striking practical relevance. The process of human social development has been characterized by twists and turns, and the journey of various countries exploring paths to modernization has been full of hardships. In the modern era, Western powers relied on military force for external expansion, continuously extracting wealth within a world system structured around the capitalist "center-periphery" [1] model. While they were the first to enter industrialization, they brought profound suffering to developing countries. After World War II, developing countries gained independence one after another and embarked on the road to modernization. However, some Western powers engaged heavily in zero-sum games and followed the "law of the jungle," leading some developing countries to seek dependent development, only to fall into various "development traps." In recent years, the counter-current against globalization has surged, with unilateralism and protectionism rising significantly. The world economic recovery is sluggish, local conflicts and turbulence occur frequently, and global problems have intensified; the world has entered a new period of turbulence and transformation. The COVID-19 pandemic further exacerbated this trend, as international trade and investment shrank sharply, bringing unprecedented challenges and tests to human production and life, and further strengthening global economic uncertainty. The longing of the world's people for peace and development is stronger than ever before, and their expectation for equity and justice is firmer than ever before. In response, General Secretary Xi Jinping proposed the "Global Development Initiative," emphasizing the promotion of stronger, greener, and healthier global development. This conveys hope and confidence for human peace and development, reflects the common call of the vast majority of countries, and provides value guidance for the international community to achieve the broadest solidarity and walk a new path of development.
Building a global community of development possesses distinct historical continuity. Chinese culture prizes "harmony" (he) and "union" (he), which fundamentally determines that China will always be a builder of world peace, a contributor to global development, and a defender of the international order. It determines that China continuously pursues exchanges and mutual learning among civilizations rather than seeking cultural hegemony; it determines that China will not impose its own values and political system on others; and it determines that China insists on cooperation rather than confrontation, and will never engage in "forming cliques to persecute those who differ" [2]. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out that the Communist Party of China (CPC) has always regarded making new and greater contributions to humanity as its mission. As the international situation changes, China, while pursuing its own development, has always looked at the future and destiny of humanity with a global vision, continuously providing new opportunities for the world through its own new development and injecting new impetus into the reform and construction of the global governance system. After the founding of New China, the CPC continued to integrate Marxist concepts of peace with the "upholding good faith, cultivating harmony, and promoting social integration and world peace" [3] found in fine traditional Chinese culture. Centered on sovereign independence and equality and opposing hegemonism, the Party formed a series of new peace proposals and practices, adhering to independence and self-reliance while actively developing relations with Third World countries. Since the start of reform and opening up, China has taken development as the top priority, actively integrating into and maintaining the multilateral trading system with the World Trade Organization at its core, leading the trend of global openness and cooperation, and successfully walking a path of peaceful development. Entering the New Era, General Secretary Xi Jinping, with the global vision and sense of responsibility of a leader of a major party and a major country, has held high the glorious banner of building a community with a shared future for humanity. He has proposed the Belt and Road Initiative, the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative, and the Global Civilization Initiative, advocating for the construction of a community of development and a global development partnership. Through a series of active measures, China has allowed the world to share in development dividends and promoted global development cooperation. The concept of a global community of development contains the consistent worldview and methodology of the Chinese Communists.
Building a global community of development possesses a clear historical necessity for the times. China’s rapid rise has provided a solid practical foundation for practicing the concept of a community of development. Through reform and opening up and modernization construction, China's economy has achieved leapfrog development—a development not achieved at the expense of other countries' interests. On the contrary, China adheres to win-win cooperation and has established broad economic cooperative relations with countries around the world. Especially driven by the Belt and Road Initiative, China has provided great assistance to the economic development of developing countries through infrastructure construction, trade and investment facilitation, and cross-border financial cooperation. Since the beginning of the new century, the collective rise of emerging market countries and developing countries has been changing the global political and economic map. Data shows that over the past 20 years, emerging market and developing countries have contributed as much as 80% to world economic growth, and their share of global GDP has increased from 24% to over 40% in the last 40 years. In the three years since the Global Development Initiative was proposed, it has received support and participation from more than 100 countries and multiple international organizations, including the United Nations. More than 80 countries have joined the "Group of Friends of the Global Development Initiative," and more than 70 countries, regions, and international organizations have joined forces to establish the Global Development Promotion Center Network. The global partnership network is increasingly improving. Today, the world-encompassing nature of human interaction is deeper and broader than at any time in the past, and the connections and interdependencies between countries are more frequent and closer than ever before. Building a global community of development provides a profound answer to the "questions of the times" through the integration of theory and practice. It contributes a "Chinese solution" to world peaceful development and the progress of human civilization, and has become an inevitable choice for countries around the world to solve global problems.
Grasping the Scientific Theoretical Logic: A Framework of Principles for Achieving Common Prosperity and Progress
The concept of a global community of development is rooted in the deep soil of Marxist theory and fine traditional Chinese culture. It is an important component of Xi Jinping Thought on Economy and a significant manifestation of the "Two Combinations"—combining the basic tenets of Marxism with China’s specific realities and with its fine traditional Chinese culture. It provides a new theoretical and practical path for global development. To accurately understand the theoretical logic of building a global community of development, one must firmly grasp seven aspects.
From autonomous development to common progress. Building a community of development requires respecting the autonomous development path of every country. Each country has different resource endowments, economic structures, and cultural backgrounds; therefore, a single development model cannot adapt to the needs of all nations. Autonomous development means that each country can choose the economic route, technological innovation, and industrial upgrading path that best suits its own conditions. This is not only a manifestation of national sovereignty but also the foundation for ensuring that a country's economy maintains resilience and long-term development.
Today, the autonomous development of a single country faces increasing challenges, making the shift from autonomous development to common progress crucial. In a complex and volatile situation, how to achieve lasting peace and common prosperity is an important task facing the international community. General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized that we should persist in seeking development through openness and deepening exchanges and cooperation, insisting on "joining hands" rather than "letting go," and "tearing down walls" rather than "building walls." Common progress means cooperation and sharing. It means that developing countries can obtain resources, technology, and financial support through the mechanisms of the global community of development, achieving more efficient and sustainable autonomous development in a manner consistent with their national conditions, thereby realizing the pursuit of common development.
From resource sharing to value co-creation. The concept of shared development is an important part of Xi Jinping Thought on Economy. General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized: "We unswervingly pursue a win-win strategy of opening up, drawing development momentum from the world while letting China's development better benefit the world." Resource sharing is an important basis for promoting cooperation between countries. Especially for developing countries, it can effectively bridge the gaps in natural resources, technical resources, capital, and markets, achieving a situation where advantages complement each other.
Influenced by Cold War thinking and the capitalist logic of "the weak are the prey of the strong," the understanding of human social development by some Western countries has always been characterized by exclusionary thinking, frequently brandishing the "big stick of sanctions" and continuously clamoring for "decoupling." In this model, the historical development of human society is viewed as the result of antagonistic struggle, where Western countries must achieve absolute advantage in the conflict. The goal of building a community of development is to achieve mutually beneficial international cooperation, which is fundamentally different from old Western thinking. In the construction of a global community of development, resource sharing should evolve toward a higher level of value co-creation. Value co-creation means countries can strengthen innovation synergy to further increase the value-added potential and utilization efficiency of resources. Through knowledge sharing, technology transfer, and talent innovation, the global community of development can create new economic growth points and industrial opportunities on the basis of resource interconnectedness.
From inclusive development to balanced development. Since the end of the Cold War, national economies have integrated and become interdependent, advocating for inclusive development, which saw a great expansion of transnational investment and a boom in international trade. However, at the same time, the problem of unbalanced economic development remains prominent. The wealth gap and the North-South divide continue to widen. Many developing countries occupy a disadvantageous position in the world economy and are unable to share equally in the dividends of economic globalization. Building a global community of development emphasizes the fair distribution of development opportunities to avoid the marginalization of certain countries or groups. As General Secretary Xi Jinping said: "No one should be left behind, and no country should fall behind on the path of modernization."
Economic globalization is an objective requirement of the development of productive forces, an inevitable result of scientific and technological progress, and a necessary path for the advancement of human society; it is an irreversible trend of the times. Building a community of development must adapt to the universal aspirations of all countries, especially developing countries, and promote the resolution of development imbalances between and within nations caused by the global allocation of resources, making development both sufficient and balanced. Shifting from inclusive development to balanced development requires further promoting the adjustment of the global economic structure to achieve a balanced distribution of industries, resources, and technology on a global scale. Through international cooperation and policy coordination, regional economic development gaps can be narrowed, achieving an economic globalization that facilitates accelerated development for all countries—especially developing ones—and building an equal world order that is both pluralistic and inclusive.
From digital connectivity to technological empowerment. In today's world, the scientific and technological revolution and industrial transformation are changing daily. The digital economy is flourishing, profoundly altering human production and lifestyles, and exerting a deep impact on the economic and social development of countries, the global governance system, and the process of human civilization. In this context, digital connectivity has become an important link for contact and cooperation between nations. However, as global technological competition intensifies, barriers to technology diffusion are built high, and the world order of scientific and technological innovation faces restructuring.
Scientific and technological innovation is a key force for promoting economic development, improving people's livelihoods, and addressing global challenges. The shift from digital connectivity to technological empowerment involves providing deeper driving force for global development through scientific and technological innovation. Building a community of development aims to strengthen global collaboration in scientific and technological innovation, jointly build global innovation networks, and expand cooperation in new fields such as health, green development, digital economy, and innovation. It also seeks to increase technological assistance to developing countries, tap into potential for innovative growth together with all nations, enhance the production efficiency, innovation capacity, and industrial competitiveness of all countries, and promote innovation achievements to benefit people of all nations more extensively.
From sustainable development to global environmental governance. Regarding the relationship between humanity and nature, Western modernization came at the cost of over-exploiting nature, causing immense destruction to the Earth’s environment and ecosystems—a process that continues to this day. Humanity has only one Earth; protecting the ecological environment and promoting sustainable development is the shared responsibility of all nations. While sustainable development has become a global consensus, relying solely on the efforts of individual countries is no longer sufficient to address the global ecological crisis.
Against the backdrop of severe challenges to global sustainable development, Chinese-path modernization has blazed a new trail for the coordinated development and harmonious coexistence of humanity and nature. General Secretary Xi Jinping has pointed out that "the establishment of new environmental protection goals should balance ambition with pragmatism to make the global environmental governance system more fair and reasonable." The deepening of the transition from sustainable development to global environmental governance carries profound significance. First, global environmental governance helps countries, especially developing nations, reduce negative environmental impacts while developing their economies, achieving a win-win for green transition and development. Second, global environmental governance can drive the joint research, development, and application of green technologies, promoting industrial upgrading and providing development space for emerging industries such as renewable energy, green construction, and the circular economy. Third, global environmental governance can strengthen solidarity and cooperation within the international community to jointly address global environmental challenges, promoting the optimization and enhancement of global governance structures.
From security guarantees to cooperative growth. Security is the foundation of development, and stability is the prerequisite for prosperity. Building a development community requires focusing not only on economic development but also on security cooperation and guarantees between states. In a complex and volatile international environment, security guarantees are an important basis for interaction and cooperation between countries. Without security guarantees, normal interaction and economic cooperation cannot proceed smoothly, and development will be difficult to sustain. Therefore, ensuring national and regional security—particularly through multilateral cooperation to address transnational threats—is a vital task in building a development community.
General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized the need to "use openness to relieve the difficulties of development, pool the strength of cooperation through openness, gather the momentum of innovation through openness, and seek the blessing of shared benefits through openness, so as to push economic globalization forward, enhance the development drivers of all countries, and let the fruits of development reach the people of all countries more broadly and fairly." On the basis of effectively guaranteed security, China unswervingly develops an open world economy. It focuses on the fundamental issue of development, committing to closer economic ties and deeper mutual cooperation, promoting trade and investment liberalization and facilitation, maintaining the stability of industrial and supply chains, and encouraging all countries to achieve interconnected growth through development cooperation.
From cultural exchange to mutual learning among civilizations. Cultural exchange is a vital channel for different countries and ethnic groups to understand one another and share cultural achievements; it not only strengthens emotional ties between peoples but also lays a profound humanist foundation for global cooperation. However, the current breadth and depth of cultural exchange are insufficient, and the cultural influence of some developing countries remains limited, making it difficult to achieve effective dissemination on a global scale.
General Secretary Xi Jinping noted: "We should deepen exchange and mutual learning, and build a spiritual home of 'harmony in diversity' with an inclusive mind" [4]; we must "behold 'harmony in diversity' from an equitable, inclusive, and friendly perspective, and treat diverse cultures with an attitude of appreciation, mutual study, and mutual learning." To promote the further evolution from cultural exchange to mutual learning among civilizations, the construction of a development community should emphasize equal exchange and mutual learning between cultures, reject cultural hegemony, and respect the cultural diversity and uniqueness of each country. Mutual learning among civilizations is not merely the reciprocal borrowing of cultural elements, but a process where different cultures achieve common prosperity and innovation on a basis of equality.
Grasping a Distinct Practical Logic: The Key Path to Jointly Building a Better World
General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "We must always stand firmly on the right side of history and on the side of human civilization's progress, hold high the banner of peace, development, cooperation, and mutual benefit, and strive to promote world peace and tranquility and the common progress of humanity." Since the Global Development Initiative was proposed over three years ago, its conceptual connotations have been continuously enriched, its implementation mechanisms have been steadily improved, its advancement path has become clearer, and pragmatic cooperation has gradually taken root. The concept of a global development community is becoming increasingly distinct and continues to exert practical efficacy. This concept originates in China, but its opportunities and outcomes belong to the world. It requires starting from multiple practical leverage points to cultivate high-quality development drivers for the future, providing a Chinese solution for building a better world together.
Deepen global infrastructure connectivity to solidify the foundation of win-win development. Infrastructure is a vital support for economic and social development. We must persist in treating the creation of a solid hardware foundation as an inherent requirement and powerful support for global development. To practice and implement the concept of a global development community, we should advance its realization based on the overall situation of further comprehensively deepening reform. The Decision of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on Further Comprehensively Deepening Reform and Advancing Chinese-path Modernization, adopted at the Third Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee, proposed improving the integrated layout of land, sea, air, and cyber networks, and building a multidimensional "Belt and Road" connectivity network. This was identified as a key component of "improving the mechanism for high-quality Belt and Road cooperation," emphasizing the coordinated advancement of major landmark projects alongside "small yet beautiful" livelihood projects [5]. This has clarified the direction for the further advancement of "Belt and Road" construction.
In the future, we must focus on encouraging countries to continue strengthening cooperation in infrastructure construction—particularly by building smart and green infrastructure to promote multi-dimensional, multi-functional, and broad-coverage facility connectivity. While vigorously promoting the construction of cross-border high-speed rail, port hubs, and energy pipelines, we must accelerate the popularization of next-generation 5G networks and digital infrastructure. Through the support of multilateral financial institutions such as the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and the New Development Bank (NDB), the vast number of developing countries can obtain more development capital, laying a foundation for future regional cooperation. Facing the complex puzzles and urgent aspirations of various nations’ development, the high-quality infrastructure cooperation carried out by China aims at building a community with a shared future for humanity. It emphasizes "development priority" and continuously injects new connotations such as green, resilience, digital, and innovation, pushing the continuous release of infrastructure dividends to benefit all parties.
Promote a diversified and sustainable global supply chain to clear the channels of economic interaction. After the global supply chain experienced the challenges of the pandemic and geopolitics, building a development community faces the problem of how to enhance supply chain resilience and sustainability. To this end, promoting transportation connectivity and building a resilient global logistics and supply chain system is of great significance for smoothing the pulse of the world economy and increasing human social welfare. Practicing and implementing the concept of a global development community requires taking a clear stand against protectionism, actively adapting to the trend of regionalization in global supply chains, and taking the initiative to adjust and optimize global layouts to integrate more deeply into global supply chain networks. We must jointly construct a global industrial and supply chain system that is secure, stable, smooth, efficient, open, inclusive, and mutually beneficial. By reducing barriers, smoothing trade, and promoting regional economic cooperation, we can enhance supply chain resilience. Simultaneously, by jointly building the "Belt and Road," we can strengthen production capacity cooperation with relevant countries and optimize supply chain layouts, thereby achieving diversification, security, and sustainable development of supply chains. We should introduce green technologies into existing supply chains to promote clean production and low-carbon logistics, reducing the negative environmental impact of supply chains and promoting coordinated economic growth and environmental protection. Through multilateral mechanisms, we must promote diversified cooperation in global supply chains to ensure their security and resilience.
Construct a global digital economy cooperation network to release digital dividends. Currently, China has built the world's largest information and communication network. Fully utilizing China's technical advantages in 5G, big data, and smart cities to promote digital infrastructure construction will help bridge the global digital divide and enable more countries, especially developing ones, to achieve rapid development. In practicing and implementing the concept of a global development community, we should focus on bridging the digital divide, promoting digital infrastructure construction, and strengthening technical cooperation and innovation. Through "Digital Silk Road" projects, many developing countries have already made significant progress in internet infrastructure, e-commerce, and digital finance. We must further share digital technical standards and norms through global cooperation to advance industrial and trade digitalization. We should encourage relevant enterprises to participate in global digital economy networks, promoting the popularization of digital industries and the digital transformation of traditional industries to enhance global digital capabilities. The Global Development and South-South Cooperation Fund can provide financial support for the digital transformation of developing countries, helping them establish an internationalized, high-end, and professional exchange and cooperation platform under a global digital economy pattern characterized by inclusive balance, innovative inclusion, win-win cooperation, and common prosperity. Through technological empowerment, we can promote the wide application of new technologies like AI, blockchain, and big data to inject new momentum into global development.
Innovate the global development financial system to promote inclusive and green finance. The financial system is the backbone of the global economy; building a global development community requires a more innovative, inclusive, and green global financial system. To practice and implement the concept of a global development community, we should push for the continuous deepening of financial system innovation under the framework of the global development community. We should firmly advance the reform of global financial governance, increasing the voice and representation of emerging markets and developing countries to build a just and efficient global financial governance pattern. We must effectively strengthen international macro-economic policy dialogue and coordination, particularly in key areas such as world economic growth, the digital economy, green development, and climate change, to jointly maintain global financial stability and support the green transition of developing countries. Furthermore, the promotion of digital financial tools will help more small and medium-sized enterprises and populations in remote areas access financial services, enhancing financial inclusion.
Promote the reform of the global governance system to enhance the representation and voice of developing countries. General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized the need to "promote the development of the global governance system in a more just and reasonable direction." China has always been a builder of world peace, a contributor to global development, a defender of the international order, and a provider of public goods, as well as an important promoter of the reform and construction of the global governance system. The global governance system in today's world is essentially a Western governance system dominated by developed capitalist countries. To build a fairer and more inclusive global development community, the reform of the global governance system is imperative. In practicing and implementing the concept of a global development community, we should take equality as the foundation, openness as the orientation, cooperation as the driving force, and sharing as the goal, to promote equality of rights, opportunities, and rules for all countries in international economic cooperation, jointly constructing a just and efficient global governance pattern. We must further push for the tilt of decision-making power toward developing countries in relevant international institutions, allowing them a greater voice in the formulation of global economic rules. Through South-South cooperation and regional cooperation mechanisms, we can enhance their influence in global affairs. We must promote the establishment of fairer and more transparent international rules, advocate for the democratization and rule of law in global governance rules, and commit to promoting multilateral cooperation within global governance frameworks to enhance the system's justice and inclusivity. We must persist in the principle of "extensive consultation, joint contribution, and shared benefits" (共商共建共享), pushing the global governance system to be more open and inclusive, so that all countries have the opportunity to achieve win-win results in international cooperation.
The world today is in an era full of uncertainty, with various development problems emerging one after another. Yet it is precisely the existence of these global challenges that highlights the scientific, practical, and guiding nature of the global development community concept. It not only provides a new philosophy for solving global development issues but also injects new vitality and momentum into the world economy. By promoting global cooperation and achieving mutual benefits for all nations, this important concept will undoubtedly lead the new direction of future global economic development. The report to the 20th CPC National Congress proposed that China persists in the basic state policy of opening up, firmly pursues a win-win strategy of opening up, and continuously provides new opportunities for the world through China’s new development, promoting the construction of an open world economy to better benefit the people of all nations. Practice has proved that China, as an important participant in and beneficiary of economic globalization, has the responsibility and capability to play a larger role in global governance. Through further comprehensively deepening reform and opening up, China will actively participate in global governance and promote the construction of a more just, balanced, and sustainable global economic governance system, making greater contributions to world development.