By Chinese Ambassador to Myanmar Ma Jia
Today, the world faces growing deficits in peace, development, security and governance. In the face of mounting global challenges, people around the world have an increasingly urgent desire for stronger international cooperation. Against this backdrop, Chinese President Xi Jinping has proposed the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative, the Global Civilization Initiative and the Global Governance Initiative. These initiatives share China’s wisdom for promoting world peace and development and inject fresh impetus into building a community with a shared future for humanity.
I. Prioritizing Development to Lay a Solid Foundation for Common Prosperity
Development is an eternal theme for humanity and the master key to solving all problems. The Global Development Initiative advocates a people-centered approach to development and strives to ensure that no country or individual is left behind. It seeks to accelerate the implementation of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Moving beyond the narrow perspectives of “Western-centrism” and “putting one’s own country first,” the initiative is committed to advancing equal rights, equal opportunities and equal rules for all countries, helping global development enter a new stage of greater balance, coordination and inclusiveness. In the five years since its launch, the initiative has mobilized more than US$23 billion in funding and supported over 2,000 cooperation projects. Practical cooperation under the Global Development and South-South Cooperation Fund has benefited more than 70 countries and over 40 million people, earning widespread acclaim from the international community. The Fund has also supported the implementation of five livelihood and development projects in Myanmar.
In June this year, Myanmar President Min Aung Hlaing paid a state visit to China. The two sides signed a number of cooperative documents covering transport, science and technology, intellectual property, human resources development, public health, media and other fields. Guided by the Global Development Initiative, China and Myanmar have seen steady growth in bilateral trade and continued expansion of cooperation in improving people’s livelihoods. China has actively supported Myanmar’s post-earthquake reconstruction and backed 140 development projects in Myanmar through the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation Special Fund. Practical cooperation between the two countries is delivering tangible benefits to the people of Myanmar.
II. Promoting Common Security to Safeguard Peace and Development
Peace and security are essential prerequisites for development and fundamental aspirations shared by people around the world. The Global Security Initiative advocates the vision of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security. Upholding the principle that security is indivisible, it calls for a balanced, effective and sustainable security architecture. It emphasizes that no country can ensure its own security in isolation from global security, and that absolute security cannot be achieved at the expense of other countries’ security. Moving beyond traditional geopolitical security theories, zero-sum games, bloc politics and confrontation between camps, the initiative offers new approaches to improving global security governance and addressing humanity’s security challenges. China has issued the Global Security Initiative Concept Paper, establishing a systematic framework for translating its principles into action. On such international and regional hotspot issues as the Ukraine crisis and the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, China has maintained an objective and impartial position and worked to promote political solutions. In the four years since its launch, the initiative has received appreciation and support from more than 130 countries and international organizations. Its core principles have been incorporated into over 160 bilateral and multilateral documents, demonstrating the appeal of this new approach to security and the strength of its practical results.
In recent years, China and Myanmar have strengthened bilateral and multilateral law enforcement and security cooperation, working together to combat cross-border crimes such as illegal online gambling and telecom and online fraud. In July this year, Myanmar adopted its Anti-Online Scam Law. In September, the International Alliance Combating Telecom and Cyber Fraud was established in China. Implementing the Global Security Initiative and deepening China-Myanmar security cooperation will help better protect each other’s citizens and institutions in the other country, providing a solid foundation for both peoples to share the benefits of peace and socioeconomic development.
III. Promoting Exchanges Among Civilizations to Bring Our Peoples Closer Together
Civilizations are enriched by exchanges and mutual learning. The Global Civilization Initiative recognizes the diversity of world civilizations and advocates a vision of civilization based on equality, mutual learning, dialogue and inclusiveness. It calls for promoting the common values of humanity. The initiative opposes imposing one’s own values and models on others and rejects ideological confrontation. It offers a practical path towards resolving barriers among civilizations and expanding exchanges and mutual learning. The United Nations General Assembly has formally established the International Day for Dialogue among Civilizations. China has hosted the Ministerial Meeting of the Global Dialogue of Civilizations, signed cooperation agreements with more than 100 countries in areas such as culture, cultural heritage and tourism, implemented the Silk Road Culture initiative, held the CPC in Dialogue with World Political Parties High-level Meeting, and taken the lead in establishing the Global South Think Tanks Alliance. In the three years since its launch, the initiative has resonated strongly around the world, and its contemporary relevance and practical value continue to grow.
This year, President Min Aung Hlaing attended China Film Week activities, while Chinese films and television productions, including Dear You and Once Upon a Time in the Middle East, have enjoyed popularity in Myanmar. A wide range of people-to-people and cultural activities, including China-Myanmar youth dialogues, media exchanges, cultural experiences and sporting events, have gradually brought the peoples of the two countries closer together. Implementing the Global Civilization Initiative and deepening China-Myanmar people-to-people and cultural exchanges will help the two peoples better understand one another, strengthen their bonds and carry forward the longstanding Pauk-Phaw friendship.
IV. Improving Global Governance to Build Consensus for International Cooperation
How should the world address global challenges and safeguard the international order? These questions reflect humanity’s deep understanding of the lessons of history and its enduring pursuit of a better future. The Global Governance Initiative is guided by the purposes and principles of the UN Charter and the vision of global governance featuring extensive consultation and joint contribution for shared benefit. It emphasizes sovereign equality, international rule of law, multilateralism, a people-centered approach, and real action. The initiative responds to the historical trends towards a multipolar world and greater democracy in international relations, strengthening the international community’s confidence and resolve to uphold multilateralism. China firmly safeguards the authority and central role of the United Nations and supports the development and expansion of BRICS and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, through which the representation and voice of the Global South continue to grow. China has promoted the establishment of new multilateral financing institutions, including the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and the New Development Bank. It has advanced the high-quality implementation of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement and worked to build an open world economy. The establishment of the International Organization for Mediation and the successful resolution of its first international maritime dispute have opened up a new avenue for resolving international disputes peacefully and efficiently. China has also helped establish the World Data Organization and the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization, creating new platforms for digital-intelligent governance. In the year since its launch, the initiative has gained support and positive responses from nearly 160 countries and international organizations. More than 60 countries have actively joined the Group of Friends of Global Governance. The international community is gradually building consensus on reforming the global governance system and translating that consensus into coordinated action.
Myanmar has actively joined mechanisms such as the Group of Friends of Global Governance, the International Organization for Mediation and the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization, working alongside other countries to uphold genuine multilateralism. This autumn, China will host the Global Governance Forum in Xiong’an New Area, providing an important opportunity for representatives from Myanmar and other countries to discuss ways to reform and improve global governance.
Practice has shown that the four global initiatives respond to the trends of history and the shared aspirations of the international community. They are steadily moving from vision to action and from blueprint to reality, generating an increasingly broad and far-reaching impact. At this new historical juncture, China stands ready to work with Myanmar to translate the four global initiatives into concrete action and deepen practical cooperation across bilateral and multilateral fields. By turning our shared vision into tangible benefits, we can further improve the well-being of both peoples and build a China-Myanmar community with a shared future characterized by political friendship and mutual trust, mutually beneficial development, coordinated and mutually reinforcing security, and closer people-to-people and cultural ties.
(The views and opinions in the article solely belong to the author).