Bridging the developing and developed

Belt and Road Initiative not only deals a blow to unilateralism and protectionism, it also promotes fairer global governance

Since reform and opening-up was launched 40 years ago, China has recorded an average annual growth rate of 9.5 percent and created an unprecedented economic miracle in human history. In 2010, with a $6.07 trillion economy (at the market exchange rate), China surpassed Japan to be the world's second-largest economy in 2010. And in 2017, China's economy was about 60 percent that of the US. Although it has slowed in recent years, China still maintains a medium-high growth rate which is higher than the global average.

Considering these phenomenal achievements, some countries have started questioning China's status as a developing country.

However, from the perspective of global economic governance, China is still in a disadvantaged position. The existing global economic governance institutions and rules were established by developed countries which still play the dominant roles so that the rule-making process takes into full consideration the development stages of these countries. In many cases, China has no choice but to accept these arrangements.

What's more, when it comes to making new rules for global economic governance, developed countries still have the upper hand. China still faces many restrictions in market access, environmental protection and intellectual property rights.

Since China is still a developing country, it should integrate safeguarding its own interests with protecting the common interests of the developing world as a whole. China should also not neglect the expectations placed on it by the international community, developing countries in particular.

At the same time China is also a responsible major country with considerable weight. As the world's second-largest economy, it should gradually shoulder reasonable international responsibilities, and take a more active role in global governance.

China has a unique role in the global economic governance system as it is a bridge linking the developing economies with the developed ones. However, as the bellwether of developing countries, China should vigorously promote changes in the global economic governance system to better reflect changes in the international political and economic order, enhance the representation and voices of emerging and developing countries, and protect the interests of the least developed countries.

In terms of development governance, China has accumulated abundant experience in the past 40 years of rapid growth. Since the international financial crisis in 2008, China has been the biggest contributor to global growth, contributing more than 30 percent, which has won high recognition from the international community. Kim Yong, then president of the World Bank, expressed at the G20 Hangzhou Summit in 2016 that many countries wish to learn from China's experience. The journey China has traveled shows that the right reforms generate quick results in poverty reduction, job creation and increasing incomes. China's experience is greatly relevant and inspiring to developing countries.

China is now making changes to its mode of economic development, transforming from a manufacturing, exports and investment-driven economy to one that is propelled by innovation, service industries and high-tech manufacturing. These endeavors could also provide reference to those economies struggling with economic upgrading and sluggish internal growth drivers.

Taking development governance as the focus for increasing China's voice in international institutions would not only fully demonstrate its status as a developing country, but also show its strengths as a major developing country.

The Belt and Road Initiative is the solution proposed by China to address the current challenges facing the world. The initiative aims to make economic globalization more inclusive and beneficial to all, and promote win-win cooperation and common prosperity for all participating countries. Its global appeal has made this initiative far transcend regional cooperation, and has made it an important approach to fostering new growth drivers and promoting changes in global governance.

First, the Belt and Road Initiative is boosting innovation in global governance philosophies. At the sixth ministerial meeting of the China-Arab Cooperation Forum, President Xi Jinping put forward the Silk Road Spirit of peace, cooperation, openness, inclusiveness, mutual learning and mutual benefit and said that the initiative should uphold the principles of wide consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits.

The Silk Road Spirit deals a blow to some countries' unilateralism and protectionism and sets an example for countries to engage in global governance with a new philosophy.

Second, the Belt and Road Initiative produces new achievements in major areas of global governance. Through policy coordination, countries are synergizing their development strategies. By the end of 2018, China had signed Belt and Road cooperation agreements with 122 countries and 29 international organizations.

In infrastructure connectivity, many major achievements have been made covering railways, roads, ports, aviation, pipelines and information expressways.

In trade facilitation, the Initiative on Promoting Unimpeded Trade Cooperation along the Belt and Road is being executed and generating tangible results. In 2018, the total volume of the trade in goods between China and the Belt and Road countries reached $1.3 trillion, up 16.3 percent year-on-year and 3.7 percentage points higher than China's foreign trade growth in the same period.

In the financial sector, financial cooperation has been deepened and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and the Silk Road Fund are playing more important roles. In its first three years of operation, the AIIB has granted $7.5 billion in loans and boosted nearly $40 billion investment in infrastructure. In the four years of the Silk Road Fund's existence, it has pledged investments of $10 billion.

In people-to-people connectivity, fruitful cooperation is being implemented in education, culture and tourism with many specific plans in place.

Last but not least, the Belt and Road Initiative has enhanced coordination and the innovation of global governance mechanisms. The initiative has consolidated existing mechanisms by promoting dialogue and bilateral and multilateral interactions and it has made innovations to the system by introducing such public goods as the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation and the China International Import Expo to promote greater cooperation for the pursuit of shared development.

The author is a senior researcher at the National Institute for Global Strategy and Institute of World Economics and Politics, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. The author contributed this article to China Watch, a think tank powered by China Daily. The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.

(China Daily 03/19/2019 page13)