China expected to play growing role in global development, stability

* Solidarity and cooperation are key to defeating the COVID-19 pandemic. China and its partners worldwide have supported and helped each other in the arduous fight against the deadly virus since it broke out.

* China's achievements have boosted global confidence in its economic outlook, and experts believe that the Chinese economy will maintain a sound momentum.

* China will remain committed to building a community with a shared future for mankind, where countries with different social systems, ideologies, histories, cultures, and levels of development will strive for common prosperity.

BEIJING, March 3 (Xinhua) -- Struggling to handle the COVID-19 pandemic, uneven economic recovery and other challenges, the world is craving development initiatives and actions in a global approach.

With China's annual "two sessions" drawing near, the world is keeping a close eye on how the country will play its role in advancing global development and stability.

STABILIZER

Solidarity and cooperation are key to defeating the pandemic. Since the COVID-19 pandemic broke out, China and its partners worldwide have supported and helped each other in the arduous fight against the deadly virus.

In the year 2021 alone, China provided 2 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines to more than 120 countries and international organizations, honoring its commitment to making the vaccine a global public good. This is part of China's largest emergency humanitarian action since the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949.

Khaled Abdel Ghaffar, Egypt's higher education and scientific research minister and acting health minister, said China has always fulfilled its commitment to building a community of common health for mankind.

The vaccine assistance provided by China is the largest foreign aid Egypt has received so far in fighting the pandemic, Ghaffar noted, adding that China has made remarkable achievements in its own anti-pandemic response.

Pandemic is just one of the stiff global challenges facing the global community. In recent years, notably since the outbreak of COVID-19, the world has seen rising unilateralism and protectionism that have disrupted global industrial chains and posed a grave threat to global economic recovery. Upholding multilateralism, China is committed to promoting development through opening-up and global cooperation, bringing a sense of certainty so dear to the increasingly chaotic world.

In the eyes of Greek scholar Pelagia Karpathiotaki, China's economic stability and its initiatives to promote international economic cooperation would make significant contribution at this difficult moment.

The forthcoming "two sessions" will for sure "attract global interest more than ever as China's role and influence is now extremely important in addressing global challenges," she said.

DRIVING FORCE

In 2021, China's foreign trade exceeded 6 trillion U.S. dollars for the first time and its economy expanded 8.1 percent year on year. Contributing over 30 percent to global economic growth in recent years, China has become a key driving force for the world economy.

China's achievements have boosted global confidence in its economic outlook. Experts believe that despite a stiff headwind, the Chinese economy, with strong resilience and great potential, will maintain a sound momentum.

For decades, China has been the world's manufacturing hub and a crucial link in global supply chains. China's steady recovery from the pandemic, high-quality development and action to further opening up will add stronger impetus to global recovery in the post-COVID-19 era, said Selcuk Colakoglu, director of the Ankara-based Turkish Center for Asia-Pacific Studies.

In face of challenges, China has fulfilled its commitment to continuing opening up its market, demonstrating its determination to build a more prosperous future with the rest of the world.

China's opening-up is closely related to the development of the global economy, said Evandro Menezes de Carvalho, a Brazilian professor at the Getulio Vargas Foundation, a think tank based in Rio de Janeiro. He noted that given the size of China's economy, its policies drawn up during the "two sessions" will have an important impact on the world.

Cavince Adhere, a Kenya-based international relations scholar, said China has become a staunch supporter of multilateralism and globalization, and many countries are expecting to see it take further moves in opening up and reform via the annual gathering.

PIONEER

When meeting with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Feb. 5 in Beijing, Chinese President Xi Jinping stressed strengthening unity and cooperation to tackle various pressing global challenges, saying that humanity lives in a global village where the destinies of all are intertwined.

The message of Xi's remarks is clear: China will remain committed to building a community with a shared future for mankind, where countries with different social systems, ideologies, histories, cultures, and levels of development will strive for common prosperity. No one should be left behind in this drive.

To achieve a balanced, coordinated and inclusive growth worldwide, the Chinese president proposed the Global Development Initiative in steering global development in face of the pandemic.

Professor Paul Zilungisele Tembe, a senior fellow at South Africa's Thabo Mbeki African Leadership Institute, said China "has no history of seeking political or economic hegemony over its neighbours or forcing other countries to follow the Chinese model of development."

China always values the important role of international institutions such as the United Nations, the World Trade Organization and the Africa Union in global affairs, the sinologist added.

Alexey Avdonin, an analyst at the Belarusian Institute for Strategic Studies, said China's steadfast stance and practice give hope and boost confidence in building a community with a shared future for mankind.

China has explored and developed a development path suited to its own conditions, and it raises confidence of developing countries in pursuing their development, said Bambang Suryono, chairman of Indonesian think tank Asia Innovation Study Center.