CHINA has been playing a positive, productive and participatory role in the world’s economy due to which it has been dubbed as an ideal provider of global public goods by many international organizations. Its role in global financial crisis of 2008 successfully transformed it into the engine of the global economy. According to Chinese official figures, China’s GDP growth is projected to rise to 5.6 percent in 2023, led by a rebound in consumer demand. According to many reports China’s GDP is expected to reach US$18879.00 billion by the end of 2023. In the long-term, the China GDP is projected to trend around US$19729.00 billion in 2024 and US$20755.00 billion in 2025 which clearly shows its economic stability, sustainability and diversity surpassing all hurdles to embark on the path of socio-economic prosperity and qualitative life.
Despite regional slump and global economic gloom & doom during pandemic China successfully maintained the stability of its economy during the pandemic. It was among the world’s first countries to resume work and reopen businesses in 2020, and became the only major economy to attain positive growth that year. During these difficult days China’s global vaccine diplomacy rescued many struggling countries and communities. Moreover, recent data released by the General Administration of Customs reveals that China’s foreign trade expanded by an impressive 2.1 percent, reaching a staggering 20.1 trillion RMB ($2.8 trillion) in the first half of 2023. The exports witnessed a substantial 3.7 percent increase, reaching 11.46 trillion RMB, thus it is stimulating the global economy.
In this regard, the remarkable surge in trade between China and countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) highlights the success and significance of this strategic endeavour. The trade in goods between China and countries along the BRI surged by an impressive 9.8 percent in the first half of 2023. This substantial growth accounted for a substantial 34.3 percent of China’s total foreign trade volume, underscoring the significance of this strategic initiative. As the world’s second-largest economy, China has always been a provider of global public goods for the last many years. The Chinese opening-up and people’s friendly economic model has changed from inward to outward, thus providing high-quality and inexpensive public goods to the world on a large scale due to which developed and developing countries continue to enjoy the high standard of social welfare and prosperity which has been brought about by rising China since 1970.
On its part, China has been staunch supporter of global climate change, environmental quality, data security and food security. Simply, China is not only an active participant, but also an initiator and leader. On September 24, 2022, State Councillor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi while addressing the general debate of the 77th session of the UN General Assembly at the UN Headquarters in New York. Wang Yi rightly showcased China’s constructive role in the Global Data Security Initiative (GDSI) enabling for the formulation of global digital security rules. With special reference to global climate change, China is firmly committed to ecological priority; green and low-carbon development has announced an ambitious reduction of carbon footnotes and carbon neutrality and promoted the implementation of the Paris Agreement. Now it has become the biggest investor, innovator and initiator of renewables, wind, solar and blue/green hydrogen power generation in the world.
To tackle the global food security issues, China has put forward an initiative for international food security cooperation. According to the official data, since the beginning of this year, more than 15,000 tons of emergency humanitarian food aid has been provided to developing countries around the globe. It has also sent the largest peacekeeping force to the UN and made a great contribution to maintaining regional stability and providing humanitarian relief which firmly shows its strong political commitment towards global peace and harmony.
The policy makers of China have initiated numerous policy measures for achieving the greater socio-economic integration and financial cooperation. In this regard, it has established the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB). Undoubtedly, the establishment of the AIIB has provided a new financing channel for the Asian region, which will help fill the financing gap for infrastructure construction and promote the development and growth of the regional economy. The official data reveals that by 2022, the AIIB has approved 191 projects, attracting more than $85 billion of capital from various sectors, including the private sector, benefiting 33 intra-regional and non-regional members, and playing a positive role in promoting infrastructure development in transport, energy, urban development, water resources and social infrastructure development in public health and education.
China has put forward the BRI as global mega development project aiming to build a trans-regional economic cooperation platform with no specific socio-economic or geopolitical conditions and no exclusivity due to which more than 152 countries have joined it. It has become Chinese solution for regional development and stability and also a demonstration of its commitment to international responsibilities. China has been pioneer of peaceful multilateral diplomacy which has now become another proud global public good, promoting equal and mutually beneficial cooperative relations with all countries and strengthening spirits of international cooperation, equality, justice, just global governance and last but not the least, multiculturalism. The rapprochement between Saudi Arabia and Iran is the prime example of its public diplomacy bringing peace, progress and prosperity and stability in the region and beyond.
In summary, Xi’s policy of shared community prosperity, Global Development Initiative (GDI), Global Security Initiative (GSI) and Global Civilizational Initiative (GCI) have become epicentres of new global public good. On the contrary the US so-called superpower of the world withdrew from the Paris climate agreement (2017), the Iran nuclear agreement (2018), the United Nations Human Rights Council (2018), INF treaty (2019) and the World Health Organization (2020) showing poor show at the international stage which vividly reflects that the US has no intention to maintain the status of global public goods and services providers.
—The writer is Executive Director, Centre for South Asia & International Studies, Islamabad, regional expert China, BRI & CPEC & senior analyst, world affairs, Pakistan Observer.
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