By Zhang Mengxu, Zhang Penghui, Chen Shangwen, People’s Daily

The Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) Annual Conference 2023 held its first press conference on March 28, on which the “Asian Economic Outlook and Integration Progress Annual Report 2023” and the “Sustainable Development: Asia and the World Annual Report 2023” were officially released.

Noting that uncertainty remains a prominent character of today’s world, BFA Secretary General Li Baodong said that the annual conference hopes to carry forward true multilateralism, practice open regionalism, explore certainty in an uncertain world and promote solidarity and cooperation among countries to better meet challenges through discussions.

The recovery of the world economy remains weak at present, which makes for a volatile external environment for Asia’s economic growth. However, as an important engine driving global economic growth, Asia is speeding up its recovery this year and becoming a reliable driver of world growth and an important pillar for multilateralism.

According to the Sustainable Development: Asia and the World Annual Report 2023, the weighted real GDP growth rate of Asia in 2023 is estimated to be 4.5 percent, an increase from 4.2 percent in 2022.

The International Monetary Fund predicted that China and India alone would contribute about half of the world’s growth this year. For every percentage point of higher growth in China, activity in other economies rises on average by 0.3 percentage point.

Anil Kishora, Vice-President and Chief Risk Officer of the New Development Bank, believes that the Asia-Pacific region, which accounts for 1/3 of the world’s population, over 60 percent of the global economy and close to half of global trade, is the most dynamic growth belt in the world.

As the manufacturing center of the world, the region will play a more important role in driving global growth and safeguarding stable industrial and supply chains , he said.

Lee Hyuk-joon, President of Hyundai Motor Group (China) told People’s Daily that China, as the second largest economy in the world, is a stabilizer and booster for the world economy, adding that China is the world’s largest consumption market, and the upgrading of this market will exert positive impacts on global trade and economic growth. As a major manufacturing center, China will also create more opportunities for the manufacturing industry of other countries, he noted.

The Asian Economic Outlook and Integration Progress Annual Report 2023 said Asia has played a more proactive and leading role in global macroeconomic policy coordination, and the world has entered the “Asian Moment” for global economic governance.

Zhang Yuyan, director of the Institute of World Economics and Politics at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said the world today is facing uncertainties, but peace and development still remain the general trend. He believes China and Asia will make the world a more certain place.

Asia’s regional economic integration continues advancing despite the rise of geopolitical conflicts and anti-globalization. Asia is still a staunch supporter of multilateralism and an active promoter of global economic governance.

Lin Guijun, former vice president of China’s University of International Business and Economics (UIBE), told People’s Daily that most major economies in Asia had seen increasing dependence on Asian production between 2001 and 2021, which indicated a higher level of regional economic integration.

He said digital economy is one of the two engines driving Asia’s regional economic integration. According to him, the share of Asia’s digital service trade in the world has steadily expanded, reaching 25.6 percent in 2021. The other engine, according to Lin, is the demand of Asian countries to jointly cope with climate change and tackle environmental issues.

Institutional opening up mechanisms have been constantly releasing dividends since the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) took effect a year ago.

Sang Baichuan, dean of UIBE’s Institute of International Economy, said the RCEP has effectively lowered the cost of trade and investment among member countries, and there has been a higher level of economic integration.

As the world’s largest regional free trade agreement, the RCEP will continue releasing its dividends, promoting the integration of industrial and supply chains among member countries and becoming an important engine driving economic growth in Asia and the world.

Development is of important significance for poverty elimination, promoting economic and social progress and advancing regional economic integration in Asia. However, the sustainable development of the world is threatened. The official assistance provided by the developed world is less than half of what it has promised, and the scale of aid from a few countries is even shrinking. Challenges are ahead against realizing the UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

This year marks the third year for the BFA to release the Sustainable Development: Asia and the World Annual Report. The report calls on Asian countries to take immediate actions to cope with the crisis threatening sustainable development.

All parties relevant need to make huge efforts to restore peace and narrow divides, governments and the society should take joint actions to mobilize resources and build a global partnership for development, Li said.

China proposed the Global Development Initiative in September 2021, and in less than a year, the High-level Dialogue on Global Development was held. Asian countries are working with other countries in the world to make development a priority on the international cooperation agenda, forge a united, equal, balanced and inclusive global development partnership, and bring the world back to the track of achieving the UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

By He Yin, People’s Daily

China has been enjoying a good reputation for valuing sincerity, friendship and equality while developing relations with other developing countries.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said that Serbia is a true friend of China, and the Serbian side respects China and admires China’s great leadership. No matter what pressure or difficulty there may be, the steel-like friendship between the two countries will never change, nor will the friendly sentiment the Serbian side holds toward the Chinese people, he noted.

“Benin, though small in size, stands on the side of truth, equality and justice, and will continue to be a steadfast and reliable friend of China,” said Beninese President Patrice Talon during a meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang.

Crown Prince of Kuwait Sheikh Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah also said that China is always a friend of Kuwait.

These remarks well indicate developing countries’ firm will to develop relations with China.

In the past 10 years since Chinese President Xi Jinping put forward the principles of sincerity, real results, affinity and good faith, China and other developing countries have always treated each other with sincerity and constantly expanded new areas of cooperation and growth, bringing their cooperation onto new levels.

China has always provided selfless assistance in helping other developing countries develop and modernize. It always respects the will of the people in other developing countries and assists them in developing their economies and improving people’s livelihoods to the best of its ability based on their actual needs. It never interferes in the domestic affairs of other countries.

China is the world’s largest developing country, and developing countries are its natural allies in international affairs.

China sincerely supports greater representation and a louder voice of developing countries in international affairs, helps reinforce the South which is a weak link in the global governance system, and works to make the global governance system better reflect the aspirations and interests of the majority of countries in a more balanced way, especially developing countries.

China always stands with other developing countries, speaking up for them at international fora.

It has endeavored to establish cooperation platforms at various events to deepen mutual understanding, enhance pragmatic cooperation and expand exchanges and mutual learning among developing countries, including the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting in Beijing, the G20 Hangzhou Summit, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Qingdao Summit, the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation, the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation and the Communist Party of China in Dialogue with World Political Parties High-level Meeting.

The “BRICS Plus” cooperation model proposed by China has set the pattern for carrying out South-South cooperation and seeking strength through unity for emerging markets and developing countries.

China sincerely shares its development experiences with other developing countries, which has injected impetus into their efforts to achieve prosperity.

China has promoted Chinese hybrid rice and Juncao technology, established agricultural technology demonstration centers and Luban workshops, carried out poverty reduction cooperation and set up a global development promotion center. It has always been committed to helping other developing countries achieve common progress.

China has effectively promoted Chinese modernization, made constant progress in enriching and developing a new form of human advancement, and busted the myth that “modernization means Westernization,” setting an important example for other developing countries in independently exploring a path to modernization based on their national realities.

The Chinese efforts have been widely lauded by the international community. It is believed that Chinese modernization has significant meaning for other developing countries as it indicates that modernization is not a single-choice question and there’s no one-size-fits-all standard.

Some said while promoting Chinese modernization, China has also helped improve the economic development of many countries, especially developing countries, and China’s success is inspiring other developing countries to pursue prosperity.

China and other developing countries are both in the process of rapid development. Their mutual understanding needs to keep pace with the time.

China always acts in good faith in addressing problems that might occur in bilateral relations, and will frankly discuss and deal with new developments and issues with other developing countries on the basis of mutual respect and through mutually beneficial cooperation.

Some Western countries are clinging to a Cold War mentality and attacking China for developing relations with other developing countries, trying to impede China from cooperating with them and undermine China’s friendship with them by fabricating lies that China follows the so-called “neo-colonialism” and creates the so-called “debt traps.”

However, developing countries have a clear understanding and fair stance, and have expressed strong dissatisfaction and criticism against the attacks by these Western countries.

Namibian President Hage Geingob recently said that China respects his country and has never engaged in any colonialism or imperialism.

With the growth of developing countries, global prosperity and stability will be put on a more solid footing. China will keep working with other developing countries and adopt concrete measures to deepen their friendly cooperation so as to bring more benefits for them and make the world a more prosperous and stable place.

By He Yin, People’s Daily

This year marks the 60th anniversary of China dispatching its first medical aid team abroad. Over the past six decades, a total of 30,000 medical personnel have treated 290 million local patients in 76 countries and regions.

Chinese medical aid teams, benefiting local communities with their medical proficiency and ethics, have become an authentic representation of China’s sincerity in developing relations with other developing countries.

Chinese President Xi Jinping pointed out in a speech he delivered 10 years ago at the Julius Nyerere International Convention Center in Tanzania that sincerity is a defining feature of China-Africa relations.

The peoples of China and other developing countries are destined to be good friends as they have shared past experiences and similar aims and goals.

Treating developing countries with sincerity, courtesy and friendship has always been a feature and tradition of China’s diplomacy in the new era. China is committed to enhancing mutual understanding between the Chinese people and the people of other countries, and always works to build a solid social foundation for bilateral friendship, so as to nurture a better environment for mutually beneficial cooperation.

Strengthening exchanges and dialogue leads to a closer people-to-people bond.

China has built the Belt and Road into a road connecting different civilizations, and hosted the Conference on Dialogue of Asian Civilizations and the Communist Party of China in Dialogue with World Political Parties High-level Meeting.

It has also actively promoted cultural cooperation within the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, BRICS and other multilateral mechanisms, and has expanded cooperation with African countries, Latin American countries and Arab states on culture, education, science and technology and health, as well as growing exchanges between their media, think tank, youth and women.

China is actively building mutual learning platforms for civilization dialogues, inter-party exchanges and civil diplomacy, so that countries can draw wisdom from each other’s civilizations, enhance cultural understanding and people-to-people bonds, and build a broader consensus for building a community with a shared future for mankind.

It is generally believed by the international community that China has made important contributions to enhancing mutual understanding, solidarity and mutual trust among different civilizations by establishing cultural dialogue platforms.

Deepening pragmatic cooperation brings people closer. China always works to provide tangible benefits to developing countries with sincerity.

In Mozambique, farmers growing Chinese hybrid rice have enjoyed good harvests, and the rice produced has been “Good Taste” by the locals.

In Vanuatu, the China-assisted Malapoa College is like a lighthouse that illuminates the path to knowledge for young generations.

In Mexico, Chinese enterprises, showing respect for local culture, have actively funded public welfare projects including orphanages and nursing homes. The Chinese employees are like families to local people.

In Laos, the China-Laos Railway is like a “golden channel” that has completely changed the life of local people. It is nicknamed the “road to happiness” by Lao media.

These stories make a symphony of China and other developing countries working together through thick and thin and building a closer people-to-people bond.

As a famous Chinese line goes, “Friendship, which derives from close contact between the peoples, holds the key to sound state-to-state relations.” China actively promotes youth exchanges with other developing countries and builds broad platforms of talent training and mutual learning for young generations.

It has provided scholarships funded by the Chinese government for foreign students and strengthened international cooperation in vocational education. It has also held young leaders forums and youth exchange camps, sent young volunteers to other developing countries and invited youngsters from other countries to visit China.

China is helping more and more young people from other developing countries realize their dreams. Those youngsters, who become interested in the Chinese language and culture, are coming to China for study and work and becoming envoys of friendship between China and their own countries.

As a Latin American proverb goes, a real friend is someone who is able to touch your heart from the other side of the world. Indonesians often say that it’s easy to make money but difficult to make friends. There is a also saying in Persian that people’s hearts are connected. These all indicate that people-to-people bonds can build a strong power and only sincerity can make friendship last.

China will always be a true friend and sincere partner of other developing countries, working with them to build a community with a shared future for mankind and jointly creating a brighter future for humanity.