Making the Difference Together

Chinese President Xi Jinping proposed a Global Development Initiative on September 21， calling for bolstering confidence and jointly addressing global threats and challenges to build a better world for all.

Xi made the remarks at the general debate of the 76th Session of the UN General Assembly（UNGA） via video link， as the world faces the combined impacts of changes unseen in a century and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Beating COVID-19

Right now， COVID-19 is still intensely felt around the world， with the number of new cases rising every day globally. “We must beat COVID-19 and win this decisive fight crucial to the future of humanity，”Xi said， voicing his confidence that “we as humanity will surely overcome and prevail” despite the fact that the COVID-19 pandemic may appear overwhelming.

He called for putting people and their lives first， taking a science-based approach in origin tracing， enhancing a coordinated global COVID-19 response and minimizing the risk of cross-border virus transmission.

Noting that vaccination is a powerful weapon against COVID-19， Xi said the pressing priority is to ensure the fair and equitable distribution of vaccines globally.

He reiterated the pledge that China will strive to provide a total of 2 billion doses of vaccines to the world by the end of this year. “In addition to donating $100 million to [global vaccine initiative] COVAX， China will donate 100 million doses of vaccines to other developing countries in the course of this year，” Xi said.

The role of China is even more critical at a time when some countries have adopted a selfish strategy of vaccine nationalism and even put restrictions on the export of COVID-19 vaccines and other medical supplies， Nadeem Irfan Bukhari， a professor from University of the Punjab in Pakistan， said.

Global development initiative

“Development holds the key to peoples wellbeing，” Xi said， adding that countries need to work together to steer global development toward a new stage of balanced， coordinated and inclusive growth.

He proposed the six-pronged Global Development Initiative， built on staying committed to development as a priority， a people-centered approach， benefits for all， innovation-driven development， harmony between man and nature and results-oriented actions.

“We need to increase input in development， advance on a priority basis cooperation on poverty alleviation， food security， COVID-19 response and vaccines， development financing， climate change and green development， industrialization， digital economy and connectivity， among other areas， and accelerate the implementation of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development， so as to build a global community of development with a shared future，” he said.