Zhu Feng

Director of Institute of International Relations, Nanjing University

He is the Director of the Institute for International Studies of Nanjing University. He is a distinguished professor at Nanjing University and the Executive Director of the China Center for Collaborative Studies of the South China Sea, Nanjing University. His study mainly focuses on East Asian security, China -U.S.relations, China’s diplomacy and international strategic security.

The history and theories of international relations have strongly proved that development is the most essential way to reduce conflicts among states, mitigate the tensions of domestic race relations, and eliminate the threats on human society from extremist forces such as terrorists. The concept of “development” in world politics nowadays not only simply indicates the growth of economics, employment, and income, but also includes social justice, equality, and the democracy and legality of social governance structure. In the 21st Century, development emphasizes more on the harmony and mutual support between human beings and natural world, and between the economic environment and the natural environment. The United Nations’ advocacy of “sustainable development” has brought the idea of environmental and ecological protection in the primary goal of economic development. In addition, the concept of development gradually incorporates various fields such as the rationalization of demographic structure, the enhancement of universal education level, the new lifestyle of resources conservation and environment protection, and the industrial policy oriented by scientific and technological innovation. Equitable, rational, and sustainable development increasingly becomes the endogenous driving force behind a new round of globalization, and an inescapable path towards national and regional prosperity and stability.

In the past 20 years of global development, China was undoubtedly in a significant position. Its 40-year opening and reform told a “China story” which also contributed to the world’s development. China’s achievements benefited from the leadership’s 40-year adherence to the motto “concentration on construction and development.” As a country with the largest population in the world, huge differences of regional development, and heavy burdens of traditional institutions, China’s development initially lacked advantages like natural conditions and early westernization progresses like in India, some Southeast Asian countries and Latin American countries. Nevertheless, China’s development in the past 40 years sufficiently demonstrates that the idea and determination of “concentration on construction and development” enable China to make such an economic miracle.

In 2000, China’s GDP was only 10 percent of America’s; until 2017, China’s GDP had reached 60 percent of America’s. China’s college acceptance rate of high school graduates was 40.8 percent in 2000, but had raised to 58.2 percent in 2017. The strict “one-child policy” in 2000 was completely ended and replaced by a “two-child policy” in 2017. In 2000, China’s environmental and ecological conditions suffered from severe contamination due to the industrialization; in 2017, the comprehensive ecological governance had been the most crucial task for the government. Beijing, which was often poisoned by smog, has substantially improved its air quality and regained a clear sky. President Xi Jinping’s advocacy – “beautiful scenery is the gold and silver mines” – has been deeply rooted in people’s minds. Concerning the development of social justice, the Chinese government actively promoted “targeted poverty reduction.” Even in some backward and remote mountainous areas and central and western regions, supporting projects led by governments at all levels helped a large number of population overcome poverty.

Under the driving force of “development,” China’s domestic and international policies appeared historical changes. From 1949 to 1979, China was involved in foreign wars and border military clashes for 5 times, and was one of the most “combative” countries in the world. However, from 1980 to 2017, China did not participate in any large-scale foreign military conflict. Although China still faces continental and maritime territorial disputes at the border of the South China Sea, East China Sea, and with India, dialogue, negotiation and pragmatic cooperation are always the basic principles for China to deal with problems. For example, China and ASEAN have started the COC (Code of Conduct) negotiation, hoping to reconstruct an order based on regulations in controversial areas of South China Sea. Furthermore, China’s public order and social security situations are much better than some developed countries in Europe and America. More importantly, a quickly developing China is becoming a significant power of the new historical progress to promote global development, benefit the entire international society, and stimulate further development of itself.

In October 2013, President Xi first initiated the Belt and Road Initiative aiming at constructing an economic community with more convenience, wider geographical coverage, and tighter and faster combination of productive factors through strengthening the infrastructure connections between China and its neighboring countries. It is an idea to make the spirit of development to surmount the territory of China, the neighboring areas of China, and intercontinental geographical barriers, establishing a more close-knit political, economic, social and cultural “development circle.” China’s the Belt and Road Initiative is essentially a trans-regional “development initiative,” a desire for building high-quality platform to connect its development experience and capability with overseas market and economic elements, and a need to expand China’s development ability from trade to overseas business district construction. In fact, the Belt and Road Initiative reflects China’s scaled potential and need of development. Until 2017, China’s GDP had reached 12 trillion dollars. A large amount of raw materials of manufacturing industries and agricultural and sideline products depend on imports, while China’s manufacturing industries demand more international markets. The Belt and Road Initiative is based on a realistic need to integrate into the world for China’s development.

Extending the internal impetus and demand of China’s development to the whole world is a common need for global development and China’s further economic growth, as well as an opportunity for the developing world to expect economic increases. During 2008-2017, China’s total amount of interest subsidy, low-interest loan, and government assistance to African and Latin American countries had surpassed developed countries for the first time. In 2015 and 2018, China announced twice to provide 120 billion dollars development assistance to African countries. These aids include not only free financial aid and soft loan from the government, but also project development loan and import- export financing loan offered by Chinese commercial banks. With the stimulation of China’s charming development capability, the economic and trade ties between China and Africa get tighter. The value of trade of China and Africa increased from 70 billion dollars in 2010 to 170 billion dollars in 2017. China’s investment programs in Africa employ a large number of African workers, not only enhancing the employment rate and tax revenue of local governments, but also promoting unprecedented economic growth in some African countries such Ethiopia. A report from the World Bank clearly points out that China’s economic growth and development tendency have become a powerful engine to motivate global economic growth.

China’s economic assistance toward developing countries enriches the international funding sources of IMF’s and World Bank’s development and aid programs.

Especially as the United States repeatedly refused to advance the upper limit of IMF’s loan in recent years, China’s development aids within the Belt and Road Initiative framework largely alleviate the capital shortage crises in countries like Pakistan and objectively invigorate the economic development of many African countries. Some Western countries criticizing China for pursuing “economic imperialism” in Africa and complaining China about bringing developing countries in “debt trap.” These opinions either parochially treat China’s assistance to the developing countries with the view based on the interest competition in geopolitics or implement “China Bashing” with ulterior motives and regardless of the truth. In the respect of development aid to and economic cooperation with developing countries, the Chinese leadership indicates emphatically non- interference in internal affairs, no attachment of political conditions, and no pursuit of geopolitical interests. In the Belt and Road Initiative, Beijing sticks to the principle of “achieving shared growth through discussion and collaboration” from the very beginning. China’s “Belt and Road” construction plan has never been a so-called China’s “geopolitical expansion strategy;” on the contrary, just because China lacked a careful assessment of geopolitical strategy but simply focused on geo-economic mutual benefits and cooperation, the “Belt and Road” project now is facing various obstacles and challenges.

Today’s world is in an unprecedented change since the end of the Cold War. The U.S. Trump administration is recklessly carrying out economic nationalist policies, pounding the world with tariff and sanction to pursue the “America first” centered protectionism. The liberal global trade order is at huge stakes, and emerging economies are widely suffering from monetary and debt crises. The world economic prospect is obviously getting bleak. Faced with such a severe tests, Beijing is still confident to speed up its rollout of reform and open-up domestically. At the meantime, injecting vitality for the global economic growth, and showing the international society its determination to take its responsibility. China demonstrates its role in today’s world politics with its behaviors – Beijing has become an important member of the “backbone of development.” By doing that, China is expecting that, keeping faith of “a community with shared future for humanity,” more states could line up in construction of a better world, and greet new wave of political, economy ic and social development in the 21st Century together.

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