China Has a New Global Development Initiative, but Who Will Actually Benefit from It?

Xi states that China would like to concentrate on “people-centered development” by helping poor nations recover in the post-pandemic era and by strengthening international development cooperation. More than 100 nations support the Global Development Initiative. My research in international economics with an emphasis on China shows that Beijing has other goals as well, both developmental and political. These political goals might be problematic for many nations in the world that would like to pursue independent policies.

Three GDI Questions
First, the Global Development Initiative thus far has been couched in generalities. It is, so far, unclear in what ways China will help other nations, and how much money it will spend.

Second, Western concepts of economic development place considerable emphasis on freedom and human rights. China talks about freedom and human rights but emphasizes the “right to subsistence” or the right to food and clothing, as the most salient human right. All other rights are secondary.

Focusing primarily on economic subsistence – and, by extension, economic betterment – does not guarantee, for instance, the right to free speech or the right to vote. So, it is unclear whether Zhang Jun, the Chinese ambassador to the U.N., is correct when he says that the Global Development Initiative “will surely make an important contribution to the international human rights cause.”

Third, the fact that the development initiative is not solely about development is clear from its connection to another of Xi’s new projects, announced in April 2022 at the Boao Forum for Asia, which promotes economic integration. This project, named the Global Security Initiative, seeks to challenge the U.S. Indo-Pacific strategy and to question “Cold War mentality” that would “exacerbate security challenges” in the 21st century. Global development and security initiatives are linked because Xi has explicitly stated that security is a precondition for development.

The Threat of War
The Global Security Initiative represents, in part, Beijing’s response to Russia’s war with Ukraine. Xi stated that security was a precondition for development and that nations ought to respect the legitimate security concerns of all nations. In a counterpoint to NATO and the actions of the U.S.-led alliance among Western nations, Xi also pointed out that nations ought to reject the Cold War mentality and oppose the wanton use of unilateral sanctions and long-arm jurisdiction.

Taken together, it is not clear whether China is truly interested in promoting global development, in increasing security and human rights for all people, or in replacing the U.S.-led world order by proposing development initiatives without specifics or accountability. It will be important to look not only at what China says it wants to do on the world stage but at what it actually does.

Amitrajeet A. Batabyal is Distinguished Professor and Arthur J. Gosnell Professor of Economics, Rochester Institute of Technology. This article is published courtesy of The Conversation.