ISLAMABAD: Senate Defence Committee chairman Senator Mushahid Hussain Syed on Saturday said that the current era was witnessing the rise of China and the ‘Asian Century’.

He was addressing a seminar on China’s ‘Global Development Initiative’ organised by China Pakistan Study Centre at the Institute of Strategic Studies Islamabad on Saturday.

As chief guest, Senator Mushahid Hussain Syed lauded China for the launch of the far-reaching and consequential Global Development Initiative (GDI). Former Chinese ambassador Masood Khalid was the keynote speaker.

He said the world was currently experiencing both transformation and turmoil. Different leaders were describing this decade in different ways.

French President Emmanuel Macron rightly said this decade marked the end of 300 years of Western dominance, he stated.

Despite global conflicts, climate change, poverty, and energy-related challenges, China had shown impressive leadership. China’s global strategy included the Global Development Initiative, Global Security Initiative, and Global Civilisation Initiative, which shared many similarities.

This initiative reflected that Chinese values were all about cooperation, peace and respect.

He noted that Chinese strategic culture without a second thought was an embodiment of cooperation, peace and respect for all.

In his welcome remarks, Director General ISSI Ambassador Sohail Mahmood said that GDI was a critical initiative launched by China at a time when the world was deeply affected by the health and economic effects of Covid-19 pandemic and the deficit in the achievement of SDGs was growing.

Chinese President Xi Jinping presented the GDI at the 76th Session of the UN General Assembly in September 2021 to pool efforts to tackle the challenges of the world and to facilitate the post-pandemic recovery.

Pang Chunxue, Charge d’ Affaires of the Chinese embassy, noted that GDI was a re-prioritisation of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and rejuvenation of global development efforts.

Noting that GDI was an initiative that aimed to reactivate international development cooperation, she highlighted in detail the progress made in advancing the aims and objectives of GDI through practical cooperation with partner countries and organisations.

She added that Pakistan occupied the position of a ‘priority partner’ in the GDI framework.

Ambassador Masood Khalid said that the launch of the Global Development Initiative (GDI), Global Civilisation Initiative (GCI), and Global Security Imitative (GCI) was taking place at a time of major transformation in the international system.

The major motivation behind GDI was the adverse impact of Covid-19. GDI aimed to take advantage of technology, innovation, and modern infrastructure to tackle the issues faced by the world.

Dr Tahir Mumtaz Awan from Comsats University noted that as people, development, and civilizations were linked GDI, GSI, and GCI inter-linked initiatives.

The Global Development Initiative by China talked about the collective development of all countries. BRI and CPEC were living examples of development initiatives launched by China.

Dr Sumeera Imran from NDU said GDI reflected President Xi’s agenda of global responsibility. It was a model initiative that aimed to boost cooperation.

Dr Wang Shida from the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations (CICIR) said that the essence of President Xi Jinping’s Global Development Initiative was based on some core objectives, which included adhering to priorities, inclusivity, innovation drive, action-oriented approaches, capacity building, and economic cooperation.

Published in Dawn, May 28th, 2023