President of China Xi Jinping on Friday announced 1,000 scholarships under the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence Scholarship of Excellence and 100,000 training opportunities to Global South countries in the coming five years.
He said while delivering his speech at the conference marking the 70th Anniversary of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence held at the Great hall of the people in Beijing. There are a total of 78 countries in the Global South, including Bangladesh.
He said China will establish a Global South research center to better support Global South cooperation and will also launch a Global South youth leaders programme.
Saying that China will continue to make good use of the China-UN Peace and Development Fund, the Global Development and South-South Cooperation Fund, and the Climate Change South-South Cooperation Fund, he said it will work with interested parties to set up a tripartite center of excellence for the implementation of the Global Development Initiative, so US to facilitate growth in Global South countries.
“It will renew the China-IFAD South-South and Triangular Cooperation Facility, and make an additional Renminbi contribution equivalent to $10 million to be used to support agricultural development of the Global South.
“China is ready to discuss free trade agreements with more Global South countries, continue to support the WTO’s Aid for Trade initiative, and renew its contribution to the WTO’s China Programme.”
Welcoming more Global South countries to join the Initiative on International Trade and Economic Cooperation Framework for Digital Economy and Green Development, Xi said
China’s imports from fellow developing countries are expected to exceed $8 trillion between now and 2030.
Mentioning that modernisation achieved by 1.4 billion Chinese people means the addition of a new super-large market larger than all developed countries combined, he said China will only open itself ever wider to the outside world. Its door will never close.
“We are planning to take, and in some cases already taking, major steps to further deepen reform across the board and expand institutional opening up. We will build a business environment that is more solidly based on market and rule of law and is up to international standards,” he said.
He also assured that China’s resolve to promote common development across the world will not change. High-quality development of the Chinese economy will provide strong impetus to world economic growth.
“Small yard with high fences,” decoupling, and severing industrial and supply chains simply run counter to the tide of history. They will do nothing but harm the common interests of the international community, he also added.
