Editorial

PRC at 75： Open and Seeking Sustainable Development for All

As the EU gears up to vote on proposed tariffs on Chineseelectric vehicles （EVs）， former European Central Bank chiefMario Draghi has a different perspective. Relying on China forgreen products might be the EU’s cheapest path to meet itsclimate ambitions， he told European Parliament members onSeptember 17. Some EU members are rethinking their Chinastrategy， seeking feasible solutions for their differences withChina and more cooperation， as indicated by Spanish PrimeMinister Pedro Sanchez during his visit to China.

Cooperation is China’s choice as well. While chairing theChina-EU EV Industrial Chain Enterprises Roundtable inBrussels on September 18， Chinese Commerce Minister WangWentao said cooperation is crucial for the development of automotiveindustries in China and the EU. Wang indicated thatChina will negotiate over the EU’s anti-subsidy probe intoChinese EVs till the last moment. He also pointed out that thetariff move will severely affect global cooperation in addressingclimate change and significantly damage the multilateraltrade order based on World Trade Organization rules.

China’s openness on international cooperation is manifestin its agreements and talks with countries in other continents.China and Australia declared in a statement of their10th Joint Committee on Science and Technology Cooperationon September 19 that the two sides will cooperate on scienceand technology wider and deeper.

On the same day， Pakistan’s Foreign Affairs Ministry saidduring a weekly media briefing that economic collaborationbetween Pakistan and China is fostering job creation， technologicaladvancement， and capacity building in Pakistan. Atthe China International Fair for Trade in Services （CIFTIS）held in Beijing in September， Pakistani and Chinese companiessigned two MoUs with a combined value of over US $350million. The ministry said this reflected the strengthening ofPakistan-China economic relations.

Three years after President Xi Jinping proposed the GlobalDevelopment Initiative （GDI） at the 76th session of the UnitedNations General Assembly， the initiative has won the supportand participation of more than 100 countries and internationalorganizations， including the UN itself. Moreover， over 80countries have joined the Group of Friends of the GDI. Chinawill deepen cooperation with others on the GDI， continue toshare the development opportunities brought by its modernization，and accelerate the implementation of the UN 2030Agenda for Sustainable Development， the Chinese ForeignMinistry said on September 20. As of now， the Global Developmentand South-South Cooperation Fund set up by China hassupported over 150 projects worldwide.

South-south cooperation was also enhanced at the 2024Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in earlySeptember with Xi proposing that bilateral relations betweenChina and all African countries it has diplomatic ties with beelevated to the level of strategic relations， and China-Africarelations be characterized as an all-weather China-Africacommunity with a shared future for the new era. “Mutuallybeneficial cooperation is the sunny road to the betterment oflong-term and fundamental interests of all countries，” Xi said.China will deepen cooperation with Africa in industry， agriculture，infrastructure， trade and investment， promote exemplary，high-quality Belt and Road cooperation projects， and togetherbuild a model for delivering the GDI， he added.

In the next three years， a range of cooperation projectswill be carried out between China and African countries tospearhead the modernization of the Global South. China willpromote a pilot zone for in-depth China-Africa economic andtrade cooperation， and launch an empowerment program forsmall and medium-sized African enterprises. To help the continentleverage the latest round of technological revolution，China will initiate 20 digital demonstration projects there aswell as 1，000 "small and beautiful" livelihood projects to helpimprove people’s wellbeing.

Meanwhile， China’s burgeoning market and pursuit of highqualitydevelopment are enhancing its charm to internationalbusinesses. CIFTIS attracted over 450 Fortune 500 companiesas well as 85 countries and international organizations. It alsosaw a number of achievements in fields such as digitalization，artificial intelligence and healthcare released by over 100 businessesand institutions.

China’s hi-tech manufacturing sector has become a magnetfor foreign direct investment （FDI）. The first seven monthsof 2024 saw actual FDI in this sector increase by 2.6 percentagepoints from 2023， highlighting the country’s efforts tofoster new quality productive forces. In April， Volkswagenannounced an investment of € 2.5 billion to expand its innovationhub in east China’s Anhui Province. From January to July2024， China’s actual use of FDI exceeded RMB 500 billion.

As the People’s Republic of China （PRC） moves toward its 75thanniversary， an open China is seeking cooperation with all toadvance the sustainable development of the whole world.