China Marks Five Years of Global Development Initiative Across Multilateral Summits

Five years after Chinese President Xi Jinping introduced the Global Development Initiative (GDI) at the United Nations in September 2021, state media and official platforms have mounted a coordinated campaign detailing the program's international reach. Addressing multilateral gatherings including the 18th BRICS Summit in September 2026, Xi stated that the initiative has conducted more than 2,000 cooperation projects, trained 200,000 personnel, and reached over 120 countries. With the 'Group of Friends of the GDI' growing to 88 countries, Beijing is actively using the milestone to consolidate its leadership role among developing economies.

As progress toward the United Nations 2030 Sustainable Development Goals faces persistent global headwinds, China is positioning the GDI as an actionable institutional alternative for emerging economies. By pairing multilateral diplomacy with dedicated project funding and capacity-building programs, Beijing is deepening institutional alignments across Africa, Central Asia, Latin America, and the Pacific.

Five years after Chinese President Xi Jinping first introduced the Global Development Initiative at the United Nations in September 2021, Beijing has launched a coordinated domestic and diplomatic review touting the program's expansion. State-run media, alongside central government and military portals, published comprehensive reports detailing the initiative's diplomatic footprint during a series of autumn summits, including the 2026 Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit and the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi. Speaking at the BRICS gathering on September 13, Xi noted that over the past five years, China and its partners have implemented more than 2,000 cooperation projects, trained upwards of 200,000 personnel, and reached beneficiaries across more than 120 countries. According to official statements, more than 130 countries and international organizations now support and participate in the initiative, with nearly 100 having signed formal cooperation documents with Beijing. Meanwhile, the 'Group of Friends of the GDI,' established at the United Nations, has expanded to 88 member states. The initiative is organized around six foundational principles outlined by Xi: prioritizing development, maintaining a people-centered approach, ensuring universal benefit and inclusion, driving innovation, protecting harmony between nature and humanity, and focusing on concrete actions. Chinese officials have repeatedly linked these points directly to accelerating the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Foreign officials quoted by Chinese state press praised the initiative's non-adversarial framing. Kenyan Ambassador to China Willy Bett described the initiative as offering mutual benefit rather than cutthroat competition, while Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov highlighted its contribution toward addressing urgent shared challenges. Xi also highlighted China's eight measures to back Global South cooperation, underscoring Beijing's commitment to mobilizing financial and institutional resources across Africa, Latin America, and Central Asia. As major multilateral conferences continue, China's official apparatus is signaling that the GDI will remain central to its foreign policy apparatus, serving as a primary conduit for development assistance and political consensus-building among emerging economies.