China Development Report 2025 highlights support for Global South

Skyline reflected on the Jialing riverbed in Chongqing, China, August 20, 2022.
Reuters

China’s latest development report links its modernisation drive with a stronger commitment to advancing growth opportunities in the Global South.

The China Development Report 2025 outlines how the country is pursuing high-quality modernisation while navigating global challenges. It frames China’s path around innovative, coordinated, green, open and shared development, presenting both domestic progress and a vision for global cooperation.

Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Guo Jiakun said the report demonstrates China’s resilience in a complex international environment. He stressed that “new quality productive forces are full of vigour,” and that China’s growth provides opportunities for other countries through openness and shared development.

A central theme is support for the Global South. Under the Global Development Initiative, more than US$23 billion has been mobilised and over 1,800 projects launched. Belt and Road cooperation is cited as a key driver of poverty reduction, with over 40 million people lifted out of poverty through infrastructure, trade and investment partnerships.

Guo also highlighted China’s trade platforms, including the China International Import Expo and the China International Supply Chain Expo, as gateways for wider market access. Beijing’s decision to grant zero-tariff treatment to all least developed countries with diplomatic ties to China, covering 100% of tariff lines, and the introduction of visa-free policies, were presented as further proof of lowering barriers.

“Development is an eternal theme of humanity, and no country should be left behind,” Guo said. “China’s modernisation will encourage other nations to move towards common development and progress.”

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