Afghan people line up to receive rice donated by the Chinese government in Kabul, Afghanistan, on April 23, 2022. (PHOTO / XINHUA)

The Global Development Initiative (GDI) proposed by China has injected strong impetus into the cause of global poverty reduction, said a Chinese official on Tuesday.

China has allocated more resources to boost global development and poverty reduction, said Zhao Fengtao, deputy head of China International Development Cooperation Agency, at a press conference on the newly released white paper titled "A Global Community of Shared Future: China's Proposals and Actions."

China has announced the upgrading of the South-South Cooperation Assistance Fund to a Global Development and South-South Cooperation Fund and the increase of its total funding to $4 billion, Zhao noted

China has announced the upgrading of the South-South Cooperation Assistance Fund to a Global Development and South-South Cooperation Fund and the increase of its total funding to $4 billion, Zhao noted.

Under the framework of the initiative, Chinese financial institutions have set up a special fund of $10 billion for implementing the GDI, and over 200 cooperation projects have been included in the GDI project pool, according to Zhao.

China has helped other developing countries implement more than 6,000 projects to improve people's well-being, and trained nearly 20 million personnel for more than 160 countries to boost their development, Zhao said.

BRI

Over the past decade, the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative has galvanized nearly $1 trillion of investment and helped lift about 40 million people out of poverty, he added.

China will continue to boost the green development of the Belt and Road, better protect the environment, and bring benefits to the people of all Belt and Road partner countries, Cong Liang, deputy head of the National Development and Reform Commission, said at the same press conference

Cong said that positive progress has been made in China's overseas project cooperation in the past decade.

China will promote green development of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and ensure it closely aligns with the UN sustainable development agenda, improve platforms such as the BRI International Green Development Coalition, and continuously strengthen capacity building, Cong said.

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The BRI is a vivid example of building a global community of shared future, and is a global public good and cooperation platform provided by China to the world, according to the white paper.

By July 2023, more than three-quarters of countries in the world and over 30 international organizations had signed agreements on Belt and Road cooperation with China, the document stated.

Cultural exchanges

China has been actively involved in fostering cultural exchanges, China's Deputy Minister of Culture and Tourism Li Qun said at the same briefing, calling strengthening cultural exchanges a crucial pathway towards building a global community of shared future.

China has signed cooperation agreements in the fields of culture, cultural heritage, and tourism with 157 countries, with collaboration already established with 25 nations to prevent the illegal import and export of cultural relics, Li noted.

Over the past decade, China has collaborated with countries worldwide to organize more than 500 exhibitions showcasing cultural relics, according to the official.

Chinese experts have undertaken cultural relics preservation and restoration projects in 11 sites across six countries, including the ancient city of Khiva in Uzbekistan and Angkor Wat in Cambodia.

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Furthermore, joint archaeological endeavors have been conducted with 24 countries, resulting in the repatriation of over 1,800 lost cultural relics to their home country, Li said.

Chinese government has made dedicated efforts in international cultural exchanges, actively contributing to the diversity of world cultures and enhancing the inclusiveness and sustainability of global economic and social development, he said.

The official said that the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the National Cultural Heritage Administration of China will continue to uphold the Global Civilization Initiative, strengthen cooperation in cultural exchanges, and do what is necessary to promote world peace, cooperation, and the inheritance and development of human wisdom and civilization.