Chinese Ambassador to Kenya, Guo Haiyan, asserted Thursday that the Global Development Initiative (GDI) has become one of the most widely supported platforms for international cooperation, offering practical solutions to many of the world’s urgent challenges.
Speaking at the Seminar on the Global Development Initiative in Nairobi, themed “Joining Hands to Implement the Global Development Initiative (GDI): Building Balanced and Universally Beneficial Partnerships for Development,” Ambassador Guo noted that the world is undergoing unprecedented transformation, characterized by turbulence, widening development gaps, and stagnation in progress on the UN 2030 Agenda.
“The international landscape is fraught with changes and turbulence. To solve the many challenges, we therefore need consensus and cooperation more than ever, to promote fairer, more inclusive and more sustainable global development,” she stated.
Amb. Guo described the GDI, proposed by President Xi Jinping in 2021, as a timely and transformative global public good aimed at reviving progress on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which are now entering their final implementation phase. She emphasised that the initiative directly addresses fundamental questions surrounding global development.
“GDI comprehensively addresses such basic issues as “why development is needed, for whom development is needed, whom development relies on, and how to develop”, placing the topic of development at the center of the global macro policy framework,” she explained.
With aligned goals, shared visions, and complementary pathways to the 2030 Agenda, she indicated that the GDI has garnered the support of over 130 countries and organizations, with more than 80, including Kenya, joining the Group of Friends of the GDI.
Amb. Guo stated that under the GDI, China prioritizes development, advocates a people-centred approach, inclusiveness, and benefits for all, and promotes innovation-driven development, harmony between humanity and nature, and results-oriented actions.
She highlighted that the GDI distinguishes itself through practicality and tangible outcomes rather than mere rhetoric, noting that over the past four years, China has mobilized more than USD 23 billion under the GDI framework and implemented a series of practical measures.
“We have set up the global development project pool with more than 1,800 cooperation projects launched in 8 priority areas, which is poverty reduction, food security, pandemic response and vaccines, financing for development, climate change and green development, industrialization, digital economy, and digital-era connectivity,” she said.
The envoy further explained that the Global Development and South-South Cooperation Fund has been expanded to USD 4 billion, supporting 190 livelihood projects in over 60 countries and benefiting more than 30 million people.
“These solid steps prove that GDI is not castles in the air, instead it is rather concrete, results-oriented and able to deliver real benefits,” she affirmed.
Amb. Guo remarked that the GDI is increasingly viewed by developing nations as a reliable mechanism for fairer international development partnerships, particularly in a global context marked by growing inequalities.
“Behind the growing North-South development gap in recent years are the inequalities in rights, opportunities and rules. Certain developed countries are blocking the flow of technology, attaching political conditions, and even cutting off funding to global development institutions,” she noted.
In light of this, she reiterated that the GDI advocates for balanced development and calls for fair access to development opportunities and outcomes for various countries and groups.
Amb. Guo announced that China is set to scale up its development support under the GDI over the next five years.
“China will continue to increase its input in global development. In the next 5 years, China will implement another 2000 “small and beautiful” livelihood projects in developing countries, establish a funding program dedicated to digital capacity-building within the Global Development Capital Pool to support the “Digital South” initiative under GDI, carry out 200 maritime development cooperation projects to support small island countries in boosting sustainable development capacity, and Guided by GDI, China-Kenya cooperation has flourished and yielded abundant fruits,” she explained.
The Ambassador praised the strong cooperation between China and Kenya, which is guided by GDI principles and driven by Kenya’s Vision 2030 aspirations. She highlighted flagship infrastructure partnerships, including the Mombasa–Nairobi Standard Gauge Railway (SGR), Thwake Dam, Nairobi Expressway, Garissa Solar Plant, and Talanta Sports Stadium.
She added that Kenyan products such as tea, coffee, flowers, and avocados are steadily gaining access to the Chinese market and expressed optimism that Kenya will soon benefit even more from China’s zero-tariff measures.
“We look forward to Kenya benefiting from China’s zero-tariff measures at an early date. These projects not only help Kenya address its development bottlenecks, also bring GDI’s visions of results-oriented actions, people-centered approach and green development into life,” she said.
Amb. Guo stressed that China’s long-term vision is rooted in shared prosperity and fairness in global development.
“A China that keeps advancing modernization will create more opportunities to the common development of all countries. A China committed to the cause of peace and development will shoulder greater responsibilities for progress of humankind,” she stated
