Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Thursday that China will soon launch a special fund of $10 billion to implement the Global Development Initiative (GDI).

Xi made the remarks during a speech at the BRICS-Africa Outreach and BRICS Plus Dialogue in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Noting China has been and will always remain a member of developing countries, Xi said that he proposed the GDI for the purpose of calling on the world to focus on development and lending impetus to implement the 2030 Agenda.

The GDI was proposed by Xi at the general debate of the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly in September 2021, when the world had been faced with severe shocks from the COVID-19 pandemic and was in urgent need of new dynamics for development.

To put development first, China has set up a Global Development and South-South Cooperation Fund with a total funding of $4 billion and will soon set up a special fund of $10 billion dedicated to the implementation of the GDI, Xi stressed.

In terms of practical cooperation, Xi said that over 200 cooperation projects have come to fruition, with cooperation mechanisms expanding in areas such as poverty reduction, education and health in Asia, Africa, Pacific island countries and the Caribbean.

Under the GDI, China has also unleashed the power of innovation by prioritizing green development, new-type industrialization and the digital economy, as well as pursued a Partnership on New Industrial Revolution to boost high-quality development, Xi noted.

As for food and energy security, China has launched a China-FAO South-South Cooperation Trust Fund, provided food assistance to and shared agrotech with many countries through the Food Production Enhancement Action and initiated a Global Clean Energy Cooperation Partnership for energy security, said Xi.

Noting China has provided a large amount of development assistance to Africa over the past decade, Xi said that China will carry out more cooperation with African countries to support the continent in enhancing its own capacity for development through measures such as providing satellite mapping data products, implementing a Smart Customs cooperation partnership and launching with UNESCO a "GDI for Africa's Future" action plan.