How China's development path provides a model for global growth

Located in the Huangyan District of Taizhou, Zhejiang Province, the Huangyan Grottoes have supplied stone since the Tang Dynasty for city walls, roads, bridges and homes, laying the physical foundations of local development. By the 1980s, however, quarrying came to an end, leaving behind vast hollowed-out caverns.

The turning point came in 2023, when a design team from Tsinghua University joined the revitalization effort. Through structural reinforcement, ecological restoration and creative redesign, the abandoned quarry was transformed into a network of art spaces, concert halls and cafes. Since opening in February this year, the site has attracted over 500,000 visitors, generating 11 million yuan (around $1.6 million) in tourism revenue by November.

"Development is the key to improving people's livelihoods," Chinese President Xi Jinping stressed at the general debate of the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly in September 2021.

At the meeting, he proposed the Global Development Initiative, which calls for prioritizing development, adopting a people-centered approach, fostering innovation, promoting harmony between humanity and nature, and pursuing practical results to accelerate the implementation of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Since 2013, China has stepped up efforts to upgrade its traditional growth model, gradually forming a modern economic governance approach rooted in green development, committed to a people-centered philosophy, and powered by innovation.

A development model rooted in green, people-centered growth

The experience of Huangyan Grottoes illustrates this transformation, and it's not an isolated case. Across China, cities and regions are tailoring strategies to local conditions, leveraging their unique resources to achieve industrial upgrading and sustainable growth.

In Panzhihua, a mining-based city of southwest China's Sichuan Province, coal-related industries once made up 78 percent of industrial value in the West District, typifying a resource-dependent growth model. As this path became unsustainable, the district decisively shifted toward green transformation.

It phased out 13 enterprises with outdated capacity, shut down 133 polluting companies and dismantled 109 industrial stockyards. At the same time, it upgraded its industries toward new materials, new energy, advanced processing of vanadium-titanium steel and resource recycling.

The results are remarkable: from 2022 to 2024, both carbon emissions and intensity declined steadily. In 2024, emissions were about 303,500 tons of carbon dioxide, with intensity falling 24.8 percent annually. The district now aims to become a zero-carbon industrial zone within three years and is positioning itself to cultivate strategic industries in advanced materials and new energy.

Beyond industrial transformation, other regions in China have also actively leveraged their own cultural strengths to drive development.

In southwest China's Guizhou Province, the grassroots football league known as "Cun Chao" has grown into a nationwide cultural phenomenon, attracting more than 5.19 million visitors, generating nearly 5.99 billion yuan in tourism revenue and creating over 12,000 flexible jobs. In Beidaihe, north China's Hebei Province, the Aranya community built by the seaside has evolved into a creative hub, hosting theater, music and dance festivals and drawing designers and artists from across the country.

Gyula Thurmer, president of the Hungarian Workers' Party, noted that despite global economic uncertainty, China's economy has demonstrated strong resilience. He said China's governance approach – rooted in people-centered policies and long-term vision – offers a compelling example for nations facing complex global challenges.

Providing opportunities for global growth

As the global economy faces rising uncertainty amid rising protectionism and geopolitical tensions, China has sought to inject stability through steady domestic growth and continued opening-up, providing more opportunities to the world.

Over the past five years, China has contributed roughly 30 percent of global economic growth annually on average, ranking among the top contributors worldwide. Its 1.4-billion-strong market offers vast potential for goods, services and investment, and the country has remained the world's largest trader in goods for years.

In terms of international cooperation, landmark projects under the Belt and Road Initiative – including the Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Railway, the China-Laos Railway and Greece's Piraeus Port – have supported infrastructure upgrades, job creation and economic recovery in partner countries.

Meanwhile, China continues to shorten its negative list for foreign investment and hosts major platforms such as the China International Import Expo to share market opportunities with global businesses.

Hamid Moghadam, co-founder and CEO of Prologis, said growing demand from Chinese consumers represents "a tremendous opportunity" and that the prosperity of the Chinese market directly drives his company's continued growth.

Rebeca Grynspan, secretary-general of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), has described China as a "very important example of development in the 20th and 21st century," noting that UNCTAD "learns from China's experience."