Editor's note: Li Qiqian, a special commentator for CGTN, is an assistant research fellow at the National Institute of International Strategy, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. The article reflects the author's opinions and not necessarily the views of CGTN.

With the general debate of the 81st Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) scheduled to open on September 22, it is an appropriate time to revisit a major Chinese initiative to provide public goods worldwide and its impact. In September 2021, Chinese President Xi Jinping proposed the Global Development Initiative (GDI) at the general debate of the 76th Session of the UNGA and according to official data released in September 2025, in the four years since its launch, the GDI mobilized over $23 billion to support the development of the Global South with more than 1,800 cooperation projects.

A fundamental challenge in international development cooperation is how to turn external inputs into a country's capacity for sustained development. Funding and infrastructure can ease immediate constraints, but whether the gains will endure depends more on human capital and technology. A key contribution of the public goods China provides to the international community is improvements in material conditions combined with a stronger capacity for independent development, so that the benefits of cooperation accumulate and spread over time. The GDI’s capacity to generate lasting benefits can be understood through several mutually reinforcing links.

The link between construction and operation turns material inputs into sustainable public services. Once a facility is completed, its equipment maintenance must be paired with technological upgrading and sustained personnel training. For example, after the China-assisted National Stadium of Cabo Verde in the West African country was completed, Chinese technical teams continued to provide on-site operation and maintenance, upgraded fire-protection and lighting systems, and trained local personnel.

The Addis Ababa-Djibouti Railway between Ethiopia and Djibouti, a flagship project of Belt and Road cooperation, offers another example of capacity transfer. While operating the railway, the Chinese team recruited and trained local staff; by the end of 2023, the number of local professionals working in railway operations had exceeded 3,000. In May 2024, the Chinese side completed the handover of operations and maintenance while continuing to provide technical guidance. By moving from facility maintenance to enabling local operation, cooperation extends a project's value beyond delivery and helps local partners acquire the technical and managerial capabilities needed to sustain public services.

The link between skills transfer and education systems allows human capital development to become self-sustaining. When new energy vehicles were introduced into the Vientiane Saysettha Low-Carbon Demonstration Zone in Laos, China organized both classroom instruction and hands-on training for local personnel.

Linking experience sharing with local realities facilitates the application and improvement of technology in the local context. Methods suited to local realities lower the barriers to learning and diffusion, while tangible gains create incentives for continued adoption. In Tanzania, experts from China Agricultural University conducted field research and adapted practices such as rational dense planting and intertillage to local soil conditions, turning them into techniques farmers could readily master. Maize yields improved, and the practices gradually spread to more villages. Only when farmers gain experience through participation and can pass methods on to others can outside knowledge truly take root locally.

Last but not least, linking project cooperation with institution building has made development gains extend beyond a single project and across borders. China's support for the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) has included construction of its headquarters and the deployment of experts.

In 2025, the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention and Africa CDC signed a memorandum of understanding covering laboratory testing, disease surveillance and information systems, and public health workforce development; later that year, laboratory technology training was held at the Africa CDC headquarters, with 30 trainees from 16 countries attending the opening ceremony. The deeper significance lies in working through Africa's own public health institution to connect public health resources with cross-border cooperation, strengthening regional disease surveillance and emergency response capacity. Building the capacity of beneficiaries also enhances the collective ability to address cross-border risks.

These practices point to a basic logic of development cooperation: Different inputs complement one another and jointly determine the real effectiveness of external support. Connecting these links helps partners develop the capacity to keep systems running and expand services. Politically, it also enables partners to identify development priorities and choose development paths more independently, a practical expression of respect for national sovereignty and support for independent development.

By doing so, China is giving fresh momentum to the GDI and building a community with a shared future for humanity. The deeper meaning of win-win cooperation is to ensure that development opportunities, and the capacity to create development outcomes benefits more people.

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