China will always remain a member of the developing world

In recent years, China has maintained its position as the world’s second-largest economy and achieved remarkable development in fields such as technology, infrastructure, high-end manufacturing, and new energy. Its comprehensive national strength and competitiveness have continued to grow. Consequently, some countries have begun to challenge China’s status as a developing country. In 2023, the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate respectively introduced the “PRC Is Not a Developing Country Act” and the “Ending China’s Developing Nation Status Act.” Meanwhile, China has firmly stated that it has always stood together with developing countries, sharing the same breath and destiny. China was, is and will always remain a member of the developing world!

In 1964, during the first session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the various Asian, African, and Latin American countries that had achieved national liberation and embarked on the path of independent development after World War II, were designated as “developing countries” in contrast to developed countries. As a populous nation with underdeveloped economic foundations at the time, China naturally became part of the developing world. In the late 1970s, China implemented its reform and opening-up policy, gradually transitioning onto a path of rapid development and achieving the level of industrialization within decades which took the developed countries centuries. However, regardless of how much progress China makes, its status as a developing country will not change. Why does China firmly emphasize its identity as a developing country?

First and foremost, frankly speaking, China is far from being a developed economy. At present, China’s per capita income remains relatively low. According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which classifies developed economies based on criteria such as per capita income, trade freedom, and financial openness, there are 41 developed economies worldwide, and China is not one of them.

In 2023, China’s per capita Gross National Income (GNI) was $13,400, which is only 17% of that of the United States, 25% of Germany’s, and 34% of Japan’s. It is also just 27% of the average for the 41 developed economies. Moreover, China’s development remains unbalanced and inadequate. From a regional perspective, the eastern coastal areas are relatively well-developed, whereas the vast central and western regions and the northeastern region lag behind. From a rural perspective, China’s current urbanization rate is approximately 66%, which is lower than developed countries’ 80%. In 2022, rural disposable income in China was only 40.9% of that of urban residents and less than 10% of rural residents’ income in countries like the United States and Japan.

According to the “2023/24 Human Development Report” issued by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), China’s Human Development Index (HDI) stands at 0.788, ranking 75th globally. While China has a large economy, when divided by its 1.4 billion population, the numbers become relatively small. Whether in terms of labour productivity, per capita industrial added value, car ownership per 1,000 people, or per capita spending on education, healthcare, and social security, China still lags significantly behind developed countries.

In recent years, China’s status as a developing country has been recognized under international treaties, including the World Trade Organization (WTO) framework, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), and the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, and it has been widely accepted by the international community.

Secondly, for China, the status as a developing country holds unique political significance. Since the founding of the People’s Republic of China, the nation has firmly supported the national liberation movements in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Despite not being wealthy at the time, China assisted in building the Tazara Railway and the Karakoram Highway, vividly demonstrating the principle of “a friend in need is a friend indeed.”

Entering the new era, China continues to uphold the Bandung Spirit alongside developing countries, acting as a close friend, partner, and brother who shares weal and woe. Together, we work to foster a new type of international relations centered on mutual benefit and cooperation, promote high-quality Belt and Road cooperation and build a community with a shared future for humankind. China has taken a clear-cut stance against hegemonism and power politics in all their forms, representing the forces of peace and development. China’s vote in the United Nations always belongs to developing countries. China remains committed to its self-positioning as a developing country and will not join the Western’s “rich nations’ club.”

The report of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China states that as a developing major country, China is still in the primary stage of socialism. Regardless of how its economy develops or how its international standing rises in the future, China will always be a member of the developing world, standing in solidarity with other developing countries to strive for mutual rights and interests.

Thirdly, China has never used its status as a developing country as a “shield” to evade international responsibilities or a “steppingstone” to seek special privileges. Instead, as a major developing country, China has actively contributed to global peace and development. From 1979 to 2023, China accounted for an average of 24.8% of global economic growth annually, ranking first in the world. It was the first to achieve the United Nations Millennium Development Goals and contributed to over 70% of global poverty reduction. Currently, the special and differential treatment China enjoys under the WTO is far below the average level for developing countries.

As the largest contributor to the G20’s Debt Service Suspension Initiative (DSSI), China accounts for more than 40% of the total global debt relief under the program. It is also the second-largest contributor to the United Nations’ regular budget and peacekeeping assessments. Additionally, China continues to advance its low-carbon transition, emerging as a key driver of global green development.

In his keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation on September 5, President Xi Jinping announced that China will voluntarily and unilaterally open its market wider and has decided to give all the least developed countries (LDCs) having diplomatic relations with China, including 33 countries in Africa, zero-tariff treatment for 100 percent tariff lines. This has made China the first major developing country and the first major economy to take such a step.

On November 18, 2024, during the first session of the 19th G20 Summit, President Xi Jinping presented eight actions by China to support global development, including pursuing high-quality Belt and Road cooperation together. Based on newly-established 700 billion RMB financing window and additional 80 billion RMB injected into the Silk Road Fund, China is moving ahead with the development of the multidimensional Belt and Road connectivity network, one that is led by the building of a green Silk Road and will empower a digital Silk Road; implementing the Global Development Initiative. Establishing the Global South research center, make full use of 20 billion US dollars financing window to support developing countries; joining the Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty, supporting the international cooperation on poverty reduction and food security; proposing an Initiative on International Cooperation in Open Science to help the Global South gain better access to global advances in science, technology and innovation etc.

Fourthly, the challenges, and even the attempts to strip China of its developing country status by certain nations, essentially aim to deprive China of the corresponding rights and benefits it is entitled to as a developing country, restricting its space for maneuver in international cooperation on trade, debt, climate change, and other areas. At the same time, these attempts seek to impose moral coercion on China, burdening it with undue responsibilities far beyond its actual capacity. Politically, these attempts aim to weaken China’s international influence, drive a wedge between China and other developing countries, and isolate China from the Global South, thereby diminishing the overall strength of developing world.

In contrast, those developed countries challenging China’s developing country status have a track record of evading their own international responsibilities by “passing the buck” or withdrawing from international agreements. They have incited discord and undermined regional peace and stability, exploited monetary hegemony to create debt traps and extract global economic benefits, and obstructed China’s participation in international cooperation on debt relief and climate change to safeguard their own hegemonic interests. Their self-centered policies vividly illustrate their hypocrisy. Decoupling, disruption of industrial and supply chains, building “small yards with high fences” only expose the narrow-minded and selfish nature of these nations to the developing world. Attempts to falsely label China as a “developed country” and manipulate it with “sugar-coated bullets” to suppress it are equally futile.

China and Pakistan are both important developing countries in Asia, presenting an exemplary model of relations between developing countries. In the midst of great changes that have not been seen in a century, China will steadfastly uphold her status as a developing country and strengthen solidarity with Pakistan and other developing countries, resolutely safeguarding the legitimate rights, interests, and development space of developing countries, firmly advocating for increased voice and representation for developing countries in global governance, and carrying forward peace, development, equity, justice, democracy, and freedom. building a global community of shared future together.