All countries welcome to join Global Development Initiative

China welcomes all countries to join the Global Development Initiative and is ready to work with them to follow the ideas of extensive consultation, joint contributions and shared benefits and "practice true multilateralism", according to the Foreign Ministry.

Dozens of countries and many international organizations have voiced their support for or spoken positively of the initiative proposed by President Xi Jinping at the general debate of the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly via video link in September, Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said on Monday.

The initiative has received a warm reaction in the international community, Wang said. He added that developing countries support it, and developed nations have welcomed it and expressed their approval of the ideas and fields of cooperation put forward.

Countries and organizations said it created impetus for the faster growth of developing nations, and they hope to communicate and work with China to implement the initiative together, Wang said at a news conference.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a video meeting with Xi last month that the UN fully supports the initiative and hopes to enhance cooperation with China in this regard.

The initiative calls for pursuing more robust, greener and balanced global development, including speeding up the implementation of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and building a global community of development with a shared future.

Xi proposed the initiative at a time when the COVID-19 pandemic and profound changes in the world are bringing the cause of global development to a crossroads, Wang said. The initiative upholds the core idea of putting people at the center, follows the guide of pragmatic cooperation and advocates open and inclusive partnerships, Wang added.

The initiative, which is "open to the whole world", is a blueprint for international cooperation on development and shows the way for promoting the cause of global development, Wang said.

Also, China hopes to work with all the other countries to speed up the implementation of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and make unremitting efforts to build a community with a shared future for mankind, Wang said.