This year marks the fifth anniversary of the Global Development Initiative. The world is currently in a period of turbulence and change, with development issues being marginalized and global economic recovery lacking momentum. Implementing the United Nations' 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is facing severe challenges. The Global Development Initiative aims to bring development back to the core global agenda and draw a blueprint for the global South to unite and achieve common development.

As countries in the global South, China has a strong foundation for cooperation with small island nations. In history, both sides have a common historical memory of anti colonialism and anti hegemony, and the pursuit of national independence and independent development constitutes the emotional foundation of unity and cooperation. In reality, both sides are facing challenges such as climate crisis, widening development gap, and unreasonable international economic order, and the practical needs of safeguarding development rights and interests are highly compatible. In terms of development, both sides reject the misconception that "modernization equals Westernization" and insist on independently exploring the path of modernization based on their own national conditions, pursuing endogenous development capabilities. This is the deepest value consensus of mutual cooperation.

Based on the principle of "adhering to development priority", China and small island countries have enriched the path of global development through South South cooperation practices. As a member of the global South, China has always regarded small island countries as equal partners in cooperation, insisting on capacity building and experience sharing, and promoting the transformation of cooperation mode from "blood transfusion" to "blood making". Both sides fully implement the Global Development Initiative, adhere to the "Six Adherences", uphold the "Four Full Respect" principle, respect the right of small island countries to independently choose their development path, always take improving people's livelihoods and enhancing their ability for independent and sustainable development as the fundamental starting point of cooperation, and jointly explore a new South South cooperation paradigm of independent problem design, coordinated policy implementation, and independent evaluation in the global South.

China and small island countries have systematically laid out cooperation in key areas and achieved a number of practical results that benefit people's livelihoods and increase momentum. In the field of economic and trade cooperation such as blue economy, based on the endowment of marine resources, we will deepen the blue partnership, promote the coordinated development of marine fisheries, biomedicine, ecotourism, marine renewable energy and other fields, open up market channels through trade facilitation and tariff reduction, and help island countries transform their resource advantages into development momentum. In the field of food security and agricultural development, promote agricultural technologies that are suitable for small island countries, and carry out technology demonstrations and talent training. For example, the mushroom grass technology has been implemented in countries such as Fiji and Papua New Guinea, driving stable income growth for thousands of households and is known as the "happiness grass". In the field of climate governance and disaster prevention and reduction, cooperation is carried out around clean energy, low-carbon infrastructure, and disaster warning systems, relying on technological support such as scientific satellite data sharing and the "Mazu" meteorological intelligent warning scheme to enhance the climate resilience of small island countries. In terms of enhancing development capabilities, we should focus on development bottlenecks and connect the hardware foundation for external connectivity and people's livelihood security; Simultaneously promote medical assistance and public health system construction, establish diverse educational channels such as training, training, and scholarships, and ensure that the fruits of development benefit grassroots people.

Looking towards the future, China's deepening cooperation with small island countries needs to always adhere to the fundamental position of "development priority", continue to make efforts around the three core directions, promote the deepening and implementation of global southern unity and self-improvement, and jointly build a global community with a shared future for development.

One is to anchor innovative development and cultivate new drivers of sustainable growth. Taking the new round of technological revolution and industrial transformation as an opportunity to deepen cooperation in science and technology innovation, we will continue to implement the "Artificial Intelligence Capacity Building Inclusive Plan" and promote the practical application of artificial intelligence technology in small island countries' meteorological warning, ocean monitoring, smart agriculture, ecological protection and other scenarios; Strengthen cooperation in cutting-edge fields such as new energy, low-carbon technology, and blue technology, explore innovative models for large-scale development of marine renewable energy and protection and restoration of marine ecosystems, and support small island countries in exploring characteristic modernization paths that are in line with their own endowments.

The second is to deepen mutual learning among civilizations and consolidate the social foundation of people to people connectivity. To inherit and promote the spirit of Bandung, to transcend barriers through cultural exchange, and to transcend conflicts through cultural mutual learning. Expand multi-level cultural exchange channels, promote people to people exchanges and mutual understanding; Deepen the two-way exchange of governance and development experience, share China's practical experience in poverty reduction, rural revitalization, disaster response, etc., while drawing on the marine culture and ecological wisdom of small island countries; Promote inclusive coexistence among different civilizations and tell the story of the global South's unity and self-improvement.

The third is to jointly promote global governance and safeguard the common rights and interests of developing countries. Joining hands to promote the reform of the global governance system and enhance the representation and voice of countries in the global South. Adhere to true multilateralism, uphold the authority of the United Nations and the multilateral trading system centered around the World Trade Organization, and oppose protectionism, unilateralism, and power politics; Relying on a series of global initiatives to unite and cooperate in the global South, we aim to promote the development of the international order towards a more just and reasonable direction.

(Author Liang Guojie is the Dean of the Institute of Regional Studies at Dalian University and the Secretary General of the Small Island Regional Studies Alliance; Qin Yu is a researcher at the Center for the Study of Indian Ocean Island Countries at Dalian University)