On 24 February, H.E. Qi Zhenhong, Chinese Ambassador to Sri Lanka, published the second article in a signed series titled “China’s Development: Creating Opportunities for a World in Transformation” in the English-language mainstream media Daily News. Full text is as follows:
China’s Development: Creating Opportunities for a World in Transformation
Our world is undergoing profound changes unseen in a century. Unilateralism and protectionism are currently on the rise, yet the broader trend of economic globalization remains irreversible. Countries are now more interconnected and interdependent than ever before. We are increasingly becoming a community with a shared future.
At a time when the global economy faces slowing growth, widening development gaps and rising uncertainty, one pressing question resonates across the international community: in the midst of worldwide transformation, who can create real and sustainable development opportunities that benefit all?
1. Mutual Benefits, Shared Prosperity
As global value chains become increasingly integrated, international economic ties have evolved far beyond the simple exchange of goods. Trade in services and cross-border investment returns also form an essential part of shared prosperity. Taking China-U.S. and China-EU trade and economic relations as examples, China maintains a certain surplus in goods trade, both the US and the EU gain substantially from trade in services and investment in the Chinese market. In 2024, the United States recorded a services trade surplus of nearly USD 300 billion, including more than USD 27 billion with China. The EU’s services trade surplus with China exceeded USD 50 billion in the same year. Foreign-invested enterprises in China account for about one-third of China’s total imports and exports, and roughly half of its exports of electromechanical, and high-tech products. Nearly 40% of products made in China by European companies are exported back to Europe. These facts underscore a simple truth: today’s global economy is not a zero-sum game, but a network of mutual interests and shared gains.
2. Made in China, Felt at Home
For many families across the world, China’s development is not an abstract concept—it is a tangible reality in everyday life. By supplying global markets with reliable and affordable products, China has contributed to the stability of industrial and supply chains, while also easing cost pressures on consumers. Research indicates that increased imports of Chinese goods can help mitigate inflationary pressures. Nobel laureate economist James Heckman and economist Hanming Fang cite research that shows every 1% increase in US imports from China reduces US prices by roughly 1.9%. An assessment released by the European Central Bank in July 2025 suggests that additional exports to Europe resulting from China-US trade friction could reduce Eurozone inflation by around 0.15% in 2026. These impacts are not merely macroeconomic figures. They are genuinely reflected in the daily necessities of ordinary households such as clothing, food, housing and transportation.
3. Technology for All, Progress for Real
As China advances its industrial upgrading, ‘Made in China’ is steadily evolving into ‘Smart Manufacturing in China’. This shift has not been achieved through technological exclusion or monopolization but through a focus on innovation and large-scale application, which has made technology more accessible and affordable. In the fields of communication and digital infrastructure, China has transitioned from following in the 3G era, to running abreast with global peers in the 4G era, and to leading the world in the 5G era. The rise of DeepSeek has helped counter attempts by certain countries to monopolize the dividends of artificial intelligence, promoting what can be described as the democratization of AI. This has broken the long-standing technological monopoly held by a handful of countries and corporations, expanding access to secure, reliable, and cost-effective technological solutions for many countries. In Africa, Chinese enterprises have deployed over 200,000 kilometers of optical fiber cables, providing digital connectivity to more than 900 million people and narrowing the digital divide.
4. A Vast Market, A Shared Start
China is now a major trading partner for more than 150 countries and regions. Supported by a super-sized market of over 1.4 billion people, China is not only a global producer, but also an increasingly important export destination for developing countries, providing stable demand and growth opportunities. Under the Belt and Road cooperation framework, China places growing emphasis on quality and sustainability. In the first half of 2025 alone, newly signed construction contracts and investments in Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) partner countries reached USD 124 billion, surpassing the total amount for the entire year of 2024. These projects are contributing to industrial development, digital connectivity, and capacity building in partner countries. Cooperation with China is not about redistributing existing resources—it is about creating new growth. It is not about dividing a fixed pie but about expanding it together.
5. Green Transition, Global Assurance
Climate change is a long-term challenge faced by all countries. As one of the world’s major economies, China is advancing economic growth and green transition simultaneously. It has built the world’s largest and fastest-growing renewable energy system, with non-fossil energy accounting for 60.8% of its total installed power generation capacity. More importantly, these achievements are being shared through international cooperation. China has engaged in green energy projects with more than 100 countries and regions. Over the past five years, China’s exports of wind and photovoltaic products have contributed to reducing carbon emissions in other countries by approximately 4.1 billion tonnes—equivalent to about four months of global forest carbon sequestration. Over the past decade, global costs of wind and solar power generation have dropped by over 60%. Today, more than 90% of operational wind and solar projects worldwide generate electricity at a lower cost than the cheapest fossil fuel alternatives. A substantial portion of this progress has been driven by China's continuous technological innovation and the scaling up of mass production. Affordable clean energy holds the key to unlocking a truly global green transition.
6. Different Paths, Common Progress
For developing countries, modernization is not a single-track journey. Industrialization, urbanization, digitalization and green transition often proceed side by side. China’s path to modernization is not a model to be copied, but an experience that shows how latecomer disadvantages can be turned into iterative advantages. Late development does not mean passivity, nor does it limit a country’s choices. Achieving industrial upgrading and higher-quality growth through genuine innovation and creativity is a legitimate right of China and other developing countries. Walking with China means walking with opportunity, believing in China means believing in tomorrow, and investing in China means investing in the future. As China continues its own development, it remains committed to creating opportunities and expanding choices for its partners including Sri Lanka. China stands ready to work with all countries to move forward together and share the development opportunities.