(People's Daily Online/He Zhuoyan)

On Dec. 28, students from over 40 countries and regions attended the first ever Emerging Markets Youth (Y30) Forum in Beijing.

Student representatives from Argentina, Brazil, Chile and nine other countries spoke at the event, discussing the Emerging 30 (E30) indicator system used for emerging market countries and their own countries in regards to development results, looming challenges and future prospects.

E30 countries account for nearly two-thirds of the world's population, almost half of the world’s land area, and one-third of the global economy.

During the event, Hu Biliang, Executive Dean of the Belt and Road School of Beijing Normal University, made it clear that young people from E30 countries are the main driving force for the development of this new international platform and solving current global issues, noting, "Poverty, anti-globalization, unilateralism, protectionism, and terrorism have always been problems that the world needs to solve. Young people are the leaders of their future countries.”

A new, objective system, fit for international recognition

According to the Emerging Markets Institute, an emerging market is a country that has some characteristics of a developed market, but does not yet satisfy standards to be termed a developed market. These guidelines and indicators are used for capital to invest in countries with market potentiality.

Hu Biliang (People's Daily Online/He Zhuoyan)

However, as the current concept of an “emerging market country” is vaguely defined and has little connection with reality, EMI launched a new indicator system for emerging market countries on Dec. 15, 2018.

Hu emphasized that the core values of the system are to remain scientific, objective and impartial. ”Using theories of development economics, we constructed a comprehensive indicator system using five factors: total size of a country’s economy, institutional environment, economic growth, socio-economic structure, and development impetus,” he explained. By removing subjective factors, every country is on a level playing field.

Deepening international cooperation through BRI links

Hu highlighted the importance of international cooperation and shared governance during the forum, noting, “It’s imperative for young people to think about cooperation, and we need to identify common ground for us to work together. The ultimate goal of the Belt and Road Initiative, like this forum, is to build up a shared future of humankind. No country should face discrimination."

Samuel Korsah, from Ghana, agreed with Hu on cooperation between countries. He said that developing countries like Ghana would have better opportunities thanks to the E30 indicator system, boosting the economy through exportation and attracting more investment.

Ogudu Harrison from Nigeria echoed Korsah, adding that he wants to see more events like the Y30 forum, which could help his country maintain a stable economy after years of poverty and uncertainty.

Strengthening exchanges and cooperation between young people in these countries will provide support and promote future development of the Belt and Road Initiative, and help promote South-South cooperation.

Andrew Korantegn noted, “The youth are the future. It’s [the Y30 Forum] the right opportunity to learn how to cooperate to find a way that works for various economies.”