China shares inclusive development with the world: Former Director-General of UNESCO

Former Director-General of UNESCO, Irina Bokova, receives an exclusive interview with People's Daily Online in Beijing, Sep. 10, 2024. (People's Daily Online/Zhang Wenjie).

China's modernization and inclusive development have helped 1.4 billion Chinese people, set examples, and shared experiences with other countries, benefiting the world as a whole, said Irina Bokova, former Director-General of UNESCO.

Bokova, who is also the Honorary Dean of the School of International Organizations at Beijing Foreign Studies University, visited China several times and voiced her appreciation for China's rapid progress over the last several decades, stating that China's tremendous economic, social, and technological advancements have contributed significantly to the experience of the globe. She also noted that through cooperation mechanisms such as BRICS, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, and the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, China is fulfilling its obligation to share its inclusive growth with other countries.

"UNESCO and China have together developed many joint activities, partnerships and initiatives, among my most memorable moments was President Xi Jinping's visit to UNESCO a decade ago," Bokova told People's Daily Online during an exclusive interview.

In 2014, Chinese President Xi Jinping delivered a keynote speech at the headquarters of UNESCO in Paris, laying out his vision of civilization that features diversity, equality and inclusiveness. 

"We need to encourage different civilizations to respect each other and live together in harmony while promoting their exchanges and mutual learning as a bridge of friendship among peoples, a driving force behind human society, and a strong bond for world peace," President Xi said.

"President Xi's speech about diversity is very important, it shows that though we belong to different cultures, we are all members of one shared community," said Bokova.

According to Bokova, China is fulfilling its responsibility to share its success with the rest of the world by promoting collaboration and inclusive development. For example, China was the first developing country to realize one of the UN Millennium Development Goals for poverty reduction, making a significant contribution to the global poverty alleviation cause.

"China's commitment, inclusive development, and strong leadership demonstrate to the world that equality and inclusion in society are attainable. This benefits not only the Chinese people, but also other countries around the world," added Bokova.

Bokova has also praised China's "new quality productive forces". With innovation playing the leading role, new quality productive forces are forces that feature advanced productivity and are free from traditional economic growth modes and productivity development paths. They are defined by high-tech, high efficiency and high quality, and are in line with the new development philosophy.

"It is a very interesting and innovative concept China is taking. I think it is justified because the world and global economy are entering a new phase, and it is critical to use innovation and technology to encourage young people to use all of the potential of science to achieve equality and social inclusion, as well as to address challenges such as climate change and biodiversity loss," said Bokova, adding that "new quality productive forces" have the potential to reconcile humans with nature while maintaining all of the benefits of technological progress.