China-proposed development initiative key to solving many global challenges: expert

The China-proposed Global Development Initiative (GDI) not only supports the country's own development but also provides a solution to many global development challenges, according to Qi Ye, Dean of Society Hub at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Guangzhou).

The GDI, which aims to advance the broadest common interests of all humanity, was put forward by Chinese President Xi Jinping at the UN General Assembly in 2021, laying out six core principles for cooperation between nations that lead to shared development.

During a talk program broadcast by the China Media Group, Qi hailed China's success in alleviating poverty, crediting it to the country's commitment to prioritizing development.

"China has over the last 30 to 40 years basically alleviated one billion people out of poverty, and that is a huge share in terms of achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. And some other countries are probably doing not so well, and China, with this Global Development Initiative, putting development first as the leading goal, I think that's very, very important because when we look at the whole world right now, we have many, many challenges, but we need a solution. We do need development, the economic development, political development, cultural, social development," he said.

As this year marks the United Nations' 80th anniversary, Qi also highlighted the organization's vital role in achieving global goals, particularly through a focus on education and related fields.

"The multilateral institutions, including the development banks, including these international organizations, these multilateral organizations, institutions are really, really key for the common global goal to fix the common global challenges. And this is so obvious. And under the leadership of the United Nations and many of these organizations, it's important really the education. We must have a common shared understanding for a common future, this empowerment of the people, especially the people in need, and investment and also innovation. We need to put in a lot of resources and knowledge and human resources into that to have this education, this empowerment, innovation and investment," he said.

China-proposed development initiative key to solving many global challenges: expert

Chinese spacecraft developers have accelerated development of the spacecraft for the country's Shenzhou-23 crewed spaceflight mission by five months — moving its launch from the original schedule in October to late May — achieving greater efficiency without compromising safety or reliability.

According to He Yu, general commander of China's manned spacecraft project of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, the accelerated development began shortly after the emergency launch readiness of the Shenzhou-22 last November.

"We have accelerated the development of the Shenzhou-23 spacecraft. It was originally planned for launch in late October, but has now been moved up to late May. In the six months since last November, we have gained five months of progress. This means the pace of work has been quickened by nearly one time," He said.

He further explained that a series of measures to ensure mission success have been adopted alongside the accelerated development, adding multiple layers of assurance.

"We have continued the proven measures that have ensured success in the past, which are fundamentally based on a sound product assurance system and strict process control. We have maintained high-quality assembly operations, continued to implement efficient and high-quality automated testing procedures, adopted a specialized flight control model, and maintained a full-process quality confirmation system to ensure reliability and safety of the product," He said.

The Shenzhou-23 crewed spaceship is scheduled to be launched at 23:08 Beijing time (15:08 GMT) on Sunday from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China.

Chinese astronauts Zhu Yangzhu, Zhang Zhiyuan and Lai Ka-ying will carry out the Shenzhou-23 crewed spaceflight mission, and Zhu will be the commander, the China Manned Space Agency announced at a press conference on Saturday.

Chinese engineers move Shenzhou-23 manned spacecraft mission forward by 5 months while ensuring safety