Experts pool wisdom to address global development challenges at forum

BEIJING, Nov. 18 (Xinhua) -- The development of the world must be achieved through the process of globalization, while de-globalization is not helpful, according to experts attending the Tongzhou Global Development Forum on Saturday in Beijing.

The two-day event, hosted by Renmin University of China (RUC) and co-organized by the People's Government of Tongzhou District, brought together more than 400 attendees from over 30 countries around the world.

Four parallel sessions featuring topics including Chinese modernization and the global governance system, and several academic dialogues were also held during the forum.

"To address the issue of global common development, I still believe that economic globalization, investment facilitation and trade liberalization are fundamental approaches," said Wu Xiaoqiu, dean of the National Finance Research Institute of RUC.

Uncertainty is a prominent feature of this era, Wu said, adding that finding opportunities for development is a challenge for the whole world.

Adrian Nastase, a former Romanian prime minister, noted the necessity of building international consensus to promote development and strengthen the objectives of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development to create a favorable international environment.

It is also important to achieve a partnership or development in which developed countries should pay their obligations and developing countries strengthen their cooperation, Nastase said.

Filip Vujanovic, former president of Montenegro, said that multilateralism does not have alternatives, and called for international cooperation to cope with the challenges to globalism that "exist and will exist in the future."

Speaking of the role of the China-proposed initiatives represented by the "Belt and Road" in addressing global development, Chen Wenling, chief economist with the China Center for International Economic Exchanges, said that these initiatives are solutions offered by China to the world, which is also a new type of global public good.

"China is not the sole beneficiary, while the entire globe benefits from them," Chen said.