A win for China is a win for humanity

Farmers work in the fields of Qianfu Village in Liaocheng, east China's Shandong Province, March 23, 2022. [Photo/Xinhua]

By Alexander Ayertey Odonkor

The World Bank has recently released a joint study, undertaken in conjunction with China's Ministry of Finance, the Development Research Center (DRC) of the State Council and the Center for International Knowledge on Development (CIKD), titled as "Four Decades of Poverty Reduction in China: Drivers, Insights for the World, and the Way Ahead." The comprehensive report elucidates how China has been able to lift nearly 800 million people out of extreme poverty in the past 40 years, points out vital lessons that could benefit developing countries and makes suggestions for the country's future policies.

In other words, the report shares China's experience in poverty eradication with the rest of the world. To be candid, this triumph is unequivocally a feather in China's cap, but the country's hard-earned progress in poverty alleviation certainly has global significance.

China's poverty eradication prowess presents the entire world with an invaluable resource that will continue to be relevant for many generations to come. By adopting a poverty eradication approach that is centered on two pillars; broad-based economic transformation that created new opportunities and raised average incomes and offered targeted support for deprived communities, policymakers and relevant stakeholders in China have not only succeeded in ending extreme poverty in the country but have concurrently reduced global poverty.

In fact, within the last four decades, China has single-handedly contributed almost three-quarters of global poverty reduction, making major inroads in ending all forms of poverty, a daunting global challenge, which is an indispensable requirement for sustainable development.

Apart from this outstanding accomplishment, China is undertaking equally important investments that are inevitable requirements for sustainable development. To further support the global agenda to achieve sustainable development, China is advancing technology and innovation via research and development (R&D).

The faster countries across the globe unlock the full potential of technology and innovation, the quicker they will generate the essential environmental, economic and social gains needed to meet the targets of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

On October 30, 2019, the Wall Street Journal published an article "China Emerges as Global Tech, Innovation Leader," which revealed that China had transformed rapidly into a global technology leader with cutting-edge ICT infrastructure and newfangled innovative and competitive technology companies that have strengthen digital connectivity in the country.

A screenshot of the article titled "China Emerges as Global Tech, Innovation Leader" from the Wall Street Journal.

With internet connectivity, mobile payment penetration and e-commerce participation that are unparalleled worldwide, the widespread use of innovative digital technologies has enhanced access to education, provided equitable access to job opportunities, healthcare and other social services, reduced poverty and mitigated inequality in China, all of which are critical for achieving the SDGs.

For example, with just a mobile phone, smallholder farmers, micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) and low-income households domiciled in urban areas or even remote and rural areas who were previously underserved or unbanked can now access a ready market via e-commerce, receive payment for their goods and services, make payment, save part of their income, insure against risk and secure credit from financial technology (fintech) companies.

In the last few decades, digital technologies have been improving access to economic opportunities in China. According to the World Bank, e-commerce has grown rapidly in China. In total, e-commerce trade volume soared from less than $120.8 billion in 2004 to almost $4.4 trillion in 2017.

Although, e-commerce in China is more developed in urban areas, online retail sales in rural areas have grown faster than the national average – from 180 billion yuan in 2014 to 1.24 trillion Chinese yuan in 2017, representing a compound annual growth rate of 91 percent, compared with 35 percent at the national level.

Similarly, the rest of the world is also benefiting immensely from these digital technologies as countries around the globe seek to eliminate barriers impeding equal access to economic opportunities – a major step towards sustainable development. For example, global retail e-commerce sales have also been increasing since 2014 till date, growing from $1.3 trillion in 2014 to $4.9 trillion in 2021, a figure that is expected to reach $7.4 trillion by 2025.

Evidently, this growth, together with similar progress in fintech, e-health and other digital services which have improved access to essential services for people worldwide, will certainly be daunting to achieve without the massive R&D investment of Chinese technology companies, which has advanced innovation in the field of computer technology and digital communication.

Data from the European Patent Office (EPO) for 2021 show that Huawei occupies the top position in the field of digital communication (this field received the highest patent applications for 2021) as Chinese companies filed 4,462 out of a total of 15,400 patents, accounting for 29 percent of the combined total, the largest for a single country.

Furthermore, in the field of computer technology, Chinese companies recorded the highest growth over 2020, representing 46 percent. China's enormous contribution to advancing global innovation and technology is consistent with the recent data from the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), a specialized agency of the United Nations – for the fifth consecutive year; Huawei topped the global ranking with 6,952 patent filings as the China-based telecoms powerhouse published the highest PCT applications for 2021. In a similar manner, China also placed first in the global ranking for the third consecutive year with 69,540 applications for 2021.

For several decades, China has demonstrated a strong commitment to advance technology and innovation, which is part of the country's efforts to maximize resource utilization, build climate-resilient technologies and conserve biodiversity for sustainable development.

Together with China single-handedly reducing global poverty considerably in the last 40 years, it is important for governments and relevant stakeholders worldwide to appreciate China's dedication to achieve sustainable development, understanding that a win for China is definitely a win for humanity.

The author is an economic consultant, chartered financial analyst and chartered economist.