Wang Jinfeng | Share the development opportunities of Chinese modernisation

Recently, China’s ‘two sessions’ (the Fourth Session of the 14th National People’s Congress and the Fourth Session of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference) were successfully held in Beijing.

This year’s ‘two sessions’ adopted the outline of the 15th Five-Year Plan, which fully demonstrates China’s firm confidence and determination in pursuing high-quality development and high-standard opening up. The ‘two sessions’ will not only guide China’s development direction and exert a profound influence on the global political and economic landscape, but also provide valuable certainty for a turbulent world.

China’s high-quality development is the anchor of global economic stability. Over the past five years, China’s economy has registered an average annual growth rate of 5.4 per cent, contributing about 30 per cent to global economic growth. As the world’s largest potential consumer market and the biggest emerging economy, China will nurture industries of the future such as future energy, quantum technology, embodied artificial intelligence, brain-computer interfaces, and 6G technology, creating a new form of intelligent economy and continuously unleashing the strong driving force of new-quality productive forces.

DRIVING FORCE

China’s high-standard opening up is the driving force for global development. China’s total import and export volume hit a new all-time high in 2025, making it the world’s largest goods-trading nation for nine consecutive years. To date, China has signed 24 Free Trade Agreements with 31 countries and regions and implemented unilateral visa-free policies for 50 countries. Amid the booming ‘China Shopping’ and ‘China Tourism’ trends, talent, goods and capital are flowing bi-directionally. Going forward, China will steadily expand the pilot opening-up of sectors such as telecommunications, healthcare and education on its own initiative, and work together with the rest of the world to explore more avenues for development.

China’s diplomacy act as a defining force in the fluid and turbulent world. In today’s world, changes unseen in a century are unfolding at an accelerated pace, transformation and turbulence are intertwined, and wars and conflicts keep flaring up. China’s diplomacy provides the most-needed stability and certainty to a world in turmoil and serves as an irreplaceable mainstay amid global turbulence. As Wang Yi, member of the political bureau of the CPC Central Committee and foreign minister, stated at the ‘two sessions’ press conference, China’s diplomacy firmly upholds international rule of law and fairness and justice, firmly opposes all unilateral acts, power politics and bullying, firmly observes and fulfils our international obligations, and firmly stands on the right side of history.

China has always attached great importance to the friendship and cooperation with Jamaica and other LAC countries. Wang Yi stressed that China-LAC cooperation is about the mutual help and support between Global South countries. China always respects Latin American people and commits to equal treatment and mutual benefit with LAC countries. The path of LAC countries should be chosen by their people, and the choice of friends is a decision for LAC countries alone. No matter how the situation evolves, China stands ready to work with LAC countries toward building a China-LAC community with a shared future, and spreading the benefits of our comprehensive cooperative partnership to more people on both sides.

EXCELLENT OPPORTUNITIES

China’s ‘two sessions’ create excellent opportunities for deepening China-Jamaica cooperation. 2026 marks the first year of China’s 15th Five-Year Plan, and also a critical year for Jamaica’s post-Melissa rebuilding and reconstruction. China’s 15th Five-Year Plan and Jamaica’s Vision 2030 are closely aligned and resonate strongly with each other. China and Jamaica enjoy enormous cooperation potential and broad development prospects in areas including infrastructure modernisation, digital transformation, artificial intelligence, the green economy, and climate change response. Recently, UWI Mona has further strengthened international cooperation on zero-carbon islands with China, which is expected to significantly enhance Jamaica’s climate resilience and make greater contributions to climate change response alongside other countries of the Global South.

As the ‘two sessions’ conclude, a new journey begins. As the world’s most important force for peace, for stability and for justice, China stands ready to work with Jamaica and like-minded countries to share the development opportunities of Chinese modernisation, advance the building of a community with a shared future for humanity, and jointly create a bright future for a peaceful and prosperous world.

Wang Jinfeng is ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to Jamaica. Send feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com