By He Yin, People’s Daily

A High-level Meeting on the Global Development Initiative (GDI) was recently held in Beijing. At a time when changes unseen in a century are accelerating and the world is entering a new period of turbulence and transformation, humanity once again stands at a crossroads.

Against this backdrop, China invited all relevant parties to revisit the shared aspiration of advancing global development, explore viable solutions to accelerate sustainable development, and deepen the implementation of the GDI.

This meeting injects robust momentum and valuable confidence into addressing global development challenges and advancing the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

In September 2021, amid growing concerns over the future of global development, Chinese President Xi Jinping proposed the GDI at the general debate of the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly. The initiative offered China’s solution and contribution to reinvigorating global development.

Over the past five years, the GDI has grown from a Chinese proposal into a broadly shared international consensus, and from a vision into extensive practical cooperation. 

The initiative has received strong support from the international community. More than 130 countries and international organizations now support the initiative and participate in related cooperation, while nearly 100 countries as well as international and regional organizations have signed cooperation documents with China. The Group of Friends of the GDI has grown to 88 countries and has become an important force for advancing global development.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres noted that the GDI and other global initiatives proposed by China closely align with the priorities of the United Nations, demonstrating strategic vision and the sense of responsibility expected of a major country.

The widespread support for and participation in the GDI reflect its commitment to placing development at the center of the international agenda and responding to the shared aspirations of people around the world for development and prosperity. 

Today, amid mounting global uncertainties and instability, progress toward the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development remains significantly behind schedule, the development gap between the Global North and the Global South continues to widen, posing serious challenges to global development. 

Through tangible financial commitments and practical cooperation, the GDI has worked to promote common development and shared prosperity. Leveraging mechanisms such as the China-United Nations Peace and Development Fund and the Global Development and South-South Cooperation Fund, China has mobilized more than $23 billion to support over 1,800 “small and beautiful” livelihood projects, and has provided training to more than 200,000 professionals from other developing countries. 

From Juncao technology, a Chinese innovation for cultivating fungi and advancing ecological agriculture that supports global poverty reduction, to sustainable development satellites enabling shared data access, and to the MAZU (Multi-hazard, Alert, Zero-gap, Universal) system that empowers Global South nations to bolster meteorological early warning and disaster prevention and mitigation capacity, outcomes stemming from the GDI have delivered tangible benefits to populations in over 120 countries.

As World Meteorological Organization Secretary-General Celeste Saulo observed, the GDI embodies the development vision the world urgently needs today — one that puts people first, promotes inclusive and sustainable growth, and provides an important framework for turning ambitious goals into concrete actions.

This year marks the 105th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the beginning of China’s 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030). The CPC pursues happiness for the Chinese people and rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, while also contributing to human progress and world harmony. 

This enduring sense of mission and broad global vision provide the intellectual foundation of the GDI and explain why China has always viewed its own development in the context of humanity’s shared development, creating new opportunities for the world through its own progress. 

China’s decision to expand zero-tariff treatment on imports from all 53 African countries with which it has diplomatic relations has opened new opportunities for African exports to the Chinese market. 

Together with 28 countries, China has also launched the World AI Cooperation Organization to help bridge the digital and AI divide and ensure that cutting-edge technologies benefit people around the world. 

Through these practical initiatives that embody openness, inclusiveness and harmonious coexistence, China is working with all parties to expand the benefits of modernization for humanity and provide greater certainty in an increasingly uncertain world.

Regardless of how the the international landscape changes, China will continue fulfilling its responsibilities as a major country by closely linking its own development with the common development of all nations and serving as both a promoter of and contributor to global development. 

China stands ready to work with all parties, using the GDI as a platform to pool development resources, strengthen the foundations for sustainable development, uphold the path of peaceful development, foster an open environment for development, and continue advancing toward the goal of building a community with a shared future for humanity.

By Liu Wenzhang, People’s Daily

On a Saturday afternoon in Tokyo’s Nishishinjuku, a long line snaked along the street, as people waited to receive free food distributed by a local nonprofit organization. 

Volunteers handed out bread, bananas, tomatoes, compressed biscuits, and ready-to-eat rice, while also offering lifestyle advice, health guidance, and legal assistance.

Those in the queue included elderly seniors, mothers with young children, office workers, and even whole families who had turned to the charity for assistance.

This was not an emergency disaster relief operation. The charity has been running regularly every week for more than six years, and over time, the people seeking assistance have expanded well beyond the homeless to include a growing number of ordinary working individuals who still struggle to maintain a decent standard of living. 

The steadily lengthening queues offer a stark illustration of the mounting pressures facing many people in Japan.

The contrast between Tokyo’s bustling commercial center and the long lines for food assistance is striking. Beneath the polished image of prosperity often associated with a developed economy, deeper social strains in Japan are becoming increasingly difficult to ignore.

According to the latest Comprehensive Survey of Living Conditions released by Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, the country’s relative poverty rate stands at 15 percent. Meanwhile, Japan’s Labour Force Survey released by its Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications showed that non-regular employees accounted for 36.5 percent of the country’s workforce in 2025. Many workers face prolonged wage stagnation, insecure employment and inadequate social protection. 

Rising poverty reflects the combined impact of population aging, industrial restructuring and policy choices, while long-term structural policy imbalances have become a major factor behind the persistence of these challenges.

The aggressive fiscal stimulus program pursued by the Sanae Takaichi administration has boosted capital markets in the short term, but it has failed to address the structural weaknesses of Japan’s economy. Instead, it has added to the long-term burden on the public by shifting policy costs and potential risks into the future. 

Inflation continues to drive up living costs while real wage growth remains weak. At the same time, the prolonged depreciation of the yen has eroded household purchasing power and squeezed domestic demand as well as the operating space for small and medium-sized enterprises. 

According to figures released by Japan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications in July, real household consumption expenditures among two-or-more-person households fell year on year for the sixth consecutive month in May, reflecting the combined effects of persistent inflation and continued instability in the Middle East. Households have increasingly chosen to cut discretionary spending while prioritizing essential needs.

While public spending on people’s livelihoods has remained under pressure, Japan’s defense budget has continued to reach new record highs. 

Since fiscal year 2023, defense spending has risen steadily — from 6.8 trillion yen ($43.5 billion) in fiscal year 2023 to 7.9 trillion yen in fiscal year 2024, 8.7 trillion yen in fiscal year 2025, and more than 9 trillion yen for the first time in fiscal year 2026. 

These substantial resources have been directed toward military expansion in support of Japan’s pursuit of what it describes as becoming a “normal country.” Meanwhile, fiscal space for social welfare has been squeezed, exposing growing shortcomings in the country’s social security system. 

A number of Japanese media outlets have noted that nonprofit organizations are increasingly filling gaps left by public welfare programs, with the growing food relief lines serving as a visible reminder of the limitations of the existing social safety net.

The widening disconnect between government priorities and the concerns of ordinary people has become a key factor behind growing social divisions in Japan. 

A recent nationwide poll conducted by Kyodo News reflected these public concerns. According to the survey, 57.2 percent of respondents opposed lifting the ban on exports of lethal weapons. 

Meanwhile, 70.5 percent called on the government to introduce stronger measures to promote energy conservation and improve energy efficiency, while 70.6 percent expressed concern over shortages of naphtha — a petroleum product derived from crude oil and an essential feedstock for manufacturing plastics, synthetic fibers and other chemical products. 

The government’s continued emphasis on military expansion over people’s livelihoods appears increasingly out of step with public expectations.

What the Japanese people most urgently want are effective measures to cope with rising prices and ensure stable supplies of energy and essential materials, not ever-rising defense budgets or political efforts to advance constitutional revision.

By Chen Yuanyuan, Hu Xiaoyuan, People’s Daily

Zhao Kang works as a bus maintenance technician in Chongqing, a sprawling municipality in southwest China. Each morning at 8 a.m., dressed in dark blue work overalls, he heads to the garage, crawls beneath buses, and uses wrenches to tighten bolts and repair engines. But by 8 p.m., at home in front of his computer, he transforms into something else entirely: Ouyang Xiaoyao, an online novelist crafting vivid tales of martial arts heroes.

“My wrench earns my livelihood; my writing nourishes my soul,” Zhao always says.

Over more than a decade, he has penned over 20 million Chinese characters, covering urban stories and xianxia fantasy. Most of his protagonists are ordinary people who persevere against adversity. Drawing inspiration from his family and colleagues, he creates lifelike characters that embody the resilience of everyday people.

As of the end of 2025, China boasted more than 33 million online literary works and 525 million readers, with the online literature industry generating about 49 billion yuan (around $7.26 billion) in revenue.

The figures reflect not only the scale of the industry but also a flourishing cultural prosperity. Online writers come from all walks of life, including delivery workers, retired teachers, prosecutors and farmers. Together, they are participating in an unprecedented new form of popular literary practice.

According to a recently released blue paper on China’s online literature for 2025, online literature represents a typical form of popular arts in the internet era, enabling literary participation on an unprecedented scale. As of the end of 2025, China had more than 35 million registered online writers, reflecting the remarkable vitality of public participation in creative writing.

“As ordinary people’s lives are transformed into audio, images, text and videos, they come together to create the rich diversity of content online. It’s like countless stars lighting up the night sky — a reflection of the vibrant era we live in,” said online novelist Ban Cai Ming Yue.

In recent years, growing numbers of amateur writers and professionals from all walks of life have begun publishing on platforms such as WeChat, Xiaohongshu (RedNote), Douban, Zhihu, Douyin and Kuaishou. As a result, digital-native writing has flourished, making creative expression an everyday activity rather than an ideal reserved for a few.

For many years, Chinese online literature was often associated with fantasy adventures or billionaire romance stories. That stereotype is now giving way to a far more diverse literary landscape.

The blue book shows that as of 2025, China had nearly 2 million realistic-themed online literary works, with around 140,000 new titles unveiled during that year. Realistic creation has also expanded into diverse genres including science fiction. 

China boasts 525 million online literature readers, accounting for nearly half of the country’s internet users. Works covering themes from rural revitalization and technological innovation to traditional Chinese culture stand out among readers. Delicate narratives depicting ordinary people’s daily routines, office life and rural realities strike a chord with large audiences.

One example is online writer Teng Ping, who has served as a police officer with the exit-entry administration of the Xiamen Public Security Bureau in southeast China’s Fujian province for more than two decades. Her experience on the job has given her a close view of society and inspired deeper reflections on good and evil. “My work and my writing constantly enrich each other,” she said.

According to the blue book, works rooted in contemporary life are becoming increasingly sophisticated, with writers placing greater emphasis on authentic experiences and more nuanced storytelling. 

Li Wei, a professor at the School of Chinese Language and Literature at Nanjing Normal University, said that the strength of realistic online fiction lies in presenting serious social themes through the accessible, fast-paced and engaging narrative style that online readers enjoy, thereby expanding literary choices for the general public.

Unlike traditional publishing, where a book is considered complete once it reaches print, online fiction continues to evolve after publication. Reader comments — including chapter-by-chapter discussions and paragraph annotations — often influence how the story develops. Adaptations, fan fiction and other forms of derivative creation further extend a work’s life far beyond its original version.

“Going through readers’ comments is part of my daily routine,” said online novelist Liu Dan Pa Shui. When working on his novel Kuojin, he tried to confirm the surname of a historical figure’s mother but found no relevant records after thorough research. “Once the chapter went live, a reader noted in the chapter commentary section that this woman was a female calligrapher surnamed Fu.” The tip prompted him to craft an entirely new plotline.

As online literature evolves from a one-way relationship between writers and readers into an interactive process of co-creation, readers are becoming active participants in shaping stories.

Reaching hundreds of millions of readers, China’s online literature brims with vivid imagination and compelling stories, continuously fueling creative vitality. A new cultural landscape where anyone can become a creator is steadily taking shape.