China as an Anchor of Stability in a Turbulent World: The Global Significance of Its New-Era Development — Insights from Ambassador Qi Zhenhong

Mar 14, 2026 at 11:59 AM

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Lanka Leader

On March 13, 2026, the Chinese Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Qi Zhenhong, delivered a lecture to Sri Lankan intellectuals and journalists on the topic of “Building a Community with a Shared Future for Humanity”.

The meeting was organized to brief the community on the “Double Session” held in China to mark the beginning of the country’s 15th Five-Year Plan in 2026. The Chinese Ambassador stated, “From this year, China’s development has entered a key period for reinforcing the foundations and pushing ahead on all fronts toward basically achieving socialist modernization by 2035..”

The full text of the speech delivered by H.E. the Ambassador appears below...

Dear friends from think-tanks and the media,

Good afternoon! It’s a great pleasure to meet you all. I am especially delighted to see many familiar friends as well as quite a few new faces here today. First of all, I wish to express my sincere appreciation for your longstanding interest in and support for China-Sri Lanka friendship and the work of our Embassy! It has been more than a year since we invited you over, and during this period both China and the world have witnessed many changes. Today we gather here to strengthen connections and deepen mutual understanding, and also to exchange views openly with each other on matters of common concern.

I am sure you have all noticed that China’s “two sessions” just successfully concluded yesterday. The annual event has long been a vital window for the world to understand China, but the “two sessions” this year are particularly important as 2026 marks the beginning of China's 15th Five-Year Plan. From this year, China’s development has entered a key period for reinforcing the foundations and pushing ahead on all fronts toward basically achieve socialist modernization by 2035. Therefore, the “two sessions” in 2026 not only need to review the accomplishments of the past five years but also to chart the course and set clear objectives for the next five years.

The past five years have been truly extraordinary. In spite of numerous internal and external challenges, China, under the resolute leadership of the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, still successfully fulfilled all objectives and tasks outlined in the 14th Five-Year Plan:

Firstly, China’s economic output has been rising up. GDP has consecutively crossed the milestones of 110 trillion yuan, 120 trillion yuan, 130 trillion yuan, and 140 trillion yuan (about 20.25 trillion U.S. dollars), achieving an average annual growth rate of 5.4% and maintaining a contribution rate to global economic growth of around 30%.

Secondly, breakthroughs have been made in scientific, technological, and industrial innovation. Nationwide R&D spending grew at an average annual rate of 10%, ranking second globally in total volume. China's manufacturing sector has been leading the world in value added for the past 16 years, accounting for nearly 30% of the global total.

Thirdly, high-level opening-up has been expanding continuously. China has been ranking first globally for 9 successive years in terms of its trade in goods, and its trade in service has exceeded 1 trillion U.S. dollars. China also has lifted all access restrictions on foreign investment in the manufacturing sector.

Fourthly, green transformation has been advanced steadily. China has created the world's largest and fastest-growing renewable energy system. The total installed capacity of renewable energy account for almost 60% of total installed capacity of the whole country, which means nearly 4 out of every 10 kilowatt-hours electricity consumption come from green power. China also has long been the world's largest producer and seller of new energy vehicles for 10 consecutive years.

In 2025, China’s GDP amounted to 140.19 trillion yuan (20.28 trillion U.S. dollars), up 5 percent from the previous year. Total import and export of goods reached 45.47 trillion yuan (6.58 trillion U.S. dollars), marking a year-on-year increase of 3.8%. China has become a major trading partner of over 160 countries and regions. Annual retail sales of consumer goods surpassed 50 trillion yuan (7.23 trillion U.S. dollars) for the first time, with consumption contributing 52% to economic growth. Nationwide R&D investment exceeded 3.92 trillion yuan (about 569 billion U.S. dollars) , reaching 2.8 percent of GDP. The scale of China's core AI industry exceeded 1 trillion yuan (144.66 billion U.S. dollars), and downloads of China’s open-source Large Language Models ranked first in the world.

These figures underscore the formidable resilience and bright prospects of China's economy. This year's “two sessions” have set a pragmatic and reasonable target of 4.5%-5% GDP growth for 2026, and we shall strive to achieve even better results in our practical work.

Looking ahead to the next five years, the 15th Five-Year Plan focuses on high-quality development and specifies that annual nationwide R&D spending should grow by over 7% on average, and the value added of core digital economy industries should reach 12.5% of GDP. Furthermore, 23 major projects will be implemented focusing on the national comprehensive three-dimensional transport network, new energy systems, new infrastructure, and platforms for opening up to the outside world. These targets and plans are not only the objectives and tasks for China to strive towards Chinese modernization, but also a “list of opportunities” for the entire world.

At the start of this year, leaders from many countries visited China one after another. A new wave of “Go to China” has been sparked by numerous business representatives worldwide. This fully reflects the strong global confidence in and favorable expectations for China’s economic prospects. China’s economy also has responded positively with a good start: from January to February, the total value of imports and exports reached 1,099.54 billion U.S. dollars, 21% higher than last year. Exports increased by 21.8% percent, while imports rose by 19.8% percent. These figures fully demonstrate that, despite weak global growth and rising risks and challenges, China remains a reliable engine for the world economy.

Meanwhile, amid rising global tensions, rampant hegemonism, and severe shocks to multilateralism, China remains a stabilizer for world peace. At the beginning of this year, the outbreak of conflict in the Middle East has added further uncertainty to an already turbulent world, exposing the fragility of the global order while highlighting humanity’s enduring desire for peace and development. Human society now stands at a historic crossroads between peace and war, unity and confrontation. With a keen understanding of global trends and the spirit of the times, President Xi Jinping proposed the concept of Building a Community with a Shared Future for Humanity, the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative, the Global Civilization Initiative, and the Global Governance Initiative. These proposals answered the big question of where humanity is headed in this era, offering Chinese wisdom and solutions to global challenges, and demonstrating China’s steadfast commitment and responsibility as a major country in promoting global development and safeguarding world peace.

Humanity’s enemies are not each other—they are war, poverty, hunger, and injustice. One cannot defeat them by fighting alone or looking after only oneself. Instead, the world must come together and build a common future. Standing at the new starting point of the 15th Five-Year Plan, China will consolidate the foundation for win-win cooperation through steady and positive development, expand avenues for partnership with an open and inclusive approach, and will work with like-minded countries such as Sri Lanka to steadfastly uphold the UN-centered international system and the international order based on international law, and make unremitting efforts to promote human peace and development and to build a community with a shared future for humanity.

China and Sri Lanka enjoy time-honored traditional friendship. As members of the Global South, China and Sri Lanka are fellow travelers on the path toward development and revitalization, and good partners of win-win cooperation. As President Xi Jinping has said, walking with China means walking with opportunities, believing in China means believing in tomorrow, and investing in China means investing in the future. China’s vigorous development will inevitably bring more new opportunities to Sri Lanka and create greater benefits for the peoples of both countries.

Dear friends, all of you have been closely following China’s growth and China-Sri Lanka cooperation. I hope you could continue to play greater role in promoting China-Sri Lanka relations and people-to-people exchanges. I also look forward to candid and engaging discussions today with both new and old friends and further strengthening our friendship.

Thank you!