China’s Spokesperson Identifies Physical Economy: “It’s about making people’s lives better”

August 28, 2026August 28, 2026 Lawrence Africa, China, electicity, Global South, high-speed rail, Infrastructure, physical economy, rice, US

*Examine the exponential growth of electricity in China in a mere forty years*.

*China, in 2000 had zero high-speed rail trains, in 2025 it has 50,000 kilometers of rail, more than the rest of the world combined.*

August 28, 2026

The true measurement of an economy is not money, not macro statistics, not stock market indexes: it is the improvement in the material standard of living of the population. Liu Chang, Spokesperson for the China Embassy, speaking on July 31, described the elementary metric of economic development: It’s about making people’s lives better.

As the Chinese understand very well, a key factor in improving the standard of living of its population, requires massive infrastructure investments. The Chinese government are unsurpassed, among all nations of the world, in expanding vital categories of infrastructure that are indispensable to increasing the productivity of their entire economy. As African nations have experienced, without infrastructure, especially electricity and rail, real economic growth will be thwarted, if not impossible. Examine the two graphs above. These images are startling. However, they should not be shocking. For the last two generations China has concentrated on industrializing its economy, becoming the leading nation in manufacturing, ship building and the refinement of critical minerals. This has resulted in lifting 700 million of its people from abject poverty and improving the standard of living for all members of its society. China is committed to assisting the Global South, which encompasses the majority of the world’s population, land mass, and minerals. As the U.S. led Western alliance of nations thrash about in their collapsing rules-based order, China and the Global South can create a new system, a new paradigm of political-economic relationships premised on a common share future of economic development for mankind.

The presentation below is reprinted from the August 21, 2026 issue of Executive Intelligence Review magazine,

From a Grain of Rice to a World of Greater Equality—China and the Global South: A Story of Shared Development

*Liu Chang, Spokesperson for China Embassy*

by Liu Chang, July 31, 2026

Ladies and Gentlemen, first of all, I want to say thank you to the Schiller Institute for inviting me. It’s my real pleasure to join you today. Today’s topic is “A Dialogue of Civilizations: Development or World War III,” so I will emphasize the part of development, and share some thoughts of how China sees global development. My title is “China and the Global South: A Story of Shared Development.”

When it comes to development, people tend to think of GDP, investment, or massive infrastructure projects. But for most families, development looks much simpler. It means having lights during the night; roads remaining open through the rainy season; a doctor available when someone falls ill; a young person learning skills that lead to a decent job. These may sound like ordinary things, but that’s exactly what development is about. It’s not about making the numbers look better; it’s about making people’s lives better. Development matters when a family can feel the difference, and when an entire community can share in its benefits.

Not long ago, I read a story about farmers in Madagascar planting hybrid rice developed in China. According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, these varieties can produce between 9 and 11 tons of rice per hectare, compared with about 2.8 tons for traditional local varieties. Those figures are more than statistics. To a local farmer, they could mean something more tangible; fuller granaries, a little more income, and a better chance of keeping a child in school.

So, what can a single grain of rice tell us? It reminds us that development cooperation is only meaningful if it improves ordinary lives. And in today’s inter-connected world, it raises four larger questions: How do we make development more inclusive? How do we protect it with lasting peace? How do we enable different civilizations to learn from one another? And how do we build a fairer system of global governance? These are exactly the questions that China has been seeking to answer.

China’s Four Global initiatives

First, how can the fruits of development benefit more people? China proposed the Global Development Initiative in 2021. Under the initiative, more than $23 billion have been mobilized and over 1,800 cooperation projects launched. But numbers alone do not tell the whole story. The more important question is whether these efforts can change people’s lives for the better. In Madagascar, as I mentioned earlier, change means higher yields from the hybrid rice. In Papua New Guinea, change could be a stand of Juncao grass allowing small farmers to grow edible mushrooms without cutting down forests, while creating new sources of income. Or it could be a Luban workshop in Kazakhstan, where local students learn practical skills in areas such as renewable energy, automation, and rail transportation based on the needs of local industries.

What China seeks is not simply to deliver a project and move on. It is to work with local partners to develop skills, share appropriate technologies, and create opportunities that can take root, continue to grow, and benefit local communities over the long term.

Rice is flourishing in Madagascar, the island nation which now has Africa’s largest area cultivating high-yield, hybrid rice. In 2007, China launched the hybrid rice demonstration center project in Madagascar, one of 10 such ag-tech specialty centers across the continent.

Second, what protects the gains of development? For many developing countries, security means far more than the absence of war. It also means hospitals can continue to operate during floods, droughts, or public health crises. It means stable access to food and energy. It means having the resilience to emerge from challenges. A war can destroy a school overnight. A severe natural disaster or public health emergency can set back the development of an entire community for years.

This is why China proposed the Global Security Initiative in 2022. It calls for a vision of security that is common, comprehensive, cooperative, and sustainable. It emphasizes resolving differences through dialogue and consultation, while also addressing global challenges such as food security, energy security, public health, and climate change. Peace is the foundation on which development grows. And development itself can help address the root causes of conflict and instability, creating stronger foundations for lasting peace.

Third, can different paths of development respect and enrich one another? China’s answer is yes. Every country has its own history, culture, and path of development. Cooperation should not begin with the assumption that one country must first become a copy of another. True civilizational exchange is not about one side changing the other, nor replacing the other. It is about learning from each other with equality and respect, drawing inspiration from different experiences, and allowing diverse civilizations to grow together through dialogue rather than compete through exclusion.

In 2023, China proposed the Global Civilization Initiative, which recognizes that the greatest value of mutual learning between civilizations is not to erase differences, but to make those differences a starting point for mutual understanding and mutual reinforcement.

Last but not the least, who should shape global rules, and whom should those rules serve? Today, the contribution of the Global South to global development continues to grow. Yet in some international institutions, its representation and voice remain limited.

In 2025, China proposed the Global Governance Initiative, which emphasizes sovereign equality, the rule of international law, multilateralism, a people-centered approach, and action-oriented cooperation. The goal is not to tear down the existing international system or start over from scratch. Rather, it is to make that system more representative, more effective, and better able to respond to the concerns of developing countries. Global rules should be shaped through the participation of more countries, not written by a few and simply accepted by the rest. The affairs of the world should be discussed and decided together. And the benefits of development should be shared by all.

These four Global Initiatives reflect China’s vision for the future of our world: development gives people hope; security protects that hope; civilizations help us understand one another; and governance provides fairer institutions for shared progress.

From Poverty to Development

China has always been a member of the Global South. We have experienced the long journey from poverty to development, and we understand that there is no single model for modernization, nor any shortcut that can simply be copied and pasted. China is willing to share its experience, but not turn that experience into a prescription for others. We are willing to provide support, but not make decisions on behalf of our partners. We are willing to build bridges, roads, and hospitals, but we also want to work with countries around the world to develop the talent that allows people to shape their own future.

China looks forward to continuing to work with countries around the world so that development is no longer the privilege of a few, but a right shared by all; so that modernization is not painted in a single color, but reflects a landscape of diverse paths and possibilities; and so that every country and every people can take part in shaping our shared future.

Thank you very much.

Read below my earlier post on this topic.

Will China’s Global Governance Initiative Replace The West’s Failed “Rules Based Order?

Lawrence Freeman is a Political-Economic Analyst for Africa, who has been involved in economic development policies for Africa for 35 years. He is a teacher, writer, public speaker, consultant on Africa, and an analyst of global strategic relations. Mr. Freeman strongly believes that economic development is an essential human right. He is the creator of the blog: lawrencefreemanafricaandtheworld.com, also publishes on: lawrencefreeman.substack.com, “Freeman’s Africa and the World, and on X @lkfreemansafrica

U.S. Needs Strategic Thinkers to Understand China & Africa, Not Mindless Babbling Politicians

August 20, 2026August 20, 2026 Lawrence Africa, Belt and Road Initiative, China, development, Infrastructure, poverty, US

View my discussion in the video above from July 30, with Grace Asagra on her podcast, Quantum Nurse.

August 20, 2026

Please view my video interview above, which is my first discussion since my three-week visit to several cities in China during June and July. I encourage all citizens, especially of the United States to visit China and see for yourself this interesting, shall I say fascinating society, with its rich culture and history, and its engaging people. This is the best way to protect your mind from being brainwashed by the anti-China propaganda spewed forth by U.S. media and our silly and ignorant politicians from both the Democratic and Republican parties.

The reporting of China by the West, in particular the U.S., completely mischaracterizes this dynamic society with its mixture of former dynasties and ultra-modern cities that have emerged in China over recent decades. Most of what the U.S. establishment reports about China he is unfortunately contaminated with the zero-sum mentality of their rules-based international order. China has a different perspective for the world world, which is based on the idea of creating a common future for mankind.

Their development has been phenomenal over the last forty plus years since the opening up of China. China has become the leading nation in manufacturing, in high speed rail construction, in robotics, in nuclear fission energy production, in ship building, and in mining of critical and rare earth minerals. As well, a leading nation in space exploration, fusion research, and chip technology. In 2013, China reached out to the rest of the world with the Belt and Road initiative, which has eagerly been received by the Global South. In Africa, where the West was dominant in its control over the continent after the liberation movements of the 1960s, they did not invest in the future of Africa, they looted it of its natural resources. China has pursued a different policy. In this century, China has invested in Africa’s infrastructure, especially electricity and railroads. This cannot be denied. U.S. propaganda that China has used so called debt-trap diplomacy to seize African assets or its mineral resources is simply not true

It is crucial that political leaders in the West and thoughtful citizens in the United States and Europe, recognize that the western controlled system known as the rules-based order is declining, and the world is shifting towards development of the Global South. With this transformation taking place today, we should be wise enough to recognize that cooperating with China is in the self-interest of the United States and its citizens. We should define future missions of collaboration with China that will advance civilization, such as; the elimination of poverty in Africa, the colonization of the moon, and the full scale use of nuclear fusion energy. This is what American statesman and leaders should do.

The pillars of progress for all nations are universally identical: satisfying the material needs of the population and nurturing their minds through stimulating economic development, creativity, and agape in society.

All of this is discussed in my hour long podcast above, which I strongly recommend you view. I believe you will benefit.

Read below my earlier posts:

Will China’s Global Governance Initiative Replace The West’s Failed “Rules Based Order?

Rules Based Order in Crisis: Losing Global Domination

Rules Based Order Is Dead, But Trump Didn’t Kill It. Beware of Mark Carney’s Alternative

Don’t Believe U.S. Propaganda Maligning China: Global Times Interviews Freeman In Beijing

August 17, 2026August 17, 2026 Lawrence Africa, Belt and Road Initiative, China, Infrastructure, poverty, Railroads, US, zero-sum

*The view of Beijing’s Central Business District Photo: VCGEditor’s*

Trust what you see in China with your own eyes, not rumors: US political economic analyst

By Peng Xunwen, He Jianing and Xiong Jixin from People’s Daily

Trust what you see in China with your own eyes, not rumors: US political economic analyst

August 17, 2026

Editor’s Note: For years, the US has viewed China as a rival in Africa and sought to cast a shadow over China-Africa cooperation with misleading narratives such as the “China shock.” Against this backdrop, the overseas edition of the People’s Daily (PD) interviewed Lawrence Freeman (Freeman), an American international affairs expert, political economic analyst for Africa, who recently traveled across multiple Chinese cities with his wife. With 30 years of experience on the African continent, Freeman calls for abandoning Cold War thinking and zero-sum competition, stresses the importance of China-US cooperation in advancing global development, and shares his perspective on how the American public should view China.

PD: The China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has provided substantial support to Africa’s infrastructure development and economic and social progress. As an expert on African issues, what tangible changes do you believe the BRI has brought to African nations?

Freeman: Africa has long been plagued by a huge infrastructure gap. China has offered tremendous assistance to a great many African countries through the BRI. For decades, I have been deeply involved in work related to the development of Africa. The Addis Ababa-Djibouti Railway was constructed by China, and the Port of Djibouti was built with Chinese aid. Without China’s participation, Africa’s development would likely not have advanced so rapidly. China has extended credit support to Africa and built a large number of hospitals, schools, roads, ports, airports, railways and power plants. While Africa’s demand remains huge, China’s contributions are highly commendable.

The BRI enlightens us that mutual benefit and win-win cooperation is the right path forward. More than 370 years ago, the Peace of Westphalia established the principles of equality and sovereignty. In the course of history that followed, sovereign equality has evolved into the most important norm governing state-to-state relations. The prosperity and development of all countries are in the fundamental interests of the US itself. As other countries grow their economies, they will create more economic and trade opportunities for the US. We should break free from outdated, rigid and backward mindsets, discard the logic of win-lose, confrontation and conquest versus subjugation, and embrace a higher vision of development, replacing mutual confrontation with common development. Photo: He Jianing/People's Daily

Lawrence Freeman Photo: He Jianing/People’s Daily

PD: China has lifted hundreds of millions of people out of poverty. It has also rolled out poverty reduction programs in Africa through cooperation with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and other channels. What lessons can Africa draw from China’s poverty reduction model and practices?

Freeman: From what I have learned about China’s development journey, a key driver of its rapid growth is large-scale infrastructure investment. China’s high-speed railway network now exceeds 50,000 kilometers in operation, surpassing the combined total of all other countries in the world. China has built a vast number of new energy power stations, including thermal power, nuclear power and other types.

China has a clear, complete path to poverty alleviation and development: It boasts the world’s largest and fast-growing manufacturing sector; its shipbuilding industry leads the globe, and it is also at the forefront of space exploration. Large-scale infrastructure development, emphasis on scientific and technological R&D and the rapid expansion of manufacturing are core factors behind economic growth and poverty eradication. China’s poverty reduction practices have proven practical and effective. All the African countries I work with are eager to learn from China’s experience and fully master this development model. I believe Africa can fully draw on China’s successful experience.

PD: Today, humanity faces multiple global challenges, including climate change, regional conflicts, poverty and public health crises. In your view, how can international cooperation help tackle these problems?

Freeman: The Western world is currently in the grip of a severe crisis, lacking long-term development visions and blueprints. China has put forward the vision of a community with a shared future for humanity, calling for attention to the common interests of all people, which is of great significance. Mankind needs to establish a new development paradigm centered on development, which is also the direction of my long-term research. The world is never a zero-sum game; the essence of human development is pioneering and progress-driven.

All countries take the well-being of their people as their fundamental goal. To achieve this, we must first meet people’s basic material needs – housing, employment, electricity, sound infrastructure – so that everyone can live a decent and meaningful life. Only when people have sufficient leisure time can creativity be cultivated. For instance, China produced great philosopher Confucius, and the West had Socrates and Plato. But, weighed down by the pressures of daily life, few people study these classics today, leading to biased perceptions and the conflicts that follow.

Most conflicts in today’s world are rooted in poverty. When people cannot live stable, dignified lives, strife and plunder emerge. If the US, China and all countries work together to build a new development paradigm and steadily raise living standards across the globe, most causes of war will disappear. If the whole world can eliminate absolute poverty as China has done, the lives of all humanity will be fundamentally transformed for the better.

PD: China-US relations are among the most important bilateral relations in the world. This year, the two sides jointly set a new orientation for China-US relations: building a “constructive China-US relationship of strategic stability.” How do you interpret this positioning?

Freeman: The Chinese government has stressed that the “constructive strategic stability” should be a positive stability with cooperation as the mainstay, a sound stability with moderate competition, a constant stability with manageable differences and an enduring stability with promises of peace. Previous US policies toward China, however, were imbued with the dangerous zero-sum game mindset, which I believe lacks careful consideration. The US should take the initiative to identify areas for China-US cooperation. As the world’s two largest economies, China and the US can carry out joint cooperation projects that benefit the people of both countries and all nations around the world.

*We met senior citizens singing and dancing in a Shanghai park in morning.*

PD: What areas of cooperation between China and the US do you think have the most promising prospects for tangible implementation?

Freeman: The first is research and development of controlled nuclear fusion energy. China is a global leader in nuclear fusion, having achieved stable plasma operation for over 1,000 seconds. The US shelved its nuclear fusion programs decades ago, but nuclear fusion represents the future of energy development, delivering far higher energy output than existing nuclear fission power plants of the same scale. It is still not too late for China and the US to collaborate in this field.

The second is space exploration. The US has spent an extremely long time preparing for its return to the Moon. China has already achieved a soft landing of a probe on the far side of the Moon. Human civilization advances through scientific exploration. Space exploration benefits all of humanity, and the two sides have every reason to cooperate in this area.

The third is joint efforts to eliminate poverty and famine in Africa. If China and the US work together to boost Africa’s development and raise local living standards, the continent will become a global economic and trade hub, benefiting the entire world.

PD: You and your wife have recently visited many cities across China. What are your impressions of the Chinese people and Chinese society?

Freeman: There is one moment that sticks in my mind: I once met a little boy, and I said “Nihao” to him. He immediately replied “Hello.” We chatted freely in English the whole time, and the passersby around us were all delighted. It was such a warm, charming scene – an elderly American chatting effortlessly with a young Chinese boy.

While I was attending conferences, my wife took the subway alone to visit aquariums and museums. Friends back home were all shocked and asked me: Are you sure it’s safe for her to go out by herself? My wife and I felt perfectly safe throughout our stay in China. I think more ordinary Americans should set aside their prejudices and come to China to experience it for themselves. Trust what you see with your own eyes, not rumors.

PD: How has public opinion in the US and China toward each other changed over the years?

Freeman: Today, as China’s comprehensive strength grows steadily, the Chinese people can see the fruits of development with their own eyes and feel progress across all areas firsthand. As a result, more young Chinese people no longer look up to foreign countries as they once did; instead, they view them on an equal footing.

Held back by weaknesses in basic education and a lack of global perspective, American society does not have an objective understanding of China. Many Americans fear China for no reason and always ask me strange questions: “Aren’t you afraid to go to China?” I am puzzled: “What’s there to be afraid of?” This is the misunderstanding and prejudice born out of ignorance about China. In recent years, with China relaxing its visa policies and lowering the threshold for long-term visas, it has become easier for many Americans to visit China, which is a great opportunity to enhance mutual understanding.

Read below my earlier posts:

Freeman Tells Xinhua: Xi-Trump Summit Should Focus on Economic Cooperation

Xinhua Publishes Freeman’s Critique of the Post World War II “Rules Based Order”

Xinhua Publishes Freeman’s Critique of the Post World War II “Rules Based Order”

July 22, 2026August 17, 2026 Lawrence Africa, Belt and Road Initiative, China, development, Infrastructure, manufacturing, rules-based order, US

July 22, 2026

Below is my article published by Xinhua news service on July 21, 2026

Column: Those who conjure up so-called “China Squeeze” ignore historical reality

Source: Xinhua-2026-07-21

A train stops at the Nagad railway station along the Ethiopia-Djibouti railway in Djibouti, Sept. 19, 2022. The Chinese-built 752.7-km-long Ethiopia-Djibouti standard gauge railway, also known as the Addis Ababa-Djibouti railway, is the first fully electrified trans-boundary railway on the African continent. (Xinhua/Dong Jianghui)

by Lawrence Freeman

A recent article published by the Peterson Institute for International Economics (PIIE) conveniently ignores the historical burden imposed on low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) under the United States-led “rules-based order” following World War II.

The paper is riddled with historical distortions in a deliberate attempt to prove the authors’ presumption: China’s exports are responsible for crowding out space for the LMICs to develop their local manufacturing capacity. As a specialist in the political economy of sub-Saharan African nations and China-Africa relations, I can provide some light on this misleading narrative. While it is true that Africa-China trade reached a historically high level of 348 billion U.S. dollars in 2025, with African countries running a trade deficit of 102 billion dollars, the more important question is: how did this imbalance emerge?

Here the historical weakness of the paper under review is revealed. The opening sentence begins with a falsehood: “In the United States, President Donald J. Trump’s tariffs have drawn political force from the view that China’s surplus hollowed out American manufacturing.”

This is completely untrue. The U.S. willfully destroyed its own manufacturing sector beginning in the 1980s, when it adopted the policy of becoming a post-industrial society. The U.S. establishment decided at that time it would move away from being a manufacturing-based industrial society in favor of becoming the center of the financial world, with an expanding service sector, except for the production of armaments.

This was advertised in the Council on Foreign Relations magazine, Foreign Affairs, and implemented by then-Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker. At that time, China had no strong manufacturing capability. It neither possessed the ability to challenge the United States nor contributed to the shrinkage of America’s once powerful manufacturing sector.

Let us keep in mind the reality of the world economy: in the 1960s, the United States functioned as the world hegemon, leading the “rules-based order,” with a GDP around 10 times that of China’s. This only started to change in the late 1970s and early 1980s with the reform and opening-up drive led by Deng Xiaoping, which kicked off in China over the next forty years the greatest economic miracle that our planet has seen.

Again, taking Africa as an example, the United States and the West were in total control of the so-called free markets. The United States and the West had total control over the nations of Africa both politically and economically, as they did over much of the developing sector. China did not emerge as a major player in African economies until the 2000s. During the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, the United States and the West ruled the financial institutions, including the IMF and World Bank, and they did nothing to build up the manufacturing capability of Africa. This is the truth, and this is egregiously absent from the PIIE report.

During that time there was no leader, except President John F. Kennedy, who was concerned to develop manufacturing capabilities in less-developed countries, especially Africa. What was done by the West, by the U.S., by the “rules-based order” was to extract wealth from African nations. Looting their natural resources, not development. This cannot be blamed on China.

Workers arrange clothes at a textile factory in Maseru, the capital of Lesotho, on July 30, 2025. Lesotho is a small southern African country and one of the world’s least developed countries. Its economy is heavily dependent on textile exports. It exports over 50 percent of its garment products to the United States. (Xinhua/Wang Guansen)

Western policy never genuinely aimed to integrate Africa into the global manufacturing supply chain. Consequently, African economies today account for only about 3 percent of globally traded manufactured goods. This outcome is not a result of China crowding out lower-income countries’ industrial space. Rather, it is an uncomfortable reality that the PIIE and its ideologues are unwilling to confront, as acknowledging it would undermine their anti-China narrative, which is precisely why this factor is conspicuously absent from their report.

Africans suffer, actually die, from the lack of electricity, due to the willful decision not to invest in infrastructure by the West. This is what has prevented African nations from developing manufacturing capabilities. The lack of railroads is another element that is holding back the economic growth of African economies. Not China.

The failure to invest in the most critical component of an economy: infrastructure. This is the cause of the economic deficiency of African nations. Without infrastructure, you will not have a manufacturing sector. You will not have an industrialized economy. It is not the result of China squeezing Africa out of the market. The problems we have today in the LMICs, especially in Africa, are a result of willful decisions by the West not to develop these nations. This cannot be covered up by using mathematical formulas or refusing to report on what actually happened to the developing sector during the decades from 1960 through 2000, before China’s economy began to be a serious actor in the world economy.

“When the United States was the world’s economic hegemon after World War II, it created manufacturing and export space for others — first Japan, then the Asian Tigers, and eventually China itself,” claimed the authors in the conclusion part. However, there was never any intention by Western financial institutions to develop manufacturing capacities for low-and middle-income countries, and little to no investment in vital categories of infrastructure, which are necessary to build a robust manufacturing sector.

The most irreconcilable historical reality that the authors failed to address in the narrative accusing China of preventing the development of the LMICs is this: From the 1940s until the year 2000, when China began to emerge as a successful economic power, the Western political-financial oligarchy had dominant control over the world economy. They, not China, failed to promote economic development in the LMICs for six decades.

China, to its credit, has advanced infrastructure development across our planet through its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). It is unarguably the case that in Africa, without the BRI, the conditions of life for the majority of Africans would be much, much worse. To this day, no American president has joined or agreed to participate in the BRI, the largest global infrastructure program the world has ever undertaken.

Editor’s note: Lawrence Freeman is a U.S. political-economic analyst for Africa, who has been involved in economic development policies for Africa for over three decades. He is also a geopolitical analyst of U.S.-China relations.

The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Xinhua News Agency.■

Read below my earlier posts:

Will China’s Global Governance Initiative Replace The West’s Failed “Rules Based Order?”

Rules Based Order in Crisis: Losing Global Domination

Rules Based Order Is Dead, But Trump Didn’t Kill It. Beware of Mark Carney’s Alternative

Freeman Tells Xinhua: Xi-Trump Summit Should Focus on Economic Cooperation

May 29, 2026May 29, 2026 Lawrence China, decoupling, Donald Trump, manufacturing, US, win-win, Xi Jinping, xinhua, zero-sum

*An aerial drone photo shows U.S. carmaker Tesla’s Megafactory in Shanghai, east China, Feb. 8, 2025. (Xinhua/Fang Zhe)*

Below is from an interview with Xinhua regarding Xi-Trump May 14-15 summit in Beijing.

Source: Xinhua, Editor: huaxia, 2026-05-28

Interview: China, U.S. have shared interests for cooperation, says U.S. economist

U.S. economist says stronger trade, infrastructure and manufacturing ties would benefit both countries and support global stability. Xinhua reports on interview with Freeman

by Xinhua writer Liu Yanan

NEW YORK, May 28 (Xinhua) — China and the United States can have economic cooperation and collaboration on multiple fronts, and there is no objective reason for antagonisms to exist between the two countries, a U.S. economist has said.

As the world’s two largest economies, both nations can benefit from increased trade and the exchange of ideas, said Lawrence Freeman, a U.S.-based physical economist, in a recent interview with Xinhua.

“If the United States partners with China, which there is no reason not to, the rest of the world will react positively,” Freeman told Xinhua.

He noted that China’s Belt and Road Initiative has been a vital source to African and other nations in providing vital infrastructure.

The world needs physical, not monetary, economic growth to end poverty and hunger, which are the primary causes of instability, the economist said.

Stability and peace can be achieved by improving the living conditions of all nations and all people, he added.

Freeman also spoke highly of China’s “win-win” approach to foreign policy and criticized the harmful “zero-sum game” approach.

“Each nation benefits from the growth and development of other nations. The more nations that are industrialized, the more their economies will require capital goods produced in other nations,” he said.

China’s prowess in manufacturing could also serve cooperation between the two nations, Freeman said.

“China has become a model of how to achieve manufacturing and industrial growth, which should be emulated by the United States instead of being maligned,” he added.■

Excerpts from Freeman’s response:

China’s “win-win” approach to foreign policy is far superior to the diseased “zero-sum game” approach. The world is not fixed; it is not governed by survival of the strongest. Our planet, our universe, is constantly growing and expanding, propelled by human creativity. Each nation benefits from the growth and development of other nations. The more nations that are industrialized the more their economies will require capital goods produced in other nations. Stability and peace can be achieved by improving the living conditions of all nations and all people. nations should understand and adopt what was stipulated at the 1648 Treaty of Westphalia: the benefit to the other is a benefit to thyself.

China is the leading manufacturing nation in the world. Only the combined manufacturing output of the U.S. and Europe is more than China. This speaks volumes about China’s approach to building up their economy over the last forty-five years. Massive investments by China, in categories of hard infrastructure; energy and rail transportation in particular, have been indispensable to its growth.

The U.S. has lost almost five million manufacturing jobs in this century, over 100,000 since President Trump took office in January 2025. Foolish leaders of the U.S. did this to America, not China. The U.S. destroyed its own economy by shrinking its manufacturing sector and failing to invest in infrastructure. A robust manufacturing sector is essential for the prosperity of a nation. China has become a model of how to achieve manufacturing and industrial growth, which should be emulated by the U.S. instead of being maligned. It is also a model for the rest of the world in how to achieve manufacturing superiority in approximately two generations.

People who talk about “de-coupling” the U.S. from China are dangerous fools, who understand nothing about physical economics. Despite the bravado of some, the U.S. would never survive this severing, but China would. China dominates supply chains of refined critical and rare earth minerals. China understood the need to develop these resources decades before the U.S. It cannot be reversed by the U.S. simply ordering China or other nations to acquiesce, or by U.S. bullying other nations by threatening them with abusive tariffs.

China has succeeded because it understood that to develop its economy and provide for its people, it needed: a strong manufacturing sector; extensive infrastructure; a commitment to scientific research, particularly space exploration; and discovering new valuable natural resources. This “full-set economy” approach is not unique and can be replicated by other nations. The U.S. once understood this and can again.

Below, are earlier posts on this topic.

Can U.S. Compete With China? Washington Establishment Has Serious Qualms

U.S. Establishment Admits Truth Of China’s Economic Superiority, But They Don’t Understand It

Xi-Trump Summit Offers Needed Stability In A Perilous World

May 19, 2026May 19, 2026 Lawrence China, Donald Trump, tariffs, trade, US, US-China summit, Xi Jinping

On May 15, China’s People’s Daily published edited excerpts from an interview with Lawrence Freeman, prior to the May 14-15 summit, between Presidents Xi Jinping and Donald Trump. Read: People’s Daily Interview with Freeman

Below is the English translation.

Strengthening dialogue and cooperation between the US and China will better enable them to jointly address global challenges (International Forum) Cooperation between the United States and China will inject strong momentum into global stability, development, and prosperity, making the world a better place.

On May 14, Chinese President Xi Jinping held talks with US President Donald Trump at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, who was on a state visit to China. The meeting between the two heads of state is crucial for both countries and the world. As the world’s two largest economies, the decisions made by the US and China, and their future policy directions, will have a significant impact on the world. This meeting set the tone and direction for the development of US-China relations and is a key opportunity to promote the sound development of US-China relations, making it of great significance. Maintaining dialogue and communication between the United States and China helps enhance mutual trust, manage differences, expand consensus, and promote cooperation.

As important trading partners, the US and China each possess strong complementary advantages in areas such as natural resources, markets, capital, and technology, offering vast opportunities for cooperation. Those advocating for “decoupling and supply chain disruptions” clearly lack rational consideration. Against the backdrop of rising uncertainty in the current international environment, maintaining stable, healthy, and sustainable development of US-China economic and trade relations is conducive to maintaining the stability of global industrial and supply chains, boosting market confidence, and is in the common interest of both peoples. It will also inject more stability and certainty into the world economy.

There are no winners in tariff wars and trade wars. The US should abandon zero-sum thinking, fully recognize the enormous potential of US-China cooperation, establish a win-win cooperation concept, and contribute to improving people’s livelihoods and promoting common development worldwide. In fact, the American people hold a friendly yearning for China and eagerly anticipate visiting and exchanging ideas with it. Two years ago, I visited Beijing and stayed for nine days, personally experiencing the sincerity, enthusiasm, and friendliness of the Chinese people, and also feeling their sincere expectation for friendly exchanges between the American and Chinese people. Recently, a friend of mine traveled to China and had a very pleasant experience, deeply appreciating the warm hospitality of the Chinese people. Because of this wonderful experience in China, my family and I plan to travel there again this summer.

This meeting between the US and Chinese heads of state will inject vitality into promoting friendly exchanges between the two peoples, enhance the American people’s understanding of China, and encourage them to truly get closer to this fascinating country and witness firsthand the vibrant picture of ancient civilization and modern development complementing each other. Looking at the international situation and the development of bilateral relations, there is no reason for the US and China to move towards confrontation. Cooperation between the two countries benefits both, while confrontation harms both. The two countries can absolutely achieve mutual success and common prosperity. Working together, the US and China will inject strong momentum into global stability, development, and prosperity, making the world a better place. We look forward to both countries jointly maintaining a stable, healthy, and sustainable bilateral relationship, jointly addressing global challenges, jointly committing to reducing hunger and poverty, helping underdeveloped countries achieve industrialization, promoting sustainable global economic growth, and safeguarding world peace and prosperity.

On Sunday, May 17, People’s Daily published additional remarks from Lawrence Freeman. Under the title:

Promoting the stable, healthy, and sustainable development of China-US relations

　　”The meeting between the US and Chinese leaders is of great significance to both countries and the world. The mutual respect and friendly attitude shown by the two leaders have laid a solid foundation for strengthening cooperation in areas such as trade, science and technology, culture, and maintaining international and regional stability. We look forward to this meeting opening a new chapter in US-China relations and promoting the long-term stable development of bilateral relations,” said Lawrence Freeman, an international affairs expert in the United States.

Read below, my earlier posts on this topic.

China & BRICS Choose Progress Over West’s Deindustrialization

Franklin Roosevelt Intended to Industrialize the ‘Global South’: The Case of Ethiopia

Lawrence Freeman is a Political-Economic Analyst for Africa, who has been involved in economic development policies for Africa for over 35 years. He is a teacher, writer, public speaker, consultant on Africa, and an analyst of global strategic relations. Mr. Freeman strongly believes that economic development is an essential human right. He is the creator of the blog: lawrencefreemanafricaandtheworld.com, also publishes on: lawrencefreeman.substack.com, “Freeman’s Africa and the World, and on X @lkfreemansafrica

West In Worse Crisis Since WW II: An Opportunity For Change?

April 4, 2026April 4, 2026 Lawrence Africa, Belt and Road Initiative, China, Donald Trump, Ethiopia, Franklin Roosevelt, Iran, MAGA, neocons, US

Watch my hour long discussion analyzing recent developments in the war against Iran, MAGA, and China.

April 4, 2026

As we are now entering the sixth week of President Trump’s unilateral, preemptive, regime change war, the ruling powers of the West are arguably facing their most severe crisis since World War II. While this brings with it inherent dangers, it also provides the world with an opportunity to free itself from the rules based order, which has dominated the world for more than four generations.

President Trump has now adopted the neoconservative policy of using America’s military might to unjustifiably enforce its rules of behavior on the rest of the world. For over a decade, President Trump had campaigned vigorously against this neocon policy of military intervention against other nations. This was one of the key features of his so-called MAGA movement. As a result of his reversal, we are seeing splits inside the MAGA movement, and now even in the Republican Party, which has otherwise followed his every command.

There is no question that curtailing China’s growing influence in the world, is a key factor in President Trump’s conduct in the Western Hemisphere, in Africa and in the Middle East. In this regard, President Trump is following in the footsteps of his predecessors, Presidents Obama, and Biden, whom he despises, in rejecting China’s Belt and Road Initiative.

The United States, the strongest military and economic power, is suffering greatly. When President Trump spoke to the American people on Tuesday night, March 31st, he grotesquely threatened “to bomb Iran back to the stone ages.” This is utterly un-American!

The United States, going back to the presidency of Franklin Roosevelt, has had a policy of working with other nations, including China, and those in the developing sector, to improve the living conditions of all nations. President Roosevelt’s intention in creating the International Reconstruction and Development Bank in July 1944, was to provide long-term, low-cost credit to help poorer nations industrialize.

Therefore, with this history as part of the United States, we must work to bring about a new leadership in America, whose policies will be coherent with those of the Global South, the majority of the world’s population. China is not our enemy. China is our potential ally in securing a shared common future for mankind, which will be based on peace, security, and prosperity. This paradigm for development has to become the vision of the United States, replacing the diseased “zero-sum” mentality that always leads to war.

Read below, my earlier posts on this topic.

Trump Adopts Neocon Regime Change: Was His MAGA A Hoax?

March 10, 2026March 10, 2026 Lawrence Donald Trump, Iran, Iraq, John Quincy Adams, Libya, MAGA, nation-state, neocon, regime change, US

March 10, 2026

As the world is submerged in the second week of President Trump’s unprovoked military onslaught against the nation of Iran, questions about “who the president really is,” have arisen. Has he morphed into a neo-conservative, or was MAGA a fraud, just a vehicle for President Trump to get elected?

President Trump over the course of two elections condemned preemptive military intervention, regime change, endless wars, and nation building. America First opposed these neo-conservative (neocon) policies and was supposed to concentrate on building up America and improving the lives of its citizens. President Trump is a failure.

President Donald Trump, after a year of obsessively but unsuccessfully attempting to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, has turned to war and regime change throughout the world. There can be no question that President Trump is violating the U.S. Constitution and is dangerously involving the United States in a new Middle East war. There was no imminent danger to the U.S. from the nation of Iran that necessitated the bombing attack beginning on February 28, 2026. Those early morning preemptive missile strikes bring to mind an eerie remembrance of March 20, 2003, when President George W Bush launched his neocon inspired invasion of Iraq in pursuit of regime change. President Bush and his circle of advisors arrogantly believed they would remake Iraq in their Western image.

Regime Change VS Iran

Iran does not possess the level of enriched uranium necessary to produce a nuclear weapon. Iran did not have a missile delivery system capable of reaching U.S. There was no imminent danger. Despite various efforts to spin or massage the message, President Trump himself publicly admitted that he is pursuing regime change against the government of Iran. Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, and others have now tried to provide a fig leaf for the president’s war policy. Rubio claimed on Monday March 2, that Israel was planning to attack Iran and therefore in anticipation of Iran responding with attacks on the U.S. homeland, the U.S. was in imminent danger, necessitating preemptive action against Iran. This convoluted argument whether true or not, was rebuked the next day when President Trump stated that it was he, who was forcing Israel’s hand. Days later, President Trump boldly declared that he had to take out Iran’s clerical leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, before “he got me.” A few days later President Trump demanded to be involved in choosing the next leader of Iran. Regime change for any reason is still regime change.

In the short term, Americans are the big losers from President Trump’s war of choice. Oil companies will increase their revenues and make big profits as oil prices skyrocket. This will add more hardship to the American people, the majority of whom are already economically struggling. Defense production plants and arms manufacturers will expand from infusions of new government money, taxpayer debt. However, weapons and munitions do not increase the wealth of society, do not improve American’s standard of living.

Iran: A Strategic Nation

Iran has the right to process uranium for peaceful purposes. All nations, Iran included, have the responsibility to obtain the technology of nuclear energy to better provide for the welfare of their citizens. There has been no public evidence presented that Iran has other intentions. Descriptions of Iran’s nuclear energy program by western governments, are saturated with their geopolitical prejudices, with little intention to find a mutual pathway for development. Despite this negative narrative, Iran is a strategically and economically significant nation in the world.

Iran is a resource rich nation of ninety-three million people, seventeenth largest in the world, and second largest among Middle East nations. Iran’s oil reserves are estimated at 208 billion barrels-third largest in the world, and gas reserves at thirty-four trillion cubic meters-second largest in the world. China purchases 80% of Iran’s oil, 13.5% of China’s crude oil imports. Iran is a member of the BRICS, a leadership body of the Global South. Iran is also a strategic hub of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), bridging both the land based and maritime routes of the BRI.

In summary. Before President Trump launched his preemptive war on Iran, the following was known:

Iran did not possess the quality of enriched nuclear material capable of becoming a nuclear bomb.
Iran did not possess long range delivery systems that could reach the U.S.
The U.S. military and intelligence community assessed that the U.S. was in no imminent threat of a nuclear attack from Iran.

Significant US Regime Change Actions (1961–2026)

Cuba (1961): Failed CIA-backed invasion at the Bay of Pigs.
South Vietnam (1963): Support for a coup against President Ngo Dinh Diem.
Brazil (1964): Support for a military coup against President João Goulart.
Indonesia (1965–1967): Assisting in the ousting of President Sukarno.
Dominican Republic (1965): Military intervention to prevent a leftist government.
Chile (1973): Support for the military coup that ousted President Salvador Allende.
Grenada (1983): Invasion to remove the military government.
Panama (1989): Invasion to remove dictator Manuel Noriega.
Iraq (1991, 2003): The 2003 invasion directly removed Saddam Hussein.
Afghanistan (2001): Invasion to topple the Taliban regime.
Libya (2011): Backing the uprising against Muammar Gaddafi.
Ukraine (2014): Involvement in the Maidan revolution.
Venezuela ( Jan 3, 2026): Abduction of President Nicolas Maduro
Iran ( Feb 28, 2026): Elimination of the country’s leadership, and the intuition of bombing of Iran

Listed above, are overt U.S. military interventions into foreign nations to change their governments.

*George Bush with Tony Blair, who advocated regime as the West’s right to intervene*

Regime Change Always Fails

We know from historical experience of decades of war fighting, that nations can be weakened but not defeated by bombing campaigns alone. Boots on the ground are required to fully subjugate a nation. We also know well from U.S. military instigated regime change in this century, post kinetic war-fare plans are consistently faulty and bring unforeseen consequences. The lack of vision and propensity for fantasy has dominated all U.S. failed regime change deployments.

The most recent fiascos of regime change were President Bush’s invasion of Iraq in March 2003, and President Obama’s overthrow of Umar Gadaffi in October 2011. Bush’s overthrow of Saddam Hussein, based on false claims of Iraq’s involvement in the September 11, 2001, attacks in the U.S., led to 500,000 to 1,000,000, deaths. For almost a quarter of a century following Bush’s unjustified invasion, this region of the world has suffered permanent instability and the creation of ISIS and its terrorist offshoots, triggered by the U.S. destruction of Iraq. In the more than fourteen years since Obama’s overthrow and murder of Gadaffi, Northern Africa, across the Sahel and Sahara, have been in continuous chaos. Obama created the deadliest unstable region anywhere in the world.

Former President Barack Obama has acknowledged that the most significant mistake during his presidency was the failure to develop a comprehensive plan for the aftermath of the military intervention in Libya, rather than the decision to remove Muammar Gaddafi itself.

Regime change is not a substitute for a positive foreign policy. It has never been successful, and it should never succeed. One cannot expect to improve a nation by simply eliminating its leadership through military means. The nation state is not an empty construct to be coerced or manipulated by the militarily powerful. The modern sovereign nation state, created by humankind, has advanced over several centuries. It is a precious institution, which human beings brought into existence as a means of organizing a language-culture-territory into a single sovereign entity, which can ensure continuation of its society into the future over successive generations.

No nation is perfect, but all nations can evolve, improve, and lessen their imperfection. All nations are in one sense, a continuous “work in progress.” Nations have different systems of governance derived from their history. However, all nations have an intrinsically common self-interest: the growth and development of their people. Nations are made up of human beings, who endowed with the power of creative reason, are capable of unlimited change. The art of diplomacy and statesmanship is to search for means to induce improvements of all nations. To support them on their path towards progress in accordance with the “common aims of mankind.” Genuine, thoughtful leaders find the most propitious methods to bring out the potential good of other nations. Deploying military force against another nation should be the very last resort against an aggressor.

Avoid Military Adventures

Secretary of State, (and future President), John Quincy Adams, speaking on July 4, 1821, in celebrating the Declaration of Independence, cautioned against misadventures of U.S. foreign policy:

Whenever the standard of freedom and independence has been or shall be unfurled, there will her heart, her benedictions, and her prayers be. But she goes not abroad in search of monsters to destroy. She is the well-wisher to the freedom and independence of all. She is the champion and vindicator only of her own. She will commend the general cause by the countenance of her voice, and the benignant sympathy of her example. She well knows that by once enlisting under other banners than her own, were they even the banners of foreign independence, she would involve herself beyond the power of extrication, in all the wars of interest and intrigue, of individual avarice, envy, and ambition, which assume the colors and usurp the standard of freedom. The fundamental maxims of her policy would insensibly change from liberty to force…. She might become the dictatress of the world. She would be no longer the ruler of her own spirit….(emphasis added).

*John Quincy Adams, Sectary of State, President, and Congressman*

Twenty-five years earlier, President George Washinton, had also warned about foreign entanglements in Europe:

…nothing is more essential than that permanent, inveterate antipathies against particular nations, and passionate attachments for others, should be excluded; and that in place of them, just and amicable feelings towards all should be cultivated. The nation which indulges towards another a habitual hatred or habitual fondness is in some degree a slave. It is this slave to its animosity or to its affection, either which is sufficient to lead astray from its duty and its interest. Antipathy in one nation against another, disposes each more readily to offer insult and injury, to lay whole of slight causes of umbrage and to be haughty and intractable, when accidental or trifling occasions of dispute occur. Hence, frequent collisions, obstinate, envenomed, and bloody contests. (emphasis added).

Trump: MAGA or Neocon?

President Trump’s foreign policies have become indistinguishable from the neocons that he spent many years attacking. The neocons, who emerged in the Republican Party during President Reagan’s administration, became dominant in the presidency of George W. Bush. The spiritual godfather of the neocons was Leo Strauss, a follower of Friedrich Nietzsche and Carl Shmitt, a leading political jurist for the Nazis. The neocons rejected America’s unique history as an anti-colonial constitutional Republic. They believed in the right of the “elites” to use “noble lies”-disinformation, to manipulate the citizens in order to achieve the “greatness” of America. They espouse the use of a muscular military to achieve “benevolent global hegemony,” to overpower “anti-democratic” governments that threaten U.S. domination. Neocons advocate U.S. military intervention to reshape the world in accordance with their values, and to preserve America’s hegemony as far into the future as possible.

Is this not the present world view of President Trump?

President Trump and the neocons eschew the existence of a shared vision of development, common to all nations, which should be the cornerstone of foreign policy and diplomacy between nations. It is by example and leadership that the U.S. should intervene. The U.S. Constitution commits the United States to provide for the general welfare of its citizens through their educated participation in our Democratic-Republic. The consequences of neocon instigated regime change, and military intervention are on full display in: Afghanistan twenty-four years later; Iraq twenty-three years later; and Libya fourteen years later.

*Vice President Dick Cheney, one of the architects of the Iraq invasion*

Neocons Reject America Heritage

Neocons explicitly rejected John Quincy Adams’ prophetic advice. It should be understood that the Monroe Doctrine, also written by Adams, for President Monroe, is antithetical to President Trump’s imperialist like domination in the western hemisphere.

According to journalist Jeffrey Steinberg, (1) leading neocons, William Kristol, and Robert Kagan, writing in the 1996 issue of Foreign Affairs, called for the overthrow of more than 200 years of American anti colonial tradition, singling out John Quincy Adams as their particular nemesis.

Conservative these days, they wrote, succumb easily to the charming old metaphor of the United States as a ‘city on a hill.’

‘They hark back… to the admonition of John Quincy Adams that America not go ‘abroad in search of monsters and destroy.‘ But why not? The alternative is to leave monsters on the loose, ravaging and pillaging to their hearts’ content, as Americans stand by and watch….when America is the giant because the America has capacity to contain and destroy many of the world’s monsters, most of which can be found without much searching, and because the responsibility for peace and security of the international order rests so heavily on American shoulders, a policy of sitting on top of the hill and leading by example becomes in practice a policy for cowardice and dishonor. (emphasis added)

Reshaping the Middle East

in November 1995, Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, who signed an historic accord with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, was assassinated by an extremist linked to the Likud Party. The neocons seized this moment to develop a strategy for the new Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, which would reverse the potential for peace in the Middle East, as a result of the Oslo Accords.

Neocon Richard Perle, presented to Netanyahu in 1996 a new policy called, A Clean Break: A New Strategy for Securing the Realm. This six page document was a blueprint to reshape the Middle East under Israel’s control, which including removing Saddam Hussein from power in Iraq and weakening Syria.

President Trump is implementing an updated version of Clean Break today, following his support for Netanyahu’s genocide of upwards of 100,000 Palestinians and the destruction of the West Bank.

MAGA has been severely fooled. Either President Trump has always been a closet neocon or has been morphed into one. Whichever it is, his policies are dangerous to the world, and he has increasingly become a threat to our American Republic.

The ‘Ignoble Liars’ Behind Bush’s Deadly Iraq War

Will China’s Global Governance Initiative Replace The West’s Failed “Rules Based Order?”

January 30, 2026February 1, 2026 Lawrence Belt and Road Initiative, China, creativity, development, Donald Trump, Global Governance Initiative, rules-based order, US, Xi Jinping

Canadian Prime Minister, Mark Carney is credited with publicly proclaiming the final expiration of the rules-based international order. His so called alternative, wrongly acclaimed by the West, might be called rules-based order with a “democratic face,” since it still adheres to the axioms of the old discredited international system minus President Trump.

Column: While “rules-based order” has failed, China’s GGI provides a new vision

Source: Xinhua-January 30, 2026

*This photo taken on Aug. 12, 2024 shows the Drum Tower seen from the Jingshan Hill on the Beijing Central Axis on a sunny day in Beijing, capital of China. (Xinhua/Li Xin)*

Humanity desperately needs, nay, demands a new paradigm for global governance, which prioritizes economic development, free from wars, regime change and dictates, says a U.S. political-economic analyst for Africa.

Below please review my article published by Xinhua. english.news.cn

by Lawrence Freeman

It should be more than obvious by now that “the rules-based international order” created by the West has failed. Its demise, which has been accelerating in recent years, sounded its death knell at last week’s Davos conference.

This year, 2026, will continue to be turbulent and fraught with the peril of more wars. As the death agony of the international order, which has been controlling relations between nations through its military and economic might, unfolds, civilization is given the opportunity to create a new system founded on the principles of economic development.

“The rules-based order” was established under the control of the political-financial elites of the West that dominated the rest of the world for decades. It may appear to some that it was the actions of the current U.S. president, Donald Trump, that caused its demise. However, that would be inaccurate. President Trump may have accelerated the final stage of the collapse of the rules-based order, but it was always doomed to fail because of its underlying diseased ideology.

“RULES-BASED ORDER” WAS DOOMED

The fatal flaw of “the rules-based order” is its axiomatic belief that people and nations are merely manipulated players in a zero-sum game of victims and victors. Contrary to this false belief, our universe is governed by the human species, uniquely endowed with creativity. We were not created to be ruled by the mighty and the powerful, but by the power of reason. We are human beings, not animals to be culled and controlled. We are not fixed in our behavior, nor is the universe in which we exist. The physical world is not a zero-sum game board of winners and losers, but a developing and expanding universe that is continuously transformed through human creative intervention.

With the inevitable demise of “the rules-based order,” what will come next? This is not an academic question to be leisurely pondered. No, this is a call to arms for all of us to act in creating a new “international order” which corresponds to our unique human quality of creativity.

Unlike the oligarchical formation of “the rules-based order” after World War II, when a large number of nations were still under colonial rule, the new international system must represent the interests of the Global South, the majority of the world’s population.

CHINA’S CONTRIBUTION

Chinese President Xi Jinping unveiled the Global Governance Initiative (GGI) in his address to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization on Sept. 1, 2025. He called for a more just and equitable global governance system, echoing the efforts by the developing nations in the 1970s to establish a “New International Economic Order.” Significantly, President Xi introduced a new concept not previously explicitly discussed by world leaders: that the goal of this new governance should be to advance toward a community with a shared future for humanity. This is true because all human beings are universally alike in our most fundamental inborn quality: creative mentation.

This concept represents a fundamental leap in the understanding that all nations have a common self-interest that should guide domestic and foreign policy. As a physical economist, I understand that policy should mean improving the physical standard of living and nurturing the creativity of the population of every nation.

President Xi also said that China is committed to the well-being of all humanity, rejects dividing the world into opposing blocs, and essentially discards outdated notions such as Western centrism.

CHINA’S COMMITMENT

China’s Global Development Initiative (GDI) states unequivocally in the opening sentence of its concept paper: Development is the eternal pursuit of human society. The GDI also emphasizes the eradication of poverty, sustainable development of agriculture and food security, and most importantly, improving industrial production capacity and manufacturing. Economic development is a core pillar of China’s concept of global governance.

There is no clearer demonstration of China’s commitment to the development of all nations than the success of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), introduced by President Xi in the fall of 2013.

In 2025, the BRI achieved new records of economic activity totaling 213.5 billion U.S. dollars, according to a report by the Green Finance and Development Center at Fudan University. It had 128.4 billion dollars in construction contracts, an increase of 81 percent over 2024, and recorded 85.2 billion dollars in investments, an increase of 62 percent. Oil and gas engagements reached 71.5 billion dollars.

Africa was the top region of economic activity for BRI engagement at 61.2 billion dollars, an increase of some 283 percent, with Nigeria at 24.6 billion dollars in construction contracts. Since its inception in 2013, the BRI has had cumulative economic activity of 1.399 trillion dollars in 150 countries around the world, according to the report.

It is indisputable that China, through advancing fundamental principles of economic development, has alleviated the suffering of millions of people in the Global South, where BRI trading partners are concentrated. All Western nations combined have not achieved this level of success in such a short period of time.

Many accept the outlook that we live in a world governed by strength, force and power, according to Stephen Miller, President Trump’s special advisor. That is categorically false. Homo sapiens developed over thousands of years by creative reason, not by force, or survival of the fittest.

Humanity desperately needs, nay, demands a new paradigm for global governance, which prioritizes economic development, free from wars, regime change and dictates. Let the GGI provide the framework for such an enlightened discussion.

Editor’s note: Lawrence Freeman is a U.S. political-economic analyst for Africa, who has been involved in economic development policies for Africa for 35 years.

The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Xinhua News Agency.■

english.news.cn

Read below my earlier posts on this topic.

Rules Based Order Is Dead, But Trump Didn’t Kill It. Beware of Mark Carney’s Alternative

Rules-Based Order Strategic Mistake to Label China Enemy #1

Rules Based Order in Crisis: Losing Global Domination

Trump Threatens More Impotent Bombings of Nigeria Instead of Helping to End Poverty

January 13, 2026January 13, 2026 Lawrence Africa, China, Christians, creativity, genocide, Nigeira, poverty, President Trump, US

Watch my 45 minute discussion on Sunday Politics on Trust TV, Nigeria. Unpacking President Trump’s continuing threats against Nigeria. January 11, 2026

January 13, 2026

In a lengthy interview with the New York Times on January 9, 2026, President Trump threatened more missile attacks on Nigeria. His continued attempt to intimidate Nigeria is based on his false claim that the Nigerian government is allowing genocide against Christians living in Nigeria. This course of action, essentially terrorizing Nigerians with his whimsical threats, is dangerous to all Nigerians, including Christians, as well as to the entire continent of Africa.

After declaring Nigeria a Country of Particular Concern on October 31, President Trump proceeded to threaten to cut one billion USD of aid, and militarily intervene into Nigeria with guns blazing. President Trump claimed this was necessary to save our great Christian population around the world.

To the complete surprise of the people of Nigeria and their government, on Christmas Day, 2025, the U.S. military fired sixteen Tomahawk missiles into the Bauni Forest in the State of Sokoto, northwest Nigeria. The alleged target was the Lakurawa group, a lower level militia that claims affiliation with the Islamic State. This military attack on Nigeria by the so called U.S. Department of War, was a failure, actually impotent, despite claims by the Trump administration that the operation was a complete success that killed multitudes of ISIS fighters.

Examine the reality on the ground: US missile strike

The concentration of leaders of ISIS is in northeast Nigeria, in Borno State, not in the northwest state of Sokoto.
Four of the sixteen Tomahawk missiles did not explode-a 25% failure rate.
Some of the unexploded missiles were found hundreds of miles from the target.
There is no evidence that any high-level ISIS targets were killed by the missile attack, or even how many.

Yet, President Trump foolishly threatened another missile attack on Nigeria January 9.

Trump’s Motivation

What does President Trump not know about Nigeria? Everything!

He like many American Presidents, knows nothing about African nations. He has no understanding of the complex dynamics of Nigeria, and he doesn’t care about the welfare of 240 million Nigerians. His crusade to save the Christians in Nigeria from genocide is identical to his false campaign to protect white farmers from South African genocide. President Trump is not concerned with Africans, white or black, Christian or Muslim. These are domestically manufactured issues to appease his MAGA white-evangelical base in the U.S.

Consider the fact that Nigeria: has vast reserves of oil and the largest reserves of gas in the world; for the first time in its existence, it is refining and exporting large quantities of its own processed oil; is a partner member nation of the BRICS; has close economic ties with China, with over 20 billion USD invested in Nigeria by China last year.

It is estimated that Nigeria has 37.28 billion barrels of oil and 210.54 trillion cubic feet of gas.

Trump’s Prejudice vs Development

American leaders, both Democratic and Republican, unfortunately have the same unthinking deficiency as President Trump. They all fail to understand that it is in the genuine national self-interest of the U.S., for Nigeria to achieve successful economic growth. American presidents, such as John Kennedy and Franklin Roosevelt, knew the importance of promoting economic development as a fundamental principle of foreign policy. That concept has been forgotten, nay, completely vanished from American lexicon. Presently, the U.S. is bereft of leaders, who comprehend, that raising the standard of living of every Nigerian, indeed all Africans, is a benefit to America’s economy and security.

Unfortunately, President Trump has a deep-seated prejudice regarding the advancement of our civilization. His special advisor, Stephen Miller, put it this way: We live in a world that is governed by force…governed by power…These are the iron laws of the world. This is blatantly untrue. It could never be true. Yet, it is through this perverted lens that President Trump views Nigeria, and Africa. All true statesmen know that civilization is governed by human creativity. The real criminality is President Trump’s betrayal of America’s principles in favor of Thomas Hobbes’ bestial belief of humankind.