Concept and experience of sustainable development: a view from China

Issues of sustainable development (SD) have been attracting attention of the global community since 1980, when certain international organizations presented initial provisions of the concept to the world opinion. Furthermore, the idea of sustainable development was institutionalized in a wide range of international documents, the main of which was the “2030 Agenda for sustainable development”, adopted by the UN in 2015. The 2030 Agenda put forward goals for the world community to achieve SD for the next 15 years. China began to attach special significance to the SD idea from the beginning of the 1990s: at that time, it took a clear official stance on the usefulness of the concept and recognized it as a doctrinal support for its foreign and domestic policy. However, in the political science literature, China's position on SD is not often considered. This article highlights current approaches of the PRC to the theory and practice of SD, attempts to reveal their specifics, argues for the special timeliness of the concept for the PRC, and analyzes achievements of China in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda in a number of areas. Also in the context of the SD concept, the author examines the current international situation, which is toughly influenced by the global crisis, aggravated due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The paper also touches on the dynamics of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) (interpreted by Beijing as a mechanism and vector of sustainable development) in the context of the coronavirus events. In particular, the author concludes, that Beijing's efforts to provide an “institutional guarantee” for the implementation of the 2030 Agenda in China by creating specialized “institutions and mechanisms” have no world precedents. Another conclusion is stipulated by the willingness of the PRC to see a language of global communication used in the construction of a more progressive world order in the SD concept. In light of this, the author draws attention to the “roll call” of the Chinese doctrine of the community of the common destiny of mankind (CCDM) and the concept of sustainable development. The author suggests that China intends to lead not only the construction of the CCDM, but also the implementation of the SD doctrine. Finally, the author concludes that China has managed to make real progress on the path of sustainable development and even contributed to relevant world processes. Another conclusion is that the current global economic downturn, however, may result in new SD opportunities for China (also listed in the article).