US-China Strategic Competition in Development: China’s Global Development Initiative(GDI)

Purpose: In 2021, China proposed the Global Development Initiative (GDI). This paper analyzes the discourse of the GDI to understand the direction of US-China strategic competition in the development field and its implications for the future reshaping of the international order. Originality: In the context of the securitization of development in the 21st century, the decline of the liberal international order, and the deepening of US-China strategic competition, development cooperation plays a crucial role in diplomacy towards the Global South. Therefore, research on the GDI is timely and important. Methodology: This study employs discourse analysis as its research method. Result: China’s GDI emphasizes ‘development first’ and ‘people-centered’ approaches, disregarding existing Western-centric development norms and appealing to developing countries with authoritarian regimes. China strives to incorporate the GDI into the international development agenda through the UN, while strengthening South-South cooperation and adopting a strategy that excludes the West. Conclusion and Implication: China’s presentation of global initiatives appears to go beyond mere competition in the development field. It seems to be an effort to embrace the Global South for future restructuring of the international order and to strengthen the universal expandability of China’s discourse. As both the US and China erode the liberal international order, South Korea should cooperate with like-minded countries to rectify the contradictions in the existing international order and play a role in preventing extreme conflicts between the US and China in the making of new world order.