On the afternoon of November 5, the eighth Hongqiao Forum's "Open Trade and Safe Development" sub-forum, hosted by the Ministry of Commerce, co-organized by Renmin University of China, and organized by the Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies at Renmin University and the Global Leadership Academy, was held at the National Development Center (Shanghai). The forum addressed core issues in global trade and economy, inviting domestic and foreign experts to jointly explore how to build an open, inclusive, equitable, balanced, and win-win global trade system.

During this time, Professor Jeffrey Sachs from Columbia University and Chairman of the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network delivered a video speech. He pointed out that international trade is a key driver for achieving common prosperity and sustainable development, and criticized the United States for using political purposes to suppress China, deviating from the principles of openness and cooperation. Sachs highly evaluated China's position of upholding multilateralism and safeguarding the UN Charter and World Trade Organization rules. He emphasized that China's innovation in green and digital technology fields is providing new momentum for global ecological security and common development.

The following is the transcript of Professor Sachs' speech compiled by Observer, which has not been reviewed by the speaker himself and is for reference only.

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Professor Jeffrey Sachs:

Hello, I'm Jeffrey Sachs, a professor at Columbia University and chairman of the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network.

I am very honored to participate in the Hongqiao International Economic Forum, and I am also pleased to be invited to share my views on the theme of "Open Trade and Safe Development."

Let me start with a basic point - international trade is the path to world-wide prosperity. For centuries, international trade has been the foundation of economic development, an important driving force for technological advancement and for poor countries to catch up with wealthy ones.

As early as 250 years ago, Adam Smith, the founder of international market economy research, proposed that through opening up international markets, different regions of the world can assist each other in meeting their economic needs and aspirations, thus raising the overall level of global wealth, and improving efficiency and productivity through specialized division of labor. Therefore, international trade is the engine of economic development.

Certainly, China is the most powerful proof of this view. Since the reform and opening-up policy in the late 1970s, China has achieved perhaps the most remarkable economic achievements in human history - growing from a poor country into the largest economy in the world when calculated in current international dollars, and absolutely one of the leading economies in the fields of science and technology and innovation. China's rise has also enabled the whole world to achieve an important transformation towards green and digital economic development, meeting the needs for ecological security.

Therefore, trade is the source of economic growth and the way to safe development. However, it is now under attack - mainly from the United States. The United States did not launch this attack because open trade is not beneficial for development or harms its own economic interests, but rather for political reasons. American political leaders use tariff policies, export controls, technology bans, and other means to try to hinder China's economic development and rise. This is not based on reasonable strategic considerations, but more on jealousy and zero-sum thinking.

On October 30 local time, the U.S. Senate passed a resolution to end Trump's comprehensive tariff policy.

In other words, the United States, for political reasons, has abandoned the principle of open trade, and these reasons are baseless.

We can look back ten years, when an important article published by the Council on Foreign Relations revealed this regrettable policy shift. The article was published in March 2015, titled "Adjusting America's Grand Strategy Toward China." It stated:

"Maintaining U.S. leadership in the global system should continue to be the core goal of America's grand strategy in the 21st century. To maintain this status in the context of China's rise, the United States must:

revitalize its own economy, cultivate disruptive innovations that give the United States an asymmetric economic advantage over other countries;

establish new priority trade arrangements with allies and partners, strengthening mutual benefits by consciously excluding China;

rebuild a technology control system with allies to prevent China from acquiring military and strategic capabilities that could cause serious strategic losses to the United States and its partners;

strengthen the political and military strength of U.S. allies in the surrounding areas of China, and enhance the ability of the U.S. military to effectively project power in the periphery of Asia, regardless of China's opposition;

and maintain U.S.-China cooperation in areas that benefit the national interests of the United States in different ways."

In other words, this article advocated that the United States should curb China through trade protectionism and technology policies. Unfortunately, the United States has indeed followed this approach over the past decade: unilaterally imposing tariffs on China, implementing technology bans, imposing sanctions, restricting investments, and suppressing Chinese leading enterprises. This has lasted for a full decade.

Certainly, these policies have not worked, instead forming a "boomerang" - isolating the U.S. economy, due to the radical trade policies of the Trump era, causing more enemies abroad, and damaging the foundation of global common prosperity.

China's response to this has been reassuring. The Chinese leadership has consistently emphasized that open trade is in the interest of all mankind. China advocates maintaining an international order centered on multilateral systems, preserving the effectiveness of the World Trade Organization and global existing rules, rather than, like the United States, creating so-called "rules" unilaterally for narrow and selfish purposes to maintain its hegemony.

China has clearly stated that even if the United States moves toward protectionism, China will definitely continue to uphold openness, maintain the multilateral trading system, and defend the principle of "not threatening other countries and not interfering in internal affairs" in the United Nations Charter.

China has made commitments to partners in Africa, Asia, and Latin America: it will continue to promote open trade and mutually beneficial investment.

The Belt and Road Initiative is a manifestation of this spirit. It is dedicated to building a high-tech, eco-friendly, and digital infrastructure network, promoting connectivity between China and the world. At the same time, China has proposed several global initiatives - the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative, the Global Civilization Initiative, and the recently launched Global Governance Initiative. These measures indicate that China does not pursue hegemony or "dominance," as the Council on Foreign Relations advised the United States in its 2015 article.

China is committed to pursuing multilateralism and an order based on international law, allowing countries to jointly set rules and promote common prosperity. What the Hongqiao International Economic Forum advocates is China's determination to establish an open and cooperative trade system to achieve global safe development.

What does "safe development" mean? It first means that development brings common prosperity. If a country seeks hegemony at the expense of others' interests, there is no safety. Second, safe development also means ecological safety. Humanity cannot continue to rely on fossil fuel-driven economies, nor allow global warming and ecological destruction to persist. We must transition to an ecologically sustainable development model, which is the meaning of safe development.

In this regard, China's contributions are extremely important. China has become the world's largest center for low-cost, high-tech green and digital technologies. I recently visited a highly representative solar panel factory near Shanghai, which is one of the most advanced production bases in the world. It provides photovoltaic equipment at extremely low costs to the global market, making the transition from fossil fuel grids to solar-powered green grids a reality. It is China that makes this possible.

By 2024, China's installed photovoltaic capacity reached 277 GW, accounting for nearly half of the global total.

Today, trade between China and emerging economies and developing countries is rapidly expanding, as the world urgently needs the green technologies provided by China - whether photovoltaics, wind energy, hydrogen energy, electric vehicles, small and large storage batteries, from household to large grid, as well as long-distance high-voltage direct current transmission systems and high-speed railways, China is at the forefront and promotes their application worldwide (such as in Southeast Asia and parts of Africa). These cutting-edge green and digital technologies are essential for global "safe development."

Therefore, the Hongqiao International Economic Forum represents China's new responsibility in global leadership - while the United States openly and shamefully launches unilateral sanctions, imposes tariffs, and punishes other countries, China chooses to promote cooperation and mutual benefit.

The United States takes these measures not for economic logic, achieving safe development, or addressing global governance challenges in a joint manner, but simply to maintain its so-called "leadership." Such a goal is not honorable. The common goal of all humanity should not be for one country to dominate over others, nor should it be to maintain the position of "number one" at the expense of harming others.

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The United States should welcome China's rise and cooperation with China. The United States should understand that China does not pose any threat to the United States; on the contrary, as a trade partner and collaborator in global governance, China can help the success of the United States, as well as the success of emerging and developing economies around the world.

What we are pursuing around the world today is sustainable development - meaning general prosperity, social justice, a sustainable environment, and promoting peace and international cooperation. Open trade for safe development is the cornerstone for achieving this goal and building the future we expect.

I am pleased to see that this concept has become the core of China's policy. China has great capacity to help maintain an open global trade system.

Therefore, I would like to thank the Hongqiao International Economic Forum for its efforts in continuously building an open, fair, and rule-based international trade system. This is the key to achieving safe development in the 21st century.

Thank you for your attention, and I wish the Hongqiao International Economic Forum a successful event.

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