Sustainable Development and China's Actions under the Changes Unseen in a Century

In May 2020, the World Economic Forum (WEF) published "A Restless World: Global Risks 2020”, the report predicted short-term risks (current year) and long-term risks (next 10 years) for 14 consecutive years. While Covid-19 pandemic is still far from over, there are challenges ahead of us: ecological crisis, social unrest, economic depression.

Although the new waves of Covid-19 pandemic and increasing number of populist movements are threatening us, they are not as risky as environmental challenges. The biggest global challenges come from the environment which includes extreme weather, natural disasters, man-made environmental disasters, etc. There are economic, social, geopolitical uncertainties in modern era, but environmental issues will remain the greatest threat to mankind in the next decade. If human beings break the balance of ecosystem and fail to repair it, what comes after will be the collapse of the financial system.

With the environment deteriorating, we have also seen the social turbulence caused by the gap between the rich and the poor is also increasing. At the stage of economic aggregate expansion, the gap between the rich and the poor might not be obvious; however, the problems originally caused by the imbalance of the economic structure will be unveiled   when entering the stock economic development model. When the gap between the rich and the poor is superimposed on populism and anti-globalization, social problems will become even more complicated and the prospect for world peace and development is quite worrying. In recent years, we have seen the global trade frictions like Sino-US Trade War, the Covid-19 pandemic made the situation even worse. The economic, social and environmental losses caused by the pandemic are about 8.8 trillion U.S. Dollars accounted for about 10% of global GDP in 2019. For example, the U.S. stock market triggered four circuit breakers in March. If the pandemic gets worse in the autumn and winter, the economic recession will be a great challenge.

China's Actions to Achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals(SDGs): Perspectives from "Social Value 99" on the Blueprint of Sustainable Development in China

At the 75th UN General Assembly, President Xi made a commitment on behalf of China to reduce carbon emission: reach the carbon peak by 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060. This commitment will play a key role in the global response to climate change. China will not only make major adjustments in its economic structure but also make strategic . Replacement. However, it must be noted that the contributor to the practice of sustainable development is both China and the world, and the beneficiaries are both the world and China. As President Xi Jinping said at the 75th UN General Assembly: “Humankind needs to accelerate and form lifestyle of green development, and build a more eco-friendly civilization.”, this has also become the driving force for China's future development. Since signing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in 2015 and joining the Paris Agreement in 2016, China has proposed to shift its economic focus from high speed to high quality and increase the financial investment ratio in social welfare and environmental protection. Apart from that, China has made contributions in areas such as clean energy, climate governance, and poverty alleviation.

Over the past 40 years of China’s Reform and Opening-up, 700 million people have been lifted out of poverty, contributing more than 70% of the world’s poverty reduction. Despite the challenges of the pandemic, China completed the first SDGs goal of "No Poverty" 10 years ahead of schedule. In this battle against poverty, Chinese listed companies have played an important role. In terms of poverty alleviation, the CASVI analyzed and summarized the poverty alleviation practices of listed companies and their social value contributions. "Social Value 99” assesses the sustainable development of A-share listed companies in China and is in line with the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The purpose is to help guide market players to achieve sustainable development goals.

Conclusion

The world is undergoing changes unseen in a decade, how to lay a solid foundation for the future is the anchor of our value cognition. China is regarded as an important player and contributor to promote sustainable development goals. “Social Value 99” is the pioneer and innovator to help China achieve the goal. Our future depends on collective choices and quick actions. If we can go beyond the short-term conflicts or interests to focus on sustainable development goals and reallocate resources, it will bring a great opportunity for China to promote sustainable development.