China Bersiliar Pertahankan Status Sebagai Negara Perkembangan

Beijing China/ILLUSTRATION VIA UNSPLASH/Henry Chen

JAKARTA - China insists on maintaining its status as a developing country that has been recognized by the world and rejects the wishes of the United States to label it as a developed country.

"China's status as a developing country has a solid basis recognized by the WTO and other international agreements. This status cannot be separated from China," said Chinese Foreign Ministry (MFA) spokesman Wang Wenbin as quoted by ANTARA, Friday, May 12.

According to him, China's status as a developing country is also supported by concrete facts such as Gross Domestic Product in 2022 amounting to 12,741 US dollars or a fifth of the developed economy and a sixth of the US.

China's Gross National Products ranked 68th and the world's 79th order Human Development Index in 2021, the same as other major developing countries.

However, throughout 2013-2021, China has contributed an average of 38.6 percent of world economic growth or greater than the contribution of developed countries that are members of the G7.

Over the years, Wang continued, China has collaborated with other developing countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America in fighting for national development in a free and common interest.

"The US cannot decide whether China is a developing country or not," Wang said in response to the US Congress opposing China's developing state status at the WTO and asked the US State Department not to classify China as the developing country.

Instead, he considered the US effort to sow the seeds of a dispute between China and other developing countries.

"But China will not fall into that trap. China will firmly maintain the status of developing countries and increase solidarity with other developing countries," Wang emphasized.