Against this backdrop, China’s Global Development Initiative (GDI), launched by President Xi Jinping in 2021, has emerged as one of Beijing’s major platforms for international development cooperation. “There’s more to China’s new Global Development Initiative than meets the eye,” he added. Henry Tugendhat of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy similarly argued that China’s global initiatives should be taken seriously. For Beijing, the GDI forms part of a broader diplomatic architecture that includes the Global Security Initiative, Global Civilisation Initiative and Global Governance Initiative. As the 2030 deadline approaches, China’s GDI represents both a potential source of additional development resources and an important part of the changing global development landscape.