In an interview on the eve of a four-day UN conference in Spain that aims to rally fresh impetus for the embattled development sector, Haoliang Xu emphasised that investment in aid, trade and defence was “not a zero-sum game”.

“International development cooperation is critical to build the foundations of peace,” said Xu, noting that a majority of the world’s poor live in conflict-hit countries.

Rich donors, notably the US and European countries, have cut aid budgets and boosted defence spending as conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East upend global security.

Military expenditure hit a record high of $2.7 trillion in 2024, up 20% from the previous year, said Xu.

But the Chinese diplomat insisted that it was in wealthy countries’ interests to support developing nations despite competing priorities and crises.

“Creating foundations for peace, investing in stability in fragile countries help reduce the burden in countries where you have challenges of migration, for example,” he said.

“Crises in one part of the world will have an impact on other parts of the world that are currently prosperous and stable,” added Xu.

Last year, the world was afflicted by the highest number of armed conflicts since 1946, according to the Peace Research Institute Oslo.

The World Bank says the number of extreme poor living on less than US$3 a day in nations suffering conflict and instability is poised to hit 435 million by 2030.

At least 50 world leaders are expected in Seville from Monday for the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development, the biggest such talks in a decade.