Foreign Ministry introduces two outcomes of High-level Dialogue on Global Development

People's Daily: China proposed establishing the Global Development and South-South Cooperation Fund and the global development promotion center at the High-level Dialogue on Global Development last week. Could you share more information on them, including how China plans to flesh out these two new concepts?

Zhao Lijian (Foreign Ministry spokesperson): At the UN Sustainable Development Summit in September 2015, President Xi Jinping announced the launch of the South-South Cooperation Assistance Fund to support developing countries in implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. On this basis, with a view to increasing input to global development cooperation, the Chinese government has decided to upgrade the South-South Cooperation Assistance Fund to a Global Development and South-South Cooperation Fund and add $1 billion to the fund on top of the $3 billion already committed to support developing countries in implementing the Global Development Initiative (GDI) and the Agenda for Sustainable Development. The Fund will serve the main purpose of expanding multilateral cooperation in global development, focus on priority programs under the GDI, and support the roles of UN development agencies and international organizations, to inject new impetus into implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

The global development promotion center will mainly act as a platform for actions and mobilize resources for implementing the GDI. The Chinese side will develop a project pool covering key GDI areas and hold a Forum on Global Action for Shared Development to provide insights for GDI cooperation.

These concrete steps are an important part of China's practical plan to substantiate the GDI. We believe that by pooling consensus on development worldwide and mobilizing global resources for development, they will surely contribute to implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and promoting global development.