CIDCA chairman delivers keynote speech at UN China annual meeting

Upon the invitation of United Nations Resident Coordinator in China Siddharth Chatterjee, Luo Zhaohui, chairman of the China International Development Cooperation Agency (CIDCA), attended the 2023 annual meeting of the UN China team on May 23 and delivered a keynote speech.

Noting that China attaches great importance to achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Luo said China has made the greatest progress in implementing the SDGs as a developing country. China has accomplished its SDG poverty alleviation goal 10 years ahead of schedule, with a national GDP of nearly $18 trillion and per capita GDP of over $12,000 in 2022. The rapid development of China's economy has accumulated beneficial experience for achieving the SDGs and offers the world a feasible and replicable practice model, he said.

The present international environment is becoming more complex with elevated geopolitical conflicts and greater competition between major powers, resulting in the cooling of North-South cooperation and an enlarged development gap, he said.

There are still over 800 million people worldwide suffering from hunger, and 350 million people  in need of humanitarian assistance. The development agenda is fading into the background, and the momentum of implementing SDGs is slowing. Against this backdrop, China proposed the Global Development Initiative (GDI), which has gained support from over 100 countries and international organizations including the UN. Through bilateral and multilateral channels and by various means, such as grants, concessional loans and the Global Development and South-South Cooperation Fund, the CIDCA has implemented over 200 projects that are already producing preliminary results, benefiting over 60 developing countries.

The CIDCA established the Global Development Promotion Center and the Global Development Promotion Center Network, and has signed bilateral GDI cooperation documents with a large number of countries including Pakistan, Tanzania and Mongolia. According to Luo, China's measures to implement the GDI and achieve its SDGs are carried out under the theoretical guidance of the community with a shared future for mankind and the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). At present, over 170 countries and international organizations have signed BRI cooperation documents with China and more than 3,000 cooperation projects have been adopted.

Over the past three years, China has provided a large amount of anti-pandemic supplies to 153 countries and 15 international organizations, and over 2.2 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines to over 110 countries and four international organizations. China initiated the establishment of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and the BRICS New Development Bank, established the Global Development and South-South Cooperation Fund (GDSSCF) and the China-UN Peace and Development Fund. China is implementing the G20's Debt Service Suspension Initiative in all respects, with the largest amount of suspended debt among all G20 members.

Luo called for common action to achieve the GDI and SDGs by reinforcing the consensus on both, as well as highlighting the UN's leadership and strengthening coordination, promoting North-South cooperation, and that China will continue its efforts in common development. He said that China attaches high importance to multilateral cooperation. The GDSSCF is open to UN agencies, UN members and non-governmental organizations. China will continue to provide traditional means of assistance, including in infrastructure construction, material and technical assistance, human resource development and emergency humanitarian assistance. China will also increase assistance to the improvement of people's livelihoods via "small yet smart" projects.

Those attending the meeting included representatives of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the World Food Programme (WFP), and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in China, as well as foreign ambassadors to China, Director-General of the CIDCA's Department of International Cooperation Xu Wei, Deputy Director-General of the CIDCA's Department of Policy and Planning Li Ming, and representatives from China's Foreign Ministry and Ministry of Commerce.