China to Be More Active in Economic Cooperation: Long Yongtu

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Tuesday, December 04, 2001

China to Be More Active in Economic Cooperation: Long Yongtu

Chinese Deputy Foreign Trade Minister Long Yongtu who headed a delegation to the ninth biennial conference of UNIDO Tuesday said in Vienna that China's WTO membership marks a new stage in its opening up. China will participate in international economic cooperation and division of labor on a larger scale and in greater depth. Despite the imbalance in global economic development, China and UNIDO are expected to work harder to establish a new, fair and rational international political and economic order.

Long, heading a Chinese delegation to the ninth biennial conference of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), said China will officially become a WTO member in eight days, an event that "will herald a new stage for China's opening up."

Int'l Economic Cooperation to Be Furthered

China "will participate in international economic cooperation and division of labor on a larger scale and in greater depth," he said.

"We have full confidence in the prospects for China's development in the new century. We sincerely hope to develop with all other countries and regions in the world an economic relationship that features cooperation, mutual benefit, all-win and common prosperity," Long said.

Imbalance in Global Dev. Persists

Long noted that despite unprecedented opportunities for world economic and social development presented by the growing trend toward a multi-polar world, economic globalization and particularly rapid technical progress, the imbalance in global development persists.

Gap Between Rich & Poor Widening

The gap between the rich and poor nations keeps widening; poverty and hunger remain in the developing world; regional conflict, environmental degradation and transnational crimes continue, he told the conference that opened Monday.

New, Fair & Rational Int'l Order EssentialChina believes that establishing a new, fair and rational international political and economic order, exploiting the advantages of multilateral cooperation in world economic affairs and realizing common growth and prosperity with the elimination of poverty, are essential for world economic development, he said.

UNIDO's Role Indispensable

The Chinese senior official praised the UNIDO's indispensable and coordinating role and its unremitting efforts in helping developing countries and transition economies in their development programming, fund raising and technical assistance.

UN Agency Expected to Work Harder

Meanwhile, he called on the 169-member U.N. agency, which works within the U.N. framework to promote developing countries' industrial and economic development, to boost efficiency, improve fund mobilization, and work to reverse the declining trend of technical assistance delivery.

UNIDO-China Joint Project Fruitful

Long said the UNIDO-China joint projects implemented in the past two years are "fruitful and satisfactory," while expressing the Chinese government's continued support to these programs and its willingness to continue cooperation with the UNIDO and to help with the UNIDO projects in Africa.

The ongoing five-day UNIDO conference is expected, among other things, to review the organization's activities in the past two years and discuss a 2002-2005 medium-term program framework and the 2002-2003 programs and budgets.

About UNIDO:

History

UNIDO was set up in 1966 and became a specialized agency of the United Nations in 1985. As part of the United Nations common system, UNIDO has responsibility for promoting industrialization throughout the developing world, in cooperation with its 169 Member States. Its headquarters are in Vienna, and with 35 country and regional offices, 13 investment and technology promotion offices and a number of offices related to specific aspects of its work, UNIDO maintains an active presence in the field.

Mission

The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) helps developing countries and countries with economies in transition in their fight against marginalization in today's globalized world. It mobilizes knowledge, skills, information and technology to promote productive employment, a competitive economy and a sound environment. Carlos Magari?os, the Director-General of UNIDO, describes the Organization as a specialized United Nations agency that focuses its efforts on relieving poverty by fostering productivity growth.

Services

They range from simple advice and counsel, to providing engineers to implement global agreements on reducing greenhouse gases and industrial pollution; from helping women dressmakers in Africa to set up textile cooperatives, to transferring appropriate technology from one country to another.

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