Chinese Vice-Premier Expounds Position on Food Security

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Wednesday, June 12, 2002

Chinese Vice-Premier Expounds Position on Food Security

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Chinese Vice-Premier Wen Jiabao spelt out Monday in Rome China's four-point position and propositions on how to resolve the issue of food security at the ongoing World Food Summit sponsored by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) under the United Nations (UN).

Wen, who is also the head of the Chinese delegation to the summit, said that it is the responsibility of all countries in the world and the international community to strive to eliminate hunger and poverty, and ensure every person the basic right to adequate food and the right of being free from hunger.

He thus listed the following four points related to China's position on the issue.

First, safeguarding world peace and stability is the basic prerequisite for eliminating hunger and securing food security. China calls on all countries to observe the purposes and principles of the UN Charter and the basic norms governing international relations, jointly facilitate the establishment of a just and rational new international political and economic order, and safeguard world peace and regional stability, so as to create a favorable environment for achieving world food security and progress of human societies.

Secondly, it is a basic duty of all governments to resolve the issue of food security. Governments should first rely on their domestic strength, formulate development strategies conducive to food and agricultural production, and work hard to enhance the capacity of food production. At the same time, they should bring into full play their resource advantages, actively develop their unique industries, improve their international competitiveness, and enhance their economic development and capacity of international payment.

Thirdly, importance should be attached to the rational utilization of resources and the protection of environment as environmental degradation, such as desertification and water shortage. Therefore, food production should follow the law of nature, rather than grow at the expense of the environment, and excessively fast population growth should be curbed to maintain harmony between mankind and nature.

Fourthly, international cooperation should be strengthened to ensure global food security. The international community, the developed countries in particular, should heed the difficulties of developing countries which are handicapped by sluggish economic growth and lasting poverty by providing them with more development assistance, reducing their debts, enhancing technology transfer and opening their market to developing countries.

In promoting trade liberalization of farm produce, the realities of developing countries and their reasonable demands should be taken into full account and their interests be accommodated. The objective of eliminating worldwide hunger and malnutrition can be truly realized only when developing countries, especially the poorest among them, enjoy economic development.

In conclusion, the vice premier pledged China's unremitting efforts to work with other governments and peoples for the fulfillment of the objectives set by the World Food Summit.

World Food Summit

The World Food Summit was called in response to the continued existence of widespread undernutrition and growing concern about the capacity of agriculture to meet future food needs.

In 1974, governments attending the World Food Conference had proclaimed that "every man, woman and child has the inalienable right to be free from hunger and malnutrition in order to develop their physical and mental faculties."

Countries should increase their efforts to eliminate hunger, "one of the worst violations of human dignity," the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Kofi Annan, told world leaders assembled at the 'World Food Summit: five years later' during the opening ceremony in Rome on June 10.

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