China Urges Developed Countries to Shoulder Greater Responsibilities

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Wednesday, September 04, 2002

China Urges Developed Countries to Shoulder Greater Responsibilities

Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji Tuesday urged developed countries to undertake greater responsibilities so as to realize global sustainable development.

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Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji Tuesday urged developed countries to undertake greater responsibilities so as to realize global sustainable development.

"To realize global sustainable development is a common task for all countries. Both developed and developing countries should undertake obligations. However, developed countries should shoulder greater responsibilities," Zhu told a round-table meeting of the World Summit on Sustainable development (WSSD) in Johannesburg.

The implementation of the global sustainable development strategies hinges, to a considerable extent, upon the materialization of the principle of "common but differentiated responsibilities" adopted 10 years ago at Rio summit, according to the Chinese premier.

In the past decade, there have been both progress and setbacks in this regard, Zhu said, adding that some commitments have not been honored in earnest.

"The Chinese government maintains that the international community should strive to make greater headway in international cooperation on environment and development under the continued guidance of this principle."

On the capacity building of developing countries, Zhu called on developed countries to assist developing countries in such areas as technical consultancy, personnel training and mechanism building.

He also urged the international community to take effective action to help developing countries improve their level of education.

On the financial resources for sustainable development, Zhu hopes that developed countries will honor their commitments by taking effective action in respect of financing and technology transfer.

"Constrained by their level of economic development, developing countries lack financial resources," Zhu bemoaned.

The Chinese premier also urged developed countries to remove restrictions, currently imposed on exports from developing countries under the pretext of environmental protection.

The ongoing final session of the Earth Summit, which follows seven days of meetings between thousands of delegates, features five-minute presentations from 187 states, 103 of them at the level of head of state or government, on eradicating poverty and preserving the earth's environment.

It is due to wind up on Wednesday with approval of the Plan of Implementation, which is non-binding but will set the environmental agenda for the next 10 years, and a political declaration.

The draft of the declaration calls for support for multilateralism, corruption-free government and a commitment to fight terrorism.

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