Full Text: China's Foreign Aid (5)

V. Participation in International Exchanges and Cooperation

With enhanced ability of participating in global affairs, China has within its capacity rendered support to the assistance programs initiated by multilateral development organizations, and has exchanged experience and explored practical cooperation in an increasingly open-minded manner.

1. Supporting Development Assistance Programs of Multilateral Organizations

In recent years, the United Nations and other multilateral organizations have been playing a prominent role in development assistance, particularly in promoting development financing, achieving the Millennium Development Goals and tackling global development issues. China has rendered support to and took part in the development assistance programs sponsored by the multilateral organizations by ways of voluntary donations, equity financing, etc.

Participating in assistance programs initiated by multilateral organizations. From 2010 to 2012, China contributed in accumulation 1.76 billion yuan to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), the United Nations Fund for Population Activities (UNFPA), the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, to support other developing countries in poverty reduction, food security, trade development, crisis prevention and reconstruction, population development, maternal and child health care, disease prevention and control, education and environmental protection. In the three years, China, through the FAO, dispatched 235 experts to Mongolia, Nigeria, Uganda and six other countries to provide technical guidance to improve local agricultural production. From 2011 to 2012, China worked closely with the WHO and dispatched 15 experts to Namibia, Nigeria, Ethiopia and Pakistan to help control the spread of poliomyelitis. In 2012, China set up an educational trust fund under UNESCO to provide teacher training for eight African countries.

Supporting development financing of regional financial institutions. China strengthened cooperation with regional financial institutions such as the Asian Development Bank, the African Development Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, the West African Development Bank and the Caribbean Development Bank to channel more capital into the fields of infrastructure, environmental protection, education and health care in developing countries. By 2012, China had donated a total of 1.3 billion U.S. dollars to these regional financial institutions. Apart from China's investment of 20 million U.S. dollars to establish the Poverty Reduction and Regional Cooperation Fund in the Asian Development Bank in 2005, in 2012 China donated another 20 million U.S. dollars to this Fund to help with the poverty reduction and development of developing countries. By the end of 2012, China had contributed in total 110 million U.S. dollars to the Asian Development Fund of the Asian Development Bank. Furthermore, China supported capacity building of these financial institutions through technical cooperation funds set up in the African Development Bank, the West African Development Bank and the Caribbean Development Bank.

2. Participating in International Exchanges for Development Cooperation

China actively participated in international exchanges for development cooperation, enhanced dialogue with other countries and international organizations and shared experience in relation to development cooperation. Actively participating in research and discussion on global development issues. During the three years, China actively elaborated its principles, positions, and policies at a series of international conferences, including the UN High-Level Meeting on the Millennium Development Goals, UN Conference on Sustainable Development, UN Development Cooperation Forum, UN Conference on the Least Developed Countries, High-Level UN Conference on South-South Cooperation, G20 Summit, WTO's Aid for Trade Global Review, and High-Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness.

Conducting exchanges and dialogue on development cooperation with other countries and organizations. China enhanced dialogue and communication on development assistance with other countries and multilateral organizations to boost mutual trust and mutual learning in an open-minded manner. China held seminars on development assistance and conducted exchanges with the UK, Australia, Switzerland and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

3. Conducting International Cooperation in Foreign Assistance

In order to effectively learn international experience, improve assistance efficiency and enrich assistance forms, China intensified efforts to promote international cooperation in development assistance, and conducted trilateral cooperation featuring complementary advantage with multilateral and bilateral assistance providers by leveraging each party's strengths on the premise of fully respecting the will of recipient countries.

Jointly holding training programs. China continued to carry out cooperation on training programs targeted at other developing countries with the UNDP, the UNICEF, the FAO, the UNIDO, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of the Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the Common Fund for Commodities (CFC), the United Nations Office of the High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States (UN-OHRLLS), the World Bank, and the IMF. From 2010 to 2012, together with the above-mentioned organizations, China held about 50 training sessions of themes such as agriculture, trade development, disaster prevention and relief, finance, industrial development and social and public management.

Sharing experience on development cooperation. China and the World Bank jointly held workshops on international development cooperation featuring capacity development and infrastructure construction, and invited government officials from developing countries to share experience in the field. In October 2011, China and the UNESCO held the China-Africa University President Forum, at which China and Africa held discussions on the prospect of cooperation between Chinese and African universities. China held workshops, for five consecutive years, on South-South cooperation with the International Fund for Agricultural Development to share experience in agricultural development and poverty reduction in rural areas. China and the Asian Development Bank held sessions for five consecutive years on city development in the Asian-Pacific region and development of small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

Piloting trilateral cooperation. China, the UNDP and Cambodia launched the cooperation project of enlarging cassava export on the basis of the successful training course of cassava planting technique. In March 2012, the UNESCO's Funds-in-Trust for China-Africa Multilateral Education Cooperation funded by China was launched to increase investment in basic education in Africa. At the request of the government of the Cook Islands, in August 2012 China, New Zealand and Cook Islands reached an agreement on a water supply project in Cook Islands. Once completed, it will provide safe and clean drinking water to local people.

Conclusion

Today, the impact of the global financial crisis still exists, and developing countries, especially the least developed ones, are still confronted with the tough task of poverty reduction and development. The international community should mobilize more development resources to strengthen South-North cooperation, support South-South cooperation and promote economic and social development of developing countries to eliminate poverty worldwide.

China is endeavoring to build a moderately prosperous society in an all-round way and stays committed to realizing the Chinese Dream of national prosperity and renewal, and happiness of the people. China will follow the trend of the times, which is peace, development, cooperation and win-win result, keep to the righteous viewpoint on justice and interests, respect and support developing countries' exploration of development paths suited to their own national conditions, actively promote South-South cooperation and make concrete efforts to help other developing countries promote social and economic development.

China will continue to increase the input in foreign assistance, further optimize assistance structure, highlight key aspects, innovate assistance means, raise the efficiency of capital utilization, effectively help recipient countries improve their people's well-being and enhance their capability of independent development. China is willing to work with the international community to share opportunities, meet challenges, strive to realize the world's dream of lasting peace and common prosperity, and make greater contribution to the development of mankind.