UNITED NATIONS, June 30 (Xinhua) -- China's permanent representative to the United Nations Zhang Jun on Tuesday asked for international cooperation in poverty eradication.

The international community should firmly uphold multilateralism, jointly tackle the challenges posed by COVID-19, help developing countries strengthen capacity building, and increase cooperation in digital economy, clean energy, 5G and other new business areas to promote inclusive and sustainable growth, said Zhang.

China has been advocating South-South cooperation in poverty reduction and sharing its good practices, he told a high-level meeting on poverty eradication.

The Belt and Road Initiative serves to help relevant countries increase jobs and improve livelihood. According to estimates, the initiative will help lift 7.6 million people out of extreme poverty and 32 million people out of moderate poverty, he said.

Zhang called for efforts to take development as the top priority. "The 2030 Agenda has charted the course for global development and requires earnest implementation," he said. "We should prioritize development in global macro-policy coordination and address poverty through development."

Countries need to act with greater urgency, increase input into development, and formulate policies for development and poverty reduction based on national conditions, he said.