China expects joint efforts for sound, steady advancement of GDI, says VP

This photo taken on Jan. 11, 2023 shows the headquarters building of the China-aided Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. (Xinhua/Dong Jianghui)

It is both the GDI's aspiration and the UN's goal that no country or person should be left behind on the path of development.

UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 19 (Xinhua) -- China stands ready to work with all parties to push for a sound and steady advancement of the Global Development Initiative (GDI), Chinese Vice President Han Zheng said here on Tuesday.

The Chinese side also looks forward to making joint efforts with all parties to gather strong strength for the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and for building a global development community, Han said at the high-level meeting on GDI Cooperation Outcomes, which was hosted by China on the sidelines of this year's session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).

It is both the GDI's aspiration and the UN's goal that no country or person should be left behind on the path of development, he noted.

The GDI, proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping at the 76th session of UNGA in 2021, is aimed at forging international consensus on promoting development, nurturing new momentum for global development, and advancing the common progress of all countries in the world, Han said.

Over the last two years, Han noted, countries endorsing the GDI have, through concerted efforts, "cast the yes vote" for development, enlarged the "circle of friends" for cooperation, enriched the "pool of resources" for development and built the "toolkit" for development.

More than 70 countries have joined the Group of Friends of the GDI, and nearly 200 cooperation projects have been included in the GDI project pool, Han said.

The Chinese side has established a 10-billion-U.S.-dollar special fund for the purpose of implementing the GDI, he said.

The world faces serious challenges in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) on schedule, with approximately 90 percent of the goals "off track," and nearly one-third of them either stalled or regressing. Meanwhile, the Fourth Industrial Revolution is in the ascendant, and countries are facing an opportunity to transition into higher-quality development, Han noted.

He made the following four proposals:

First, to continue practicing genuine multilateralism, bring development issues back to the center of the international agenda, and enhance the representation and voice of developing countries in global governance.

Second, to synergize the development strategies of all parties and actively promote global, regional, sub-regional and inter-country development cooperation to give play to each other's complementary advantages.

Third, to mobilize all kinds of development resources to help solve the most pressing problems facing developing countries.

Fourth, to actively tap growth areas for practical cooperation and jointly explore the path of technology-led, resource-efficient, and eco-friendly development.

A Chinese expert introduces desert plants to people from central Asian countries at a desert research station in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, June 13, 2023. (Xinhua/Zhou Shengbin)

UN General Assembly President Dennis Francis, and UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina J. Mohammed who is on behalf of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, addressed the meeting.

Pakistan's caretaker Prime Minister Anwar-ul-Haq Kakar, Ugandan Vice President Jessica Alupo, Ethiopian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Demeke Mekonnen Hassen, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexey Overchuk, Lao Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Saleumxay Kommasith, and foreign ministers and ministerial officials from more than 20 countries also addressed the meeting.

More than 300 representatives from the Group of Friends of the GDI, the Group of 77 and international organizations attended the meeting.

All parties congratulated the important progress made in the cooperation of GDI, and spoke highly of the positive role and contribution of the initiative in building consensus on development, deepening international cooperation and helping implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

The initiative will bring more benefits to all countries, especially developing countries, they said, adding that they look forward to strengthening unity and cooperation with China to uphold multilateralism, implement the GDI and promote the realization of the UN sustainable development goals.