Chinese envoy urges revitalizing global development partnerships

UNITED NATIONS, July 15 (Xinhua) -- Fu Cong, China's permanent representative to the United Nations, has called for efforts to revitalize global development partnerships.

"First, we must stay development-oriented and revitalize global development partnerships," Fu stated on Monday, on behalf of the Group of Friends of the Global Development Initiative, during the general debate of the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development.

"Currently, global progress in implementing the Sustainable Development Goals has fallen far short of expectations," Fu highlighted. "We are losing years of gains in poverty eradication and facing multiple challenges of food and energy insecurity and climate change, as well as the widening global development deficit."

He emphasized that "the international community must practice multilateralism, strengthen solidarity and cooperation, and take joint actions to bring the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development back on track."

Fu stressed that "development must be put at the center of international cooperation," calling on developed countries to "provide financial, technological, and capacity-building support to developing countries, and effectively fulfill their official development assistance commitments."

He urged the international community to "support the central coordinating role of the United Nations in international development cooperation, strengthen the synergies of development strategies between countries, and foster global development featuring benefits for all, balance, openness, inclusiveness, win-win cooperation and common prosperity."

Fu underscored the need to "strengthen global cooperation in poverty eradication to ensure that no country and no one is left behind."

He called for increased investment in poverty eradication, particularly in rural areas, and for the international community to "enhance policy exchanges and practical cooperation in poverty eradication."

Fu emphasized the necessity to address extreme poverty, relapses into poverty due to illness, and multidimensional poverty and urged the UN secretary-general to "establish a special envoy for poverty eradication."

To achieve zero hunger, Fu advocated for safeguarding global food security by bolstering cooperation in food production, storage, transportation, conservation and loss reduction.

He called for the promotion of "a just and reasonable international food trade order" and emphasized the role of the UN's major agricultural organizations, including the Food and Agriculture Organization, in maintaining "the stability of the international food market."

On climate change, Fu reiterated the principle of "common but differentiated responsibilities" and called for fully implementing the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and its Paris Agreement.

He urged developed countries to "take the lead in significantly reducing emissions," achieve carbon neutrality ahead of schedule, and fulfill their climate finance commitments.

The ambassador also opposed "the imposition of unilateral coercive measures" and any actions that use climate change as a pretext for protectionism or building barriers to green trade.

Fu expressed high expectations for the Summit of the Future in September at the UN's headquarters in New York, hoping it would be "development-focused and action-oriented."

Fu affirmed that the Group of Friends of the Global Development Initiative would "continue our constructive participation in the summit's preparation and strive for a better future for all."