Address by Chairman Luo Zhaohui of China International Development Cooperation Agency at the Opening Ceremony of the Foreign Aid Capacity Enhancement Seminar and the Forum on Join Hands in Pandemic Control and Work Together for Common Development

Address by Chairman Luo Zhaohui of China International Development Cooperation Agency

at the Opening Ceremony of the Foreign Aid Capacity Enhancement Seminar 

and the Forum on Join Hands in Pandemic Control and Work Together for Common Development 

Your Excellency Ambassador Khamphao Ernthavanh,

Mr. Siddharth Chatterjee, United Nations Resident Coordinator in China,

Dear representatives,

Good morning!

It is my great pleasure to meet you all here in Beijing. First of all, on behalf of the China International Development Cooperation Agency (CIDCA), let me extend my warm congratulations on the successful launch of this seminar. I sincerely welcome all the participants from different parts of the country. Thank you for your strong support for CIDCA.

Today the world is going through profound changes and a pandemic both unseen in a century. We are faced with increasing traditional and non-traditional security threats, the ravaging Covid-19, a widening vaccine gap, the difficult economic recovery, and increasing instability and uncertainty in the international situation.

Only together can we address these common challenges and overcome the current difficulties. Chinese President Xi Jinping's vision of building a community with a shared future for mankind and a global community of health for all is in line with the trend of the times and reflects shared aspiration of all peoples. It is thus of great relevance and global significance. It has provided China's wisdom and solutions to the global disorder.

This vision is guiding China's efforts in foreign aid and international development cooperation on all fronts.

Over the past year, in the face of the Covid-19 outbreak, we have launched the largest, most intensive and most extensive emergency humanitarian assistance ever since the founding of the People's Republic of China. We have provided a large number of anti-epidemic supplies to 150 countries and 13 international organizations, and sent 37 medical teams to 34 countries, which has been widely appreciated by the international community.

This year, we have so far provided 88 countries and four international organizations with 28 million doses of vaccines through overcoming numerous difficulties. It is worth mentioning that, upon the new wave of outbreak in South Asia in late April this year, the Chinese government launched an emergency plan, providing a large number of medical supplies and vaccines to Laos, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan and India in a timely manner. These efforts have helped these countries effectively fight the pandemic. China's Yunnan Province, Tibet Autonomous Region and Sichuan Province also provided timely assistance. On May 21, President Xi Jinping announced at the Global Health Summit that China will provide an additional US$3 billion in international aid over the next three years to support Covid-19 response and economic and social recovery in other developing countries.

China's foreign aid is an internationalist and humanitarian effort led by the central government and participated by local governments, enterprises and communities. Last year, local governments, enterprises and social organizations played an important role in providing medical supplies.

As a Chinese saying goes, "Loving people and treating neighbors kindly are most valuable to a country." The border provinces have fully leveraged their geographical advantages, mobilized various resources and actively participated in foreign aid, making concrete contributions to a community with a shared future for all neighboring countries and regions. China's Xinjiang Autonomous Region sent medical experts to Central Asia and South Asia, and held 60 symposiums, 58 training programs and 208 courses of technical guidance. Yunnan Province raced against time to mobilize its medical resources and send 48 groups of medical expert teams to neighboring countries. Sichuan Province organized key medical production enterprises to set up an industry alliance to timely provide Nepal and other countries with anti-epidemic materials. The Tibet Autonomous Region provided hundreds of types of medical materials and daily supplies by 18 batches. Heilongjiang Province provided medical supplies to and shared experience in epidemic control with 29 countries. Relevant state-owned enterprises actively fulfilled their corporate social responsibilities. For instance, China State Construction Engineering Corporation, China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, and China Railway Group Limited have offered a large amount of supplies. Local and stated-owned enterprises have become new driving forces for China's foreign aid.

The assistance for the fight against Covid-19 is just an epitome of New China's foreign aid efforts. Over the past 70 years, China's aid, with relentless efforts, has started from its neighboring countries and expanded to the whole world. Roads and railways, schools and hospitals that China helped build have won the respect of all the world. The 70-year foreign aid road is characterized by friendship, kindness, gratitude and great love. These are the ethos of the Chinese nation and also shared by mankind.

China does not expect rewards, but has gained something more. We will never forget that 50 years ago, African brothers helped us restore our legitimate seat in the United Nations. China's reform and opening-up and development could not succeed without the support of the world. When the Wenchuan earthquake happened and the epidemic was first reported in China last year, the international community had spared no efforts to assist us. We will always remember the moments when the world joined hands to help each other and pursue common prosperity for all. Chinese people always believe that helping others will benefit ourselves as well. We always reciprocate others' kindness. We will always remember this profound, invaluable friendship.

Dear friends,

Today, we are gathered here under the theme of "Join Hands in Pandemic Control and Work Together for Common Development", which is highly relevant. As an event guided by Xi Jinping Thought on Diplomacy, the forum aims to contribute to building a community of shared future for mankind and promoting the high-quality Belt and Road cooperation. It will play a role in enhancing the overall coordination ability and modern governance of China's foreign aid for creating a better future.

We will vigorously carry forward our great tradition of foreign aid. As a Chinese poem writes, "Only through an arduous road can we realize the great, grand world." In the past 70 years, we have been helping each other and tackling difficulties together with developing countries, presenting to the international community a just image of our Chinese people in helping those in need. China stands for upholding the greater good, treating each other as equals, attaching no political strings to foreign aid, and not interfering in other countries' internal affairs. We spare no efforts in providing assistance to other developing countries and contribute to the achieving of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

We will bear in mind and adhere to the development direction of foreign aid. Today, the world is undergoing profound changes. How to provide more effective and abundant global public goods through foreign aid to the whole world, and how to further improve all peoples' well-being have become major challenges we are faced with. We must make well-coordinated efforts to improve the comprehensive benefits of foreign aid. We will keep sharing experiences with other countries to ensure sustainability. We will take into consideration the local conditions and give full play to the comparative regional advantages. We will strengthen international cooperation and South-South cooperation, focus on the post-Covid recovery of developing countries, expand cooperation in public health, climate change, biodiversity, agriculture and other fields, and promote open and inclusive growth.

We will push forward new dynamics in international development cooperation. We will share our visions, willingness and channels with China's foreign aid recipients and partners, ensure policy synergy, project cooperation and capital connectivity between the central and local governments, provide platforms, financial support and preferential policies from the government side to the enterprises, so as to work with all parties to open up a new chapter of international development cooperation in the new era.

Dear friends,

As our ancestors practiced and taught us, we must sow at the proper time before we can reap. On this day when fruits are expected by all, the Foreign Aid Capacity Enhancement Seminar of CIDCA is now officially started. I hope that all of our delegates will enjoy the program and benefit from it.

I would like to thank Ambassador Khamphao Ernthavanh, Mr. Siddharth Chatterjee, and all the guests and delegates. I wish this seminar a complete success!

Thank you.