SCIO press conference on China's COVID-19 assistance and international development cooperation

China Daily:

Recently, the CIDCA has conducted a series of publicity activities, which include commemorating the 70th anniversary of China's foreign aid, the 20th anniversary of Juncao Assistance, and the fifth anniversary of the South-South Cooperation Assistance Fund and the Institute of South-South Cooperation and Development. These activities have attracted extensive attention from the media and the Chinese people. Could you introduce the background and significance of these activities? Thank you.  

Luo Zhaohui:

I'm very glad that you followed our events. This year marks the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China. We still remember that at the end of May this year, the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee held a group study session, and President Xi Jinping once again called on everyone to tell China's stories well. For this purpose, the CIDCA took the initiative to design these activities. The first event was to commemorate the 70th anniversary of China's foreign aid, and introduce its history, a glorious chapter of the 100th anniversary of the CPC. Since the founding of the CPC, during the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, China has received support and help from Communist International and many global progressive forces. In the 1950s, we also received great help from the Soviet Union and a lot of support from socialist countries. We were a recipient from the beginning. At the same time, we reciprocated by providing foreign aid from the very beginning of the founding of the People's Republic of China. The 71-year history of foreign aid is a glorious chapter of the CPC and epitomizes the love and friendship that the Chinese government and Chinese people have shown to other countries. The photo exhibition on the 70th anniversary of China's foreign assistance is a macro reflection of the history of China's foreign aid since the founding of the People's Republic of China. And the exhibition also highlights the original aspiration of the CPC to seek common development in the world and contribute to the cause of human progress. 

We would also like to note that besides the photo exhibition, we also held an event celebrating the 20th anniversary of Juncao assistance. Just like hybrid rice, the technology of Juncao, Chinese herbal medicine and green food, has become a shining example of China's foreign aid. Many developing countries have been confronted by salient issues relating to agriculture, rural areas and farmers. Twenty years ago, President Xi Jinping, then governor of Fujian Province, made important instructions on and personally worked for the introduction of Juncao technology to Papua New Guinea for poverty alleviation. Since then, along with the goodwill of the Chinese people, Juncao has made its way across the world, from Africa to Latin America, from Asia to South Pacific. We have launched over 270 Juncao technology training courses with more than international 10,000 trainees, bringing hundreds of thousands of jobs to local people. Even some government officials, in commemoration of the magic grass, named their children "Juncao."

Just now, our media friends mentioned activities celebrating the fifth anniversary of the establishment of the South-South Cooperation Assistance Fund and the Institute of South-South Cooperation and Development (ISSCAD), announced by President Xi Jinping at the United Nations in 2015 and started operation in the following year. The Institute was set up in Peking University with well-known economist Justin Yifu Lin acting as Honorary Dean. Over the past five years, it has become a high-end academy with more than 200 masters or doctors received from over 60 countries, yielding great results. South-South Cooperation Assistance Fund has closely worked with over 10 international organizations within the UN system by launching more than100 projects which help significantly improve the people's wellbeing among 50 countries, benefiting over 20 million people. The Fund has had a real contribution to the implementation of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development by its efforts to fight everything from the Ebola virus to COVID-19, as well as advancing the healthcare system for women and children and addressing refugee and immigrant crisis.

As China's important public goods, the fund and the institute have become significant global brands for China to promote South-South cooperation and sustainable development under the support from all sides. This demonstrates that China's foreign assistance and international development and cooperation are transparent. The China International Development Cooperation Agency (CIDCA) was found on April 18, 2018, from the name of which it can be noted that China is willing to be in line with the rest of the world. We used the term of international cooperation and development to replace that of foreign aid used by the international community including the United Nations in the past, a move to put emphasis on bilateral cooperation rather than one-side assistance. What we mainly take into consideration is whether it meets the needs and development strategies of participating countries. What we have done, from working with the UN system to launching commemorative activities, aim to boost transparency in our foreign assistance. Any country or any politician without prejudice will recognize our efforts to strengthen collaboration with the international community and accelerate the transition from bilateral aid to multilateral cooperation.

The fund and the institute mentioned are fine examples. Besides South-South cooperation, which means the developing countries help each other, we also pursue North-South cooperation. China has done lots of work to cooperate, communicate and coordinate with the United Nations and Western developed countries.

Thank you all!