CIDCA director-general attends DG Forum 2022

Xu Wei, director-general of the Department of International Cooperation of the China International Development Cooperation Agency (CIDCA), attended and addressed the South-South Cooperation Directors General Forum for Sustainable Development (DG Forum), on Sept 14.

Xu noted that development is a major global issue which needs urgent attention in terms of global governance. Under the circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic and profound changes unseen in a century, China empowered the South-South cooperation as a proactive response against the pandemic and part of joint efforts for global development. China proposed the Global Development Initiative (GDI) at the United Nations, which aims for building a shared community for global development that is strong, green and healthy. At the High-Level Dialogue on Global Development held in June 2022, China upgraded the South-South Cooperation Assistance Fund to the Global Development and South-South Cooperation Fund (GDSSCF), and increased its funds by $1 billion, on top of its original $3 billion. It also established the Global Development Promotion Center and project pool in an effort to implement the GDI. Under the GDSSCF, China has carried out close cooperation with over 10 international organizations, including the United Nations Development Programme, the World Health Organization and the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund, and has implemented over 30 projects in more than 50 countries. The projects cover areas including agricultural development, food security, poverty reduction, healthcare, education, post-disaster reconstruction, immigration and refugee protection, benefiting over 20 million people.

Xu also introduced China's efforts to safeguard global food security by donating food and dispatching experts to other countries for capacity building and technical support. He called for the cancellation of unilateral sanctions and reducing the excessive subsidy policies of developed countries, which he argues distort agricultural trade, so as to make it more policy-friendly for developing countries.

The DG Forum is an annual event organized by the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation. It has been held 12 times since its debut in 2008. This year's theme was on "strengthening South-South and triangular cooperation institutional capacity and ecosystem for a sustainable and resilient future in the context of COVID-19 and other global crises".