China, Europe hold director-level dialogue on supervision and evaluation of international development cooperation

China and Europe held a director-level dialogue on the supervision and evaluation of international development cooperation on Jan 10, 2023.

Tian Lin, director-general of the Department of Supervision and Evaluation of the China International Development Cooperation Agency (CIDCA), and Peteris Ustubs, director of the Middle East, Asia and Pacific of the Directorate-General for International Partnerships of the European Commission, co-chaired the dialogue.

Tian talked about Chinese approaches and concrete measures in the organization of foreign assistance, and the supervision and evaluation of international development cooperation. He said that China's foreign aid has played a vital role in narrowing the North-South gap, supporting other developing countries in poverty alleviation, and assisting them in the pursuit of sustainable development over the past seven decades.

Tian noted that China has taken up-to-date approaches, endeavored to better fit the needs of the new era, supported the development of other developing countries, and strengthened South-South cooperation. The country has also attached great importance to pragmatic achievements and result-oriented development patterns, and adhered to the principles of mutual exchanges and learning, openness and inclusiveness in the supervision and evaluation of its foreign assistance, he said.

Since its establishment in 2018, the CIDCA has proactively promoted the building of a supervision and evaluation mechanism for China's foreign aid, international development and cooperation, according to Tian. The agency has consolidated supervision networks, regulated evaluation criteria, bolstered information-based development, enhanced supervision and assessment competence, and played an important role in the high-quality development of the country's foreign assistance and international development cooperation, he added.

Tian stressed that China and the European Union have conducted frequent exchanges in the field of international development cooperation over the past few years, and that supervision and evaluation have become a new frontier in their bilateral cooperation. He added that China is willing to further deepen its communication and collaboration with the EU and its member states.

Ustubs said that supervision and evaluation have become an important component of international development cooperation and that it is of vital importance to further improve assistance plans, advance strategic objectives and facilitate the building of partnerships.

He emphasized that as a leading country in the promotion of international development cooperation and an important cooperative partner of EU, China has adopted many creative approaches in the supervision and management of foreign aid, as well as in the institutional building of relevant indicators, adding that the two sides share many common objectives in giving full play to the roles of supervision and evaluation, raising the effectiveness and transparency of foreign assistance, and promoting the implementation of global sustainable development goals.

Ustubs gave an introduction to the philosophies and outcomes of the EU in the supervision and evaluation of international development cooperation, and added that the EU is willing to strengthen bilateral dialogues and exchanges and explore more patterns of bilateral cooperation.

During the dialogue, representatives from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the French Development Agency shared policies and measures adopted by two countries to conduct the supervision and evaluation of international development cooperation.

Experts from the two sides conducted in-depth exchanges and discussions on Chinese system for foreign aid assessment indicators, and the global achievement frameworks and performance monitoring systems of the EU.