Remarks by CIDCA Chairman Luo Zhaohui at Forum for Policy and Practice of China Aid and International Development Cooperation

Remarks by CIDCA Chairman Luo Zhaohui at

Forum for Policy and Practice of China Aid and International Development Cooperation

Beijing, February 15, 2023

Your Excellency Mrs. Khek M. Caimealy, Cambodian Ambassador & Dean of the Diplomatic Corp,

Your Excellency Mr. Siddharth Chatterjee, UN Development System Resident Coordinator in China,

Excellencies,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Good morning!

Thank you all to join me for today's Forum. As we usually say, life is beautiful, how do we make it better? We also say, life is hard, how do we make it good? Development and cooperation is the most important way to achieve the goals.

We are facing a very unstable world. Ongoing COVID-19, super-power games, geopolitical conflicts, unilateralism, global economic recovery set-back, high inflation, the UN 2030 Agenda up-downs, show that global development and cooperation is more urgently needed.

Friends,

China is a developing country. In the past 70 years, either in poor or prosperity, China has insisted facilitating the economic and social development of recipient countries. We have implemented more than 3,000 infrastructure projects, delivered about 2,000 batches of materials, carried out over 700 technical assistance programs and tens of thousands of human resources development cooperation projects. From the Tanzania-Zambia Railway to the Karakoram Highway, from hybrid rice to Juncao, from artemisinin to COVID-19 vaccines, these old and new aid practices continue to promote global development and demonstrate China's sense of international responsibility.

Last ten years, China has made the greatest contributions to international development cooperation, not only in philosophy, but also in practical perspective. Chinese leader has proposed the concept of the Human Community with a Shared Future, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), the latest one is the Global Development Initiative (GDI).

In September 2021, President Xi Jinping proposed the GDI at the UN Assembly. It is in line with the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Eight most urgent key areas of cooperation are identified for developing countries, including anti-epidemic, climate change and green development, digital economy, poverty reduction, food security and connectivity. The GDI is welcomed and supported by over 100 countries and some international organizations. 

Last June, China announced 32 important pragmatical measures to implement the GDI, and has achieved important early harvests. 

China's assistance is practical and effective, and has formed a unique international development cooperation model, which is welcomed by the development partners. In terms of cooperation concept, we adhere to the principle of extensive consultation, joint contribution, shared benefits and win-win results, respecting sovereignty and human rights, non-interference in internal affairs, and attaching no political conditions.

We recognize China's foreign assistance has differences with the West. But both of us also have shared same points. We both respect the recipient countries' choices. Both support assistance's effectiveness. OECD has its own statistical and evaluation standards. We should respect different policies and practices rather than blame the others.

Friends,

CIDCA is in charge of international development cooperation of China. Now our highest priorities are the following:

First, to implement the GDI, including coordinating among Chinese government agencies, mobilizing international institutions to join it.  

My agency has done a lot, including establishing a global development project pool, setting up the Global Development and South-South Cooperation Fund with 4 billion US bucks, holding a Forum on Global Action for Shared Development. End of last year, the Global Development Promotion Center was officially inaugurated.

Secondly, we continue to carry out traditional assistance's advantages. China's foreign aid consists of four parts: infrastructure construction, in-kind and technical assistance, human resources training and emergency humanitarian assistance.  

Thirdly, we focus on small yet smart assistance. Accordingly, we intensify our assistance resources in people's livelihood while making China's aid well-received in sectors such as public health, agriculture and IT. 

Fourthly, we have expanded multilateral and trilateral cooperation with parties concerned. Through trilateral cooperation with over 10 international organizations, including the UNDP, the WFP, UNICEF, and the International Red Cross, we have undertaken more than 130 projects in over 50 countries, benefiting more than 20 million people. We have also talked with Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and other charity, international financial institutions about trilateral cooperation in agriculture, health, and other fields in African and South Asian countries as a way to implement the GDI.

Friends,

Today's Forum is the first large-scale promotional activity for the diplomats and representatives of international organizations in China since the establishment of CIDCA in 2018. Next, my colleagues will give detailed briefings of foreign aid policies, management processes, supervision and evaluation, human resources development cooperation, concessional loans, Global Development Initiatives.

"There is nothing we cannot achieve if we work in one mind toward the same goal." Let us continue to gather strong consensus and joint forces to promote global development and create a brighter future for a better world.

Thank you!