Interview of China Daily 'Conference Talk'

Interview of China Daily 'Conference Talk'

(March 1, 2024)

1. As a member of the CPPCC National Committee, what proposal will you bring to the table this year on China's international development cooperation and the building of a global community with a shared future?

That's a good question. I am very honored to be a member of the CPPCC National Committee, and also a member of its Foreign Affairs Committee.

CPPCC is a very important platform to exercise political consultation and democratic supervision, and participate in deliberation and administration of state affairs. It has also arranged a lot of events focusing on hot issues, such as high-quality development, environment issues, Belt and Road construction and so on. Last year, I took part in some events, such as the foreign ambassadors tour in CPPCC headquarters, seminars on BRI and GDI construction. I made speeches on the above occasions.

My proposal this year is about promoting the construction of Luban Workshop abroad. Luban was a prominent engineer 2,500 years ago. Luban Workshop is a vocational education brand and also in memory of Luban. So far we have established 27 workshops in 23 countries. Its advantage is combination of skills training, Mandarin study and job opportunities. The Workshop has trained a large number of professional and technical talents for cooperating countries, reflecting China's development cooperation concept of "teaching people to fish", and has become a golden sign of "small yet smart" programs.

In recent years, we have initiated and implemented a large number of "small yet smart” programs, and Luban Workshop, Juncao, artemisinin, hybrid rice have become widely acclaimed assistance brands. Just before the lunar Spring Festival, I visited Fiji and stopped over at the local China-Pacific Island Juncao Demonstration Center. Juncao is a kind of grass which could be used for mushroom planting, food for livestock and so on. The local farmers told me how they improved their livelihood by planting Juncao, and expressed their heartfelt gratitude.

In the future, CIDCA will continue to increase the assistance of "small yet smart" programs, and constantly polish the golden sign of "small yet smart". 

2. As the Chairman of China International Development Cooperation Agency (CIDCA), could you give a briefing about what CIDCA has done recently?

I am happy to give you briefings.

Firstly, fully implement the Global Development Initiative (GDI). In the year 2021, President Xi Jinping initiated the GDI, calling on the international community to focus on global development and accelerate the implementation of the UN 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). President Xi Jinping also announced 32 measures under the GDI. CIDCA established the Global Development Promotion Center, Global Development Project Pool and Fund Pool. And the Fund Pool has raised 12 billion US dollars to support the Project Pool. We are also making good use of the Global Development and South-South Cooperation Fund with 4 billion US dollars. Last July, CIDCA held the First High-Level Conference of the Forum on Global Action for Shared Development. President Xi Jinping sent an important message to the Conference. More than 1,000 delegates from 158 countries attended.

Secondly, advance high-quality BRI construction. CIDCA supports the BRI infrastructure connectivity, people-to-people interaction and so on.

Thirdly, CIDCA focuses on exchanging state governance experience. Chinese path to modernization offers a new option to realize modernization. For China aid, we should not only give people fish, but also teach them how to fish. We have arranged a lot of seminars and personnel exchange programs in sharing governance experience, supporting developing countries in exploring sustainable development paths suited to their national reality, and assisted them in enhancing and modernizing their governance capacity. To date, China has trained over 400,000 professional talents in various fields for recipient countries. The Institute of South-South Cooperation and Development has been established at Peking University, having trained over 300 masters and doctoral graduates from over 70 countries. The institute was inaugurated by President Xi Jinping at the United Nations 9 years ago. This January, CIDCA just celebrated the 70th anniversary of HRD program.

Fourthly, under the leadership of President Xi Jinping, in the past four years, we have carried out anti-pandemic assistance, including medical materials, medical teams and vaccines, to over 160 countries and international organizations.

Through complete projects, material and technological assistance, emergency humanitarian aid, and human resources training, we have contributed to global common development, and helped enhance the economic and social well-being in more than 160 recipient countries.

In the meantime, we attach importance to expanding trilateral and multilateral cooperation, working with more than 20 international organizations and social groups, including the United Nations, to implement a range of small livelihood projects in over 50 countries.

At the beginning of this lunar new year, I signed online a trilateral document with the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), Ethiopia on the comprehensive implementation of the GDI.

As a journalist, you must have travelled to a lot of countries. In the African continent, all the 54 countries are China aid’s recipients. In each country, more or less, you can see China aid projects, such as roads, bridges, government and parliament buildings, sports centers, hospitals, schools. All of these are the symbols of mutually friendly sentiment. When China needs help, we can always pin hope on them. 

3. What has the CIDCA done for emergency humanitarian assistance?

In recent years, due to geopolitical conflicts, COVID-19, and extreme weather, humanitarian crises are getting worse and worse.

The Palestinian-Israeli conflict is continuing, and innocent people in Gaza are losing their lives in the war. China has provided four batches of emergency humanitarian aid to Gaza people.

Last year, there were strong earthquakes occurring in Turkiye, Syria and Afghanistan. Two years ago, Pakistan was facing disastrous flood, Tonga undertook a strong burst of volcano. When all of these natural disasters happened, China immediately provided humanitarian assistance and reconstruction materials.

In the last 6 years, China has launched more than 800 emergency humanitarian assistance programs and provided emergency assistance to more than 40 countries, besides the anti-COVID-19 assistance. We also have donated emergency food aid to more than 30 countries. According to UN statistics, China is the largest provider of humanitarian assistance among developing countries. 

4. Could you share with me China aid’s policy orientation? Compared with Western countries, what are China aid's advantages and features?

China aid is based on South-South cooperation with unique approaches and is well received by recipient countries.

In terms of policy level, our highest priorities are pursuing global common development, carrying out Xi Jinping Thought on Diplomacy, including the vision of building a community with a shared future for mankind, BRI construction and three Global Initiatives.

In terms of cooperation principles, we follow the Three Nos, namely No political precondition, No imposing our willingness on others, No blank cheque (empty promise). Our foreign assistance must be aligning with recipient countries’ development strategies. We always honor our words with real actions.

In terms of subjects, poverty reduction, agriculture, response to climate change, infrastructure, green development, sharing state governance experience, are all our priorities. In recent years, we have been emphasizing promoting both signature projects and "small yet smart" livelihood programs.

In terms of funding sources, apart from the traditional grant, interest-free loan and concessional loan, CIDCA has begun to mobilize relevant domestic and foreign financial institutions to participate in the financing of international development cooperation. 

In terms of partners, neighboring countries, countries along the BRI route, most developing and Global South countries, are China aid's priorities.

China aid's resources are limited with necessary process. We emphasize monitoring and assessing the result of foreign aid, strengthen comprehensive project supervision, prevent corruption risks, and enhance projects' quality. 

5. What's the whole picture of the international development cooperation of the world, and how does China deal with it?

We are facing increasing geopolitical conflicts, intensified major power competition, a slowdown in North-South cooperation, and an expanding development gap, among other challenges. Pursuing common development becomes the trend of the international community.

On the one hand, the implementation of the UN 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) has been hindered, and the development deficit continues unabated. The world's desire to realize economic and social recovery through development and cooperation is becoming more urgent than ever, leading to a growing demand for development. On the other hand, the North-South game in international development cooperation has intensified. With the collective rise of emerging market countries, the willingness to seek common development is on the rise, and South-South cooperation continues to consolidate and deepen. China has actively led South-South cooperation, promoted North-South dialogue and achieved notable results.

President Xi Jinping has emphasized that development is the key to solving all problems. Faced with new developments and challenges, China is taking action. But this is far from enough, resolving the global development issues requires a concerted effort from the whole world.

Firstly, China will continue to lead international development cooperation. China will stay committed to building a global community of shared future, pursue high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, and implement the Global Development Initiative (GDI), the Global Security Initiative (GSI) and the Global Civilization Initiative (GCI). China will only speed up the upgrading from general framework to concrete projects.

Secondly, the role of multilateral platforms is relatively prominent. The UN should play a leading role in jointly advancing the implementation of the 2030 SDGs and the GDI, and facilitate sound interactions with regional multilateral organizations to promote global development governance, such as BRICS, SCO (Shanghai Cooperation Organization), ASEAN (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations), and AU (the African Union), as well as regional free trade arrangements such as RCEP and CPTPP.

Thirdly, the influence of South-South cooperation continues to rise. China believes that state-to-state relations should follow the basic principle of non-interference of internal affairs of other countries, equality and mutual benefit, win-win cooperation, and upholding the greater good and pursuing shared interests. The countries of the South need to intensify their cooperation in areas of poverty reduction and food security, health and sanitation, climate change and green development, and connectivity.

Fourthly, the North-South game in international development cooperation will not stop. We should continue to promote North-South dialogue, seek complementarity by drawing on each other's strengths, perform common but differentiated responsibilities, and seek common ground while setting aside differences in development concepts, rules, and standards, thus fostering a new North-South relationship.