(Photo by Niu Xiaolei/Xinhua News Agency)

Ladies and gentlemen,

It gives me great pleasure to take part in today's meeting to exchange views with other participants on the implementation of the Rio + 20 Outcome Document, and on the post-2015 development agenda.

The Rio + 20 conference held in 2012 was a success. Its outcome document, The Future We Want, sets the direction for the global effort for sustainable development, and defines the guiding principles, priority areas, and means of implementation. At present, the top priority is to turn political consensus into concrete actions under the principle of "common but differentiated responsibilities".

The international community should carefully draw on the experience and lessons of the MDG implementation, and use them as reference in planning for future sustainable development. Developing countries are faced with the challenges of inadequate financial resources, deficient technological know-how, and weak capacity, and are in urgent need for more targeted and effective assistance from the international community. The international economic and financial crisis has delayed the global development process, so it is all the more necessary for all countries to strengthen macroeconomic policy coordination for the purpose of creating an enabling external environment for sustainable development.

As an important outcome of Rio + 20, the HLPF has, since its inception last September, already taken steps towards fulfilling its historical mission of guiding the global process of sustainable development and monitoring the fulfillment of various commitments. The HLPF is established to meet the needs of the crucial transitional period in international development cooperation. While it must effectively follow up to Rio + 20, it should also be forward-looking and genuinely fulfill its function as a central mechanism in the area of development. China believes that the Political Forum should focus on strengthening the following functions: 1. the function of monitoring. It should conduct regular reviews to keep track of the implementation of the outcomes of the important UN conferences in economic, social and environmental fields; 2. the function of integration. It should enhance the coordination and coherence among various organs within the UN system to improve the efficiency in the utilization of development resources; 3. the function of communication. It should encourage all stakeholders to reinforce coordination of their sustainable development policies and share best practices.

With respect to the post-2015 development agenda, the Chinese delegation would like to emphasize the following principles: 1. poverty eradication and development promotion must continue to be the core of the future agenda; 2. the principle of "common but differentiated responsibilities" must be adhered to; 3. diverse development models should be preserved; 4. the principle of coordinated and balanced development must be maintained in order to promote in a holistic and coordinated manner economic, social and environmental development; 5. the process must continue to be led by member states and work on the basis of consensus; 6. while upholding the principle of universality, full consideration must be given to differences among countries in terms of national condition, capacity, and development level. The post-2015 development agenda should strengthen the global development partnership, formulate sound means of implementation, and secure development resources so as to ensure the achievement of the relevant goals.

I thank you for your attention.