Mr. Chairman,

I would first thank Laos PDR, in its capacity as Chairman of the Group of LLDCs, for inviting China to participate in today’s meeting. The Comprehensive Ten-year Review Conference of the Almaty Program of Action is to be held in 2014. Today's meeting and its discussion on the theme, namely, “Building Genuine Partnerships for Overcoming Impacts of Landlockedness in the Context of Sustainable Development” is highly appropriate and will bear positively on the upcoming Conference.

I would also like to thank Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, USG Acharya for their addresses. I would like to focus my statement on how China carried out cooperation with the LLDCs in implementing the Almaty Program of Action.

The Almaty Declaration and Program of Action reflected the commitment of the international community to support the LLDCs, and identified five priorities of fundamental transit policy issues, infrastructure development and maintenance, international trade and trade facilitation, international support measures and implementation and review to support the LLDCs in their development efforts. China is pleased to see the progress made in the implementation of the Almaty Program of Action since 2003. However, the LLDCs have long faced unique difficulties and obstacles in economic and social development due to their particular geological location. The setbacks in and uncertainties of the world economic have further aggravated the difficulties of the LLDCs in achieving economic development and poverty reduction, and posed formidable challenges to their effort to strengthen infrastructure development, increase import and export, and attract capital inflow. Meanwhile, the uneven development of the LLDCs and the major constraints that impede their development such as high cost of transit transport are yet to be fundamentally addressed. The LLDCs still need the continued support of the international community.

China understands and is concerned with the difficulties and obstacles that impede the economic development of the LLDCs and their participation in international trade. China has been consistently supporting the LLDCs in their development efforts. The Chinese government gives great attention to the comprehensive implementation of Almaty Program of Action. Since 2003, China has acceded to a multitude of international cross-border transport agreements including the Greater Mekong Sub-region Cross-Border Transport Agreement, which have provided effective legal guarantee for facilitating the flow of goods and personnel of the LLDCs. Paying great attention to infrastructure development of the LLDCs, China has helped build a number of cross-border transport routes in the countries concerned. China has also conducted in-depth regional cooperation in trade facilitation with the LLDCs.

As a transit country, China attaches great importance to transit transport. As this issue involves major interests of the LLDCs and transit countries, China has actively participated in the negotiation of relevant agreements in the spirit of “equality and mutual benefit, friendly cooperation, and high sense of responsibility”. Since 2002, China has conducted 7 rounds of negotiations with Mongolia and Russia on Transit Transport Agreement among China, Mongolia and Russia to regulate transit transport of our three countries in an effort to raise transport efficiency, facilitate mutual trade and investment, and promote our common economic development.

In addition, within the Framework of Joint China-Mongolia Commission on Economy, Trade, Science and Technology and its Working Group, China has made tremendous efforts to address Mongolia’s concerns about improving transit transport and enhancing port’s handling capacity. China has also supported Mongolia in the fields of IT application, urban transportation, and technological renovation of agriculture and animal husbandry.

The Comprehensive Ten-year Review Conference of the Almaty Program of Action to be held in 2014 will review all aspects of the implementation of the Almaty Program of Action. This Conference will further galvanize international consensus, comprehensively evaluate the special development needs of the LLDCs, and clarify once again the active support and specific actions of the international community for the development of the LLDCs. It will provide an important opportunity for the LLDCs in terms of realizing comprehensive and sustainable development. The outcome of this Conference will undoubtedly produce significant impact on the formulation of the post-2015 development agenda. As a transit country, China has always supported, and will continue to support the development of the LLDCs. Together with the rest of the international community, China stands ready to make positive contributions to the success of this Conference.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.