Mr. President,

The Chinese delegation would like to thank Administrator Clark for her comprehensive and detailed report. We appreciate the unremitting efforts and the progress made by UNDP under her leadership to actively address, together with the international community, new challenges as well as the key issues in the development field, to eradicate poverty and achieve MDG goals and sustainable development during the strategic plan period that will soon end. The Chinese delegation aligns itself of the statement made by Fiji on behalf of the Group of 77 and China.

Mr. President,

The Chinese delegation has taken note of the latest version of the 2014-2017 Strategic Plan submitted to the Executive Board for consideration by UNDP. We have noted the explanation in the annex regarding QCPR mandate implementation and the results and resources framework in the new strategic plan. We have also noted in the text the support for the overarching vision and South-South cooperation as well as amendments and improvements on relevant concepts. China recognizes the significant amount of work carried out by UNDP in formulating the 2014-2017 Strategic Plan and is pleased to see that UNDP has respected and incorporated the views of member States and has strived to continuously amend and improve the draft plan. We hope the new strategic plan will meet with the Executive Board’s approval on schedule. At the same time, the Chinese delegation believes that in the implementation of the new strategic plan, UNDP should continue to respect the ownership and needs of program countries, keep focused on poverty reduction, and fully reflect the QCPR mandates and UNDP’s own strength. While implementing the plan, UNDP should follow up closely the results of the program implementation in all its aspects, and conduct a full-fledged evaluation of the experience and lessons learned during the mid-term review with corresponding adjustments and improvements made accordingly.

The Chinese delegation is concerned about the financial position reflected in the 2012 UNDP annual review on the financial situation which shows an imbalance in the overall revenue and a continued decrease in core resources. Adequate, stable and predicable core resources and a rational resource structure are the key concerns of the vast number of program countries. They also constitute the fundamental requirements for UNDP to formulate and implement project programs in a scientific manner and to support effectively the development of program countries. The current resource situation has hindered UNDP’s effective operation and could further weaken the fundamental characteristics of UN development assistance such as universality, neutrality, multilateralism and grant nature, infringing on the “national ownership and leadership” principle of recipient countries. The Chinese delegation encourages UNDP to further enhance its funding efforts and calls on all parties to work to improve UN development funding through expanding the overall core resources and enhancing the quality of non-core resources.

As the largest development agency in the UN system, UNDP, thanks to its own advantage and broad operational presence, has made positive contributions to supporting the development of developing countries. The Chinese delegation encourages UNDP to build on its strength, give full attention to the development needs of and the challenges faced by the different types of program countries such as the LDCs and the middle-income countries, thus effectively helping the large number of developing countries achieve stable and sustainable development.

Mr. President,

China will continue to support UNDP in playing a greater role to help developing countries eradicate poverty and achieve full, balanced and sustainable development. The Chinese government always attaches importance to its cooperation with UNDP and views positively UNDP’s contribution to promoting economic and social development in China. The Chinese government is ready to further strengthen its bilateral cooperation with UNDP under the framework of the “Memorandum of Understanding on Enhancing Cooperation between the Government of China and the United Nations Development Program”.

Thank you, Mr. President.