Mr. Co-chair,

At the outset, the Chinese delegation aligns itself with the speech by Thailand on behalf of G-77 and China. We would also like to congratulate the ECOSOC for convening this first Multi-Stakeholder Forum on STI for the SDGs.

The fulfilment of the sustainable development depends on the enabling policies and systems to achieve increased investments in science technology and innovation for them to play a leading role in supporting sustainable development. STI are the vital Means of Implementation for SDGs.

Ambassador H.E.Mr. Wu Haitao of China Mission to UN will be making a key speech at the ministerial dialogue session. So please allow me now to make a brief introduction to China’s efforts in creating the enabling environment for STI.

In May this year, the Chinese government published the National Strategic Guidelines for Innovation-Driven Development. In accordance with the guidelines, China will be focusing on the following three areas for the creation of the right and favorable social environment for STI:

1. Creating the robust legal environment to protect innovation. We will expedite making legislation to remove the existing gaps and weaknesses in innovation. Towards this end, we will establish a comprehensive and precision legal system fit for the purpose.

2. Establishing open and fair market conditions. We will speed up breaking up monopolies and market fragmentation. We will strengthen the leading role by supply-side innovation policies. We will implement the government procurement system in accordance with the international rules. We will make innovations more cost-effective, and expanding the market for innovative products and services. We will promote the market reform on the basis of letting the market set the prices of the key economic inputs, making energy resources and ecosystem more resilient, raising the leverage of science,technology and intellectuallytalented people in product pricing for the innovators to gain their due competitive advantages.

3. Promoting the culture for innovation. We will promote the dedication and courage of the scientists in exploring new frontiers of science in their researches to cultivate the new national culture that encourages the search for excellence. We will continue to takeapproaches of free and open debate from different thoughts of school while giving more space to the scientists to be independent and innovative, free to challenge the existing orders, free to pursue their scientific researches, and not afraid of making mistakes, maintaining innovative confidence. We will create the right incentives for the scientists to be abide by the highest academic and ethical standards and social responsibility. We will improve popular science education to encourage more students to go into science and technology and raise the science-literacy level of the entire society,cultivate the spirit of scientific reasoning and make ours a learning-oriented society.

Thank you Mr. Co-chair.