Mr. Chairman,

First of all, I would like to congratulate Your Excellency for being elected Chairman of the Second Committee of the current session. The Chinese Delegation will cooperate closely with you and the presidium to bring the work of our committee to a successful conclusion. The Chinese delegation also supports the statement made by the State of Qatar on behalf of the Group of 77 and China.

Mr. Chairman,

Since the beginning of this year, there have appeared certain positive signs in international development cooperation. The international community and the United Nations continue to focus on the realization of Millennium Development Goals, and of the outcome of such major international conferences and summits as the International Conference on Financing for Development and the World Summit on Sustainable Development. Relevant follow-up mechanisms have been set up. Cooperation has been reinforced in the field of development with higher ODA. Some new proposals and plans have been put forward in poverty eradication, financing for development, and HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment. Progress has been made in the field of trade. Because of the joint efforts of all parties, Members of the WTO have reached framework agreements on major items of Doha development agenda. The UNCTAD XI was held successfully, and "Sao Paulo Consensus" adopted at the conference has reflected the common ground shared by all parties on trade and development.

However, we must not fail to see that the plight of the developing countries is yet to be fundamentally improved. The development of globalization remains unbalanced, the gap between the North and the South is widening, and the number of LDCs, instead of falling, is climbing. The commitments and initiatives made on the question of development are yet to be fulfilled. The vast developing countries are still faced with such obstacles as economic instabilities, lack of financial resources, disrupted trade and heavy debt burdens. It will not be an easy task to reach according to the timetable such important development goals as poverty eradication and to materialize the outcome of major international conferences in the field of development.

Mr. Chairman,

The High-level Plenary Meeting of the General Assembly will be held next year. In the field of development, there will be such important meetings as the International Meeting on the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States, the World Conference on Disaster Reduction, the thirteenth session of the CSD, the fifth session of the UNFF, GA High-level Meeting on HIV, and GA High-level Meeting on Financing for Development. We are faced with heavy workload, but it can also create many good opportunities. The international community should make good use of them to further fulfill the relevant commitments, take concrete actions, strengthen cooperation, and jointly promote the realization of development goals. I think that during the current GA session and in the coming year, it is necessary to focus on the following development areas:

1. Continued efforts should be made to enhance international economic and development cooperation, uphold multilateralism, and build a new type of development partnership based on mutual trust, mutual benefit, and mutual help. It is therefore essential to strengthen South-South cooperation and North-South dialogue. The developing countries should become more competitive through their own capacity building and cooperation, so as to improve their unfavorable status in the process of economic globalization. The developed countries should fulfill their obligations and responsibilities, accelerate global economic growth, and render more support to the developing countries in market access, financial resources, ODA, technical transfer, and debt relief, so that the developing countries will genuinely improve their difficult situation.

2. We need to focus on poverty eradication, and explore new proposals and plans to acquire additional development resources on the basis of realizing the ODA and other existing means of financing. Applicable programs can be implemented step by step to help the developing countries with means of implementation. At the same time, full attention should be given to the enormous role played by trade in development. Parties involved should keep the good momentum at WTO negotiations, bring Doha development agenda to an early successful conclusion, and reach a final agreement that is balanced, and will reflect the Doha spirit and promote development.

3. The central leading role of the United Nations should be further strengthened in the field of development. We should take advantage of next year's GA High-level Plenary Meeting, comprehensively review the implementation of MDGs, further mobilize the political will of all parties, turn commitments into actions, improve global management, make breakthroughs in the field of development, and enhance realization of poverty eradication and common development. We also deem it necessary for the United Nations to set up a fair and reasonable MDGs progress evaluation framework, which can appraise progress at the national level, and supervise and evaluate international cooperation and fulfillment of development assistance commitments.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.