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Statement by Ambassador WU Haitao at the Third Committee of the 72nd Session of the General Assembly under Agenda Item: Social Development

2017-10-03 10:20

Mr. Chairman:

The Chinese delegation congratulates you on your election as Chairman of the Third Committee of the 72nd Session of the General Assembly, and assure you of our full support for your work. My delegation takes note of the reports submitted by the Secretary General under this agenda item and supports the statement made by Ecuador on behalf of the G77 and China. China wishes to make the following observations:

First, greater attention and input should be given to social development. Poverty eradication, employment and social integration constitute the three pillars of social development and also central elements of the 2030 Agenda. Member States should give social development the attention it deserves as an ideological imperative, and set up proper operational mechanisms in order to effectively implement the Copenhagen Declaration and Program of Action on Social Development and expedite the implementation of SDGs in the social area such as poverty eradication, education, health and employment.

Second, a universal and sustainable social protection system should be put in place to promote inclusive development. Countries should hold fast to the principle of people-centered development, view the protection of vulnerable groups from a development perspective, design the social protection schemes scientifically, optimize the funding structure rationally, build a universal and sustainable social protection system, move towards full employment and decent work for all, and promote social integration and inclusive development.

Third, reform, innovation and connectivity should be advanced to lend a new impetus to social development. We should respect the objective law that underlies historical development, follow the prevailing trend of our times, push ahead with structural reform, develop innovative modalities of growth and promote the construction of infrastructure and connectivity, in a bid to achieve robust and sustainable social development.

Fourth, it is necessary to subscribe to the idea of a community of shared future for mankind and focus on addressing the development imbalances between the North and the South. All countries participate in, contribute to and benefit from social development at the global level. North-South cooperation should continue to be the dominant form of cooperation while South-South cooperation should be given an important role to play. For developed countries, honoring their ODA commitments should remain the principal way of helping developing countries.

Mr. Chairman,

China attaches great importance to social development and has established a rather sound social protection system. We now have a nationally unified basic pension insurance system for urban and rural residents. By the end of 2016, the insured population under the pension insurance system reached 888 million while those covered by basic medical insurance exceeded 1.3 billion, which covers over 95% population.

Development is at the top of China's agenda. We are committed to a path of innovative, coordinated, green, open and shared development. We intensify our effort to implement the strategy of innovation-driven development and promote mass entrepreneurship and innovation. These efforts have yielded positive results.

China has always actively supported the poverty eradication and development efforts of the developing world. China will be providing 60 billion RMB in assistance over the next three years to those developing countries and international organizations that participate in the "Belt and Road" initiative, supporting more livelihood projects. China will work with African countries to continue the follow-up to the outcomes of the Johannesburg Summit of the China-Africa Cooperation Forum and comprehensively advance the 10 major cooperation plans in support of Africa's effort to implement the AU Agenda 2063 and the 2030 Agenda, so as to achieve development and revitalization of the African continent.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

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