Mr. and Madam Co-chairs,

The Chinese delegation thanks the United Nations and the US government for

co-hosting this conference. We would like to take this opportunity to extend our

welcome to His Excellency President René Préval, and through him, convey the

deepest sympathy and condolences of the Chinese government and people to the

people of Haiti．On behalf of the Chinese government and people, I also wish to

once again pay our highest tribute to the UN staff members and peacekeepers

who lost their lives in the line of duty during the earthquake．

Mr. and Madam Co-chairs,

The earthquake that struck Haiti on January 12 was the biggest natural disaster

ever experienced by the Haitian people over the past two centuries. It has also

become a humanitarian and development crisis over which the international

community shares its common concern. Haiti is now faced with a multitude of

challenges in economic and social development as well as post-disaster

reconstruction, and is therefore in urgent need of assistance from the international

community. It is heartening however that, thanks to the effective coordination of

the United Nations, the parties concerned have come together to lend a helping

hand to the Haitian people and government. The UN organs and agencies have

provided timely and effective humanitarian assistance to the quake areas, and

played an important leadership role, which has won wide acclaim from the

international community.

The Chinese government supports the United Nations in playing a central

coordination role in post-disaster reconstruction in Haiti. We are of the view that

the United Nations should continue to adhere to the principles of neutrality and

gratuitousness in providing development assistance, and give play to its unique

advantages in knowledge, technology, institutions and enforcement capacity.

China maintains that all multilateral mechanisms in support of Haiti's

post-disaster reconstruction must be transparent, inclusive, and ensure the early

transition from reconstruction to economic development led by the Haitian

government and people．

Mr. and Madam Co-chairs,

When a mega earthquake hit Wenchuan, China in May 2008,the international

community immediately lent its support to China. This greatly encouraged the

Chinese people, who under the strong leadership of the Chinese government,

soon overcame the serious crisis brought about by the natural disaster. Despite

the geographical distance between China and Haiti, and despite the fact that the

two countries have no diplomatic relations, the Chinese people feel strong about

the sufferings of the Haitian people and the Chinese government has provided

timely emergency assistance in various forms to Haiti．immediately after the

quake, the Chinese government sent an international rescue team to Haiti for

search and rescue efforts, and later on sent a medical care and epidemic

prevention team to the country. China has provided various forms of assistance to

Haiti in the value of about 93 million RMB yuan (about 13.6 million US dollars)

in cash and in kind through the UN flash appeals, the CERF, and bilateral

Channels.

I hereby announce that the Chinese government has decided to provide an

additional 10 million yuan (about 1.47 million US dollars) of aid gratis to Haiti to

offer emergency supplies for post-disaster reconstruction. China will be

responsible for shipment of the supplies to Port-au-Prince．The competent

departments of the Chinese government will determine the details of the supplies

with their Haitian counterparts and carry out the shipment as soon as possible·

Thank you, Mr. and Madam Co-chairs.