Mr. President,

China wishes to thank you for convening this meeting and associates itself with the statement made by South Africa on behalf of the Group of 77 and China. The Copenhagen Declaration and Programme of Action adopted by the World Summit for Social Development 20 years ago remain the programmatic documents guiding the global endeavor for social development. As such, they are of great historical and current significance. Over the past 20 years, the international community has achieved many positive results in social development; the global population living in extreme poverty has been reduced and some countries and regions have experienced continuous improvement in social development.

On the other hand, by the end of 2014, there are still over 1 billion people in the world living under the poverty line and over 201 million people unemployed, including 73 million young people. Old and new problems such as regional conflicts, climate change and emergent public health crisis intertwine, posing formidable challenges to social development. Countries should demonstrate a sense of historical responsibility and forward-looking vision, and unite together to respond to these challenges. In this connection, China wishes to share the following observations:

First, countries should implement the core tasks in social development in a comprehensive and balanced manner based on their national conditions. In the area of social development, there are no universally applicable policy initiatives. Countries differ in national conditions, levels of development and priorities of social development policies. The Copenhagen Declaration and Programme of Action have identified poverty eradication, full employment and social integration as the three core goals of social development. In formulating and implementing social development policies, countries should advance these goals in a comprehensive and balanced manner based on their specific conditions, and ensure the equal enjoyment by their people of the opportunities and fruits of development.

Secondly, countries should build sound social security systems to effectively safeguard the rights and interests of vulnerable groups. A sound social security system is crucial for healthy social development. Currently, the poor, the elderly and persons with disabilities find themselves in worsening conditions and the problem of youth employment has become particularly prominent. Countries should embrace the principle of people-centered development, address the protection of vulnerable groups from the development perspective, build sound social security systems and promote social integration.

Thirdly, the international community should strengthen cooperation in social development and increase support to developing countries. Although countries differ in terms of capacity for and level of development, they are all participants in, contributors to and beneficiaries from global endeavor for social development. The international community should pay greater attention to the elimination of inequality among countries, and increase assistance to developing countries, especially the African countries and the LDCs, so as to improve their capacity for social development and effectively help them implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Mr. President,

Over the 30-plus years since the beginning of its reform and opening up, China has, in line with its national conditions, chosen a path of social development with Chinese characteristics and has achieved remarkable success. Last month, the 5th Plenum of the 18th Congress of the Chinese Communist Party adopted the Central Committee's Proposal for Formulating the 13th Five-Year Plan on National Economic and Social Development. Going forward, the Chinese government is committed to realizing development that is innovative, coordinated, green, open and shared by all, and engage in significant reforms in the social area, including establishing a system of accountability for poverty eradication and ensuring the enjoyment by all urban and rural residents of medical insurance for critical illness, so as to lay down a solid foundation for attaining our goal of building a moderately prosperous society by 2020. China will also work vigorously to implement the various initiatives announced by President Xi Jinping at the UN Development Summit and the Summit of China-Africa Cooperation Forum, with the priority on the implementation of the Ten Major China-Africa Cooperation Plans, thus contributing to the implementation by the African and other developing countries of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Thank you, Mr. President.