New York, 6 October 2008

Mme. Chairperson,

First of all, I would like to congratulate Your Excellency on your election as Chairperson of the Second Committee of the current session. The Chinese delegation will cooperate closely with you and the bureau to bring the work of our committee to a successful conclusion. China supports the statement made by the representative of Antigua and Barbuda on behalf of the Group of 77 and China.

Mme. Chairperson,

The world is now faced with extremely complicated difficulties and challenges in development, given the worsening of the global economic imbalance, seriousness of the three security problems of finance, energy and food, climate change, environmental degradation, and frequent outbreak of diseases and natural disasters. The world today is confronted with a "development crisis". The traditional world economic engine has fallen into its own trap; soaring energy prices and deteriorating external economic environment are threatening the growth of newly emerging economies; the vast majority of developing countries have not fundamentally gained the chance for development that they deserve. The gap between the North and South and between the rich and poor continue to be widening, and the hope of numerous people to break away from poverty has been even dimmed. Implementation of the MDGs is proceeding in a slow motion.

Under the current circumstances, no country can effectively resolve these problems alone. Countries must cooperate and work concertedly to reverse the trend. Many things need to be done and the priority must be given to the major ones concerning the overall interests.

First, global development partnership needs to be further strengthened. Governments should make good use of the political consensus formed at the High-level Event on the MDGs, and redouble their efforts to translate consensus and commitments into measurable progress. Due to low levels of development and weak foundations, developing countries face great difficulties in achieving development. The international community, developed countries in particular, should fully understand their situation, provide real assistance in the light of the developing countries’ development needs, promote technology transfer and investment, and help them improve the capacity for sustainable development. The United Nations should put development on top of its agenda, play a leadership role, and beef up development-related institutions. It should continue to encourage the international community to increase input in development and urge countries to follow through on their consensus.

Second, effective measures need be taken to reform the international financial architecture and ensure financial security. Establishment of a sound financial system is in the interests of all countries. The international community should take effective measures to reform and improve the international financial system. The international financial reform should focus on reflecting the changes in the world economic pattern, increasing the say and representation of developing countries, reducing their risks in participating in economic globalization and shaping an institutional framework that is conducive to sound and sustainable development of the world economy. The priority of such reforms should be on the building of a stable, orderly and equitable international financial regime. The International Monetary Fund has made some progress in increasing the say and representation of developing countries. In future, it should focus on improving regulation on the international financial market, in particular, improving regulation on the economic vulnerability and policies of reserve currency issuing countries which could affect the whole system, and properly coping with financial fluctuations.

Third, efforts need be made to continue pushing for the establishment and improvement of a fair, equitable, open and non-discriminatory multilateral trade regime. Failure of the Doha round of negotiations is not conducive to the orderly proceeding of international trade, nor is it good for the steady development of the world economy. There will be no winners. All members should work together to push for comprehensive and balanced outcome of the Doha Round negotiations at an early date and curb trade protectionism. The development objective of the Doha Round must be achieved and concerns of developing countries, particularly the least developed countries, should be fully accommodated so that developing countries will fully and effectively participate in the multilateral trading regime and benefit from it.

Fourth, importance needs to be attached to agriculture and food security ensured. Food security is a livelihood issue as well as an economic issue. All parties should embrace the concept of common development, coordinate policies and actions actively and effectively. They need to support the UN in playing a coordinating role and increase their aid so as to help developing countries to tide over difficulties. It is important to work out a long-term international food cooperation strategy, attach importance to agricultural production, improve food output, increase food reserve, create an enabling environment for international trade in farm products, and establish a fair and equitable international order in this area. Efforts should be made to strengthen macro-coordination, curb excessive speculation and form a UN-lead international cooperation mechanism. A global food security safeguarding system should be set up that integrates early warning, monitoring and supervision, macro-regulation and emergency relief.

Fifth, coordinate efforts need to be made to meet the challenges of energy and environment and continue to follow the path of sustainable development. At present, the worsening of energy security, environmental degradation and other problems is not only eroding the achievement of development, but also compromising its sustainability. In this connection, countries must adopt a long-term perspective, strengthen cooperation and deal with the problems in concerted efforts. With regard to energy security, countries should foster a new energy security concept featuring mutually beneficial cooperation, diversified forms of development and common energy security through coordination, and work together to uphold world energy security through enhanced dialogue and cooperation. When it comes to the environment, the international community should adhere to the principle of "common but differentiated responsibilities" and other principles concerning the environment and development cooperation. Countries must show political sincerity and make efforts to turn words into action under the principles and frameworks of related conventions and protocols. Developed countries should honor their commitments in terms of finance, technology, adaptation, and capacity building to help developing countries improve their capacity to respond to the problems.

Mme. Chairperson,

South-South cooperation is an important component of China's cooperation with other countries. In the process of sharing development experience with other developing countries and providing assistance to them within its capacity, China has always respected the recipient countries while at the same time emphasizing actual results, and has thus made positive progress. As China achieves further development, the South-South cooperation between China and other developing countries will become more substantive with a broader prospect. At the High-level Event on the MDGs, Premier Wen Jiabao announced a series of measures to assist other developing countries. This demonstrates China’s sincerity in expanding South-South cooperation. We will act accordingly to implement the plans.

Mme. Chairperson,

Since the inception of reform and opening up three decades ago, China has formulated and carried out a development strategy with Chinese characteristics and scored some achievements. However, we are also soberly aware that China is still the largest developing country in the world with a huge population, poor economic foundation and uneven development. The average living standards of its people are not high. It is still confronted with a number of problems, such as uneven development and environmental pressure. It is always the central task of the Chinese government to promote the sustained economic and social development and improve the lives of its people.

The Chinese government is implementing a scientific approach to development which puts people first and strives for all-round, coordinated and sustainable development. We are endeavoring for sound and rapid economic development and social progress. While maintaining a steady and rapid economic growth, we are also working hard to build a harmonious society. China will continue to improve its energy and resource efficiency, speed up the development of a resource-efficient society, step up its efforts to protect the ecosystem, and strike a balance between economic growth on the one hand and population, resources and the environment on the other. China will remain committed to peaceful development featuring cooperation, openness and harmony. We will not only bring a moderately comfortable life to the Chinese people, but also make contribution to the common development and prosperity across the globe.

Thank you, Mme. Chairperson.