Mr. President,

The Chinese delegation wishes to congratulate the newly appointed President and vice presidents of the UNICEF Executive Board, thank the outgoing President and Vice Presidents of the 2013 Executive Board, and appreciate Executive Director Mr. Anthony Lake's remarks and review introduction to the work of UNICEF in 2013 and its priorities in 2014. The Chinese delegation also wishes to express its deep condolence cues to the families of the two UNICEF staff members in Kabul last month.

China commends the efforts made by UNICEF in 2013,under the leadership of the Executive Director , to proactively respond to the ever-changing and increasingly formidable international challenges.The encouraging progress has been made in such areas as preparing the  Strategic Plan 2014-2017; implementing the mandate from the GA QCPR ( of UN operational activities for development ) resolution; bolstering the country-led development; promoting the realization of children’s rights and equity; promoting gender equality and the empowerment of women; upgrading humanitarian responses and capabilities; and enhancing evaluation and accountability. China endorses the focus areas for UNICEF’s work in 2014,and hopes that UNICEF, in the new cycle of strategic plan, will continue to cement the ties of cooperation with countries and especially to strengthen the communication and coordination with the program countries, to ensure the stability and continuity in the implementation of the new strategic plan, and to focus on increasing synergy with the strategic planning and development priorities of the program countries, by giving top priority to programs and other measures supporting the  survival, development as well as protection of children.

The year of 2014 marks the crucial final phase of achieving the UN MDGs,  the first year of implementing UNICEF’s new strategic plan, as well as the critical juncture in fostering an enabling environment for children’s development around the globe. Children are the future of every society. China supports the corresponding endeavors by UNICEF to help incorporate the issues of  the child into the post-2015 Development Agenda. China hopes that UNICEF will, in the new cycle of strategic plan, continue to assign priority to the achievement of MDGs and other internationally agreed development goals. and to pay full attention to the needs and challenges of the LDCs and African countries by increasing assistance and support in such areas as capacity building and humanitarian response, and play a bigger role in helping developing countries accelerate their achievement of MDGS and of balanced and sustainable development.

China supports UNICEF's efforts to explore ways to build up partnerships to promote common progress and development. In recent years, UNICEF has not only carried out cooperation with such international institutions as the World Bank, but also strengthened its cooperation with its members and with different regions, and south-south cooperation has become an area of focus for UNICEF. China hopes that UNICEF will continue to strengthen inter-agency coordination and its support to south-south cooperation and triangular cooperation. China also commends UNICEF for streamlining management and processes and setting up global innovation and support centers, and encourages UNICEF to share knowledge and practices to promote system wide coherence while clearly understanding there isn't anything like  no one size fits all. 

Mr. President,

The Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, at its third plenary held in November 2013,adopted the Decision  by the CPC Central Committee on Certain issues Concerning the Integrated deepening of the Reform .The decision articulated the strategic arrangements for promoting the development of women and children; and proposed to build up the system of care and support services to left-behind children and women in rural areas, to improve the institutional framework for safeguarding the rights and interests of the  people with disabilities and the classified safety-net for disadvantaged children, and to work towards educational equity and promoting further reform and development of pre-schooling and special education. In  such a context, China looks forward to enhancing cooperation with UNICEF and stands ready to join UNICEF in continuing to share best development practices, and within the framework of south-south cooperation, to actively explore the new channels for cooperation and to create more opportunities for cooperation with other developing countries , LDCs in particular.

Thank you, Mr. President.