Madame Chairperson:

The Chinese delegation associates itself with the statement made by the representative of Pakistan on behalf of G77 and China and thanks the Secretary-General for submitting the relevant reports.

56 (a): Globalization and interdependence

Madame Chairperson,

As a major trend that affects the development of the human society, the economic globalization is continuing to develop in depth. The flow of trade, financial resources, technology and information in the world has steadily increased and various forms of economic cooperation, industry relocation and structural adjustment continue to expand both in depth and breadth. This has brought about new opportunities for the development of all countries.

At the same time, the process of economic globalization is also fraught with risks and contradictions which pose serious challenges to all countries, particularly the developing countries. With the imbalance of global economic development, countries face increased risks in economic and financial security; the gap between the North and the South has widened and many developing countries are marginalized. As is stated in the report of the Secretary-General, management of the globalization for the benefit of the whole mankind remains a matter of major concern. Therefore, China stands for enhanced international cooperation and joint effort in seizing the opportunities and coping with the challenges, thus pushing the economic globalization to achieve balanced, universally beneficial and win-for-all results.

In the globalized world economy, the economies of all countries are becoming increasingly interdependent and international economic relations are dealt with more and more on the basis of rules and regimes. The scope of national policy is frequently constrained by international rules and commitments. Countries must make the trade off between formulating and implementing national development strategies and accepting international obligations. With weak economic foundations, underdeveloped markets, lack of resources and backward technologies, the developing countries find themselves at a disadvantage at the starting point and are thus particularly vulnerable to the shock of economic globalization. The relevant international rules, processes and policies must take into account their special situations and give them a chance to integrate into the world economy so that they can benefit from the globalization on an equitable basis and realize development and growth gradually. In this connection, I would like to stress the following three points:

First, the developing countries must participate fully and equally in the economic decision-making. For a long time, the developing countries have been at an obvious disadvantaged position in the process of economic globalization. They were unable to fully and effectively participate in the process of decision-making on many major international economic issues. As a result, the relevant international policies and rules fail to reflect their special situations. In order to rectify this situation so that the requirements of the developing countries can be reflected in a full and timely manner, it is imperative to continue the reform of international financial system, establish an open and just international trading system and increase the developing countries' voice and participation in decision-making in international economic institutions. The multilateral mechanism with the UN at the center should be safeguarded so as to enable the UN to play the leading role in the international cooperation for development.

Secondly, the developing countries should be granted adequate "policy space". For the disproportionately weaker countries, the indiscriminate application of the same standards and rules is far from being fair. Governments should be allowed to weigh the advantages and disadvantages when it comes to the ways to following international rules so as to enable them to strike a balance between domestic policy and international commitments. At the same time, in the formulation of multilateral rules, it is important to effectively take into account the special situations of developing countries and leave them some room for maneuver so that they are able to formulate and implement national development strategies in accordance with their national priorities.

Thirdly, it is important to enhance the capacity of developing countries to integrate into the world economy. The economic globalization is based on the market and, while encouraging competition, it widens the gap among countries. The imbalance in development has become a matter of major concern for many countries. Human development is an organic whole and it is impossible to build the edifice of common prosperity on the gaping gap between the North and the South. The international community, the developed countries in particular, should effectively fulfill the commitments made at the major UN conferences and summits and, through increase of ODA, debt relief, market opening and transfer of technology, help the developing countries, especially the LDCs and African countries, integrate into the global economy and benefit from it.

Madame Chairperson,

Over the last three decades, through ambitious and innovative practice, the Chinese people have found a path of development that closely combines the national development and the process of economic globalization, which has yielded remarkable results. While concentrating on self development, China attaches importance to the strengthening of international cooperation for development and seeks concerted and balanced global development. Although China is a developing country itself, it has been trying to the best of its ability to assist other developing countries, including African countries, to enhance their capacity for independent development. We will as always work together with all countries to enhance our participation in and joint management of the process of globalization in order to build a harmonious world in which everyone enjoys development and common prosperity.

56 (b): Science and technology for development

Madame Chairperson,

More and more people accept wholeheartedly the concept of science and technology for development. Using science and technology to eliminate poverty, reduce diseases, raise the level of health, improve the quality of life and achieve the MDGs has become the consensus of the international community. Over the years, the UN Commission on Science and Technology for Development and UNCTAD have done a tremendous amount of work, for which the Chinese delegation expresses its appreciation.

Educational and human resources development are prerequisites and essential elements in science and technology for development and ICT for development. Within the existing framework of science and technology for development and ICT for development, China calls for strengthening practical measures to help developing countries develop their education and train scientific and technical personnel for practical work. This will support the efforts to build a people-centered and development-oriented all-dimensional information society and to accomplish the MDGs.

56 (c): Preventing and combating corrupt practices and transfer of assets of illicit origin and returning such assets, in particular to the countries of origin, consistent with the UN Convention against Corruption

Madame Chairperson,

The Chinese delegation feels encouraged by the fact that the United Nations Convention against Corruption has received signatures from 140 countries and ratifications from 102 countries, which amply attests to the strong political will of the international community to fight corruption and conduct international cooperation thereon.

Asset recovery is an innovative and unique legal system established by the Convention. We believe that the effective implementation of the Convention in this regard requires further strengthened international cooperation. At the political level, it is essential to strengthen the collaborative will of countries, so as to prevent criminals from abusing, under various pretexts, legal proceedings of the resident countries in an attempt to escape extradition and repatriation, which will compromise the effects of asset recovery. At the legal level, it is imperative to study ways and means to eliminate legal barriers between the requesting and requested states. All countries should address the question of identifying, tracing and returning assets derived from corruption with a proactive, flexible and pragmatic approach, so as to reduce the occurrences of intractability of assets resulting from corruption criminals' taking advantage of the discrepancies between legislations of different countries.

The Chinese government has all along called for the strengthening of international cooperation and exchanges among States Parties on the basis of mutual respect for sovereignty, equality and mutual benefit in preventing and investigating corruption crimes and tracing and returning illegally transferred assets. We stand ready to work with other countries to create a favorable legal environment for the economic and social development of the entire world.

Thank you, Madam Chairperson.