President, 

I thank you for convening today’s meeting, and thank the briefers for their briefings. China aligns itself with the statement delivered by Uruguay on behalf of G77 and China.

The UN80 Initiative is gaining momentum in both depth and substance, and the tasks involved are increasingly complex and arduous. China appreciates the Secretariat’s efforts to take stock of reform progress and chart the roadmap for next steps, and looks forward to the Secretary-General’s comprehensive report, which will provide important reference to continuing reform in an inclusive and transparent manner. 

On regional reset, China supports strengthening the regional capacities of the UN development system to better align global, regional, and national implementation efforts. That said, reforms should be tailored to specific circumstances, taking into full account regional realities and levels of development, and respecting the priorities of regional countries. For the Asia Pacific, it is important to leverage the central role of ESCAP, focus on helping member states achieve SDGs, without unquestioning expansion into the domains of peace and security and human rights. DESA should provide essential guidance for the work in this regard. On the shared platform initiative for development and humanitarian areas, reform should respect national ownership and leadership. Resident Coordinators and Humanitarian Coordinators should have clear a division of labor and well-defined roles and responsibilities, with strengthened capacity and effectiveness in mandate implementations. Double-hatted RC/HCs should also have distinct boundaries between their functions when performing their respective mandates. We hope that the Secretariat will provide specific proposals on those reform proposals.

China supports the UN in establishing joint knowledge hubs to pool system-wide knowledge resources, reduce duplication, and enhance policy coherence. The knowledge hubs should be demand-driven and effectively help developing countries enhance capacity building. DESA has comparative advantages to leverage in terms of policy support and coordination. 

I have two questions. First, regarding regional reset, what specifically does strengthening cross-pillar collaboration refer to? Would it affect the existing mandates and functioning of the regional commissions themselves? 

Second, when arrangements such as co-location and common performance framework are implemented in fragile countries and small-island states, how do we ensure they are matched to the specific realities of host countries?

Thank you, President.