Ambassador Omar Hilale，Ambassador Lamin Dibba,

Under Secretary-General Xu Haoliang, 

Assistant Secretary-General Felipe Paullier，

Distinguished delegates and friends,

It is my great pleasure to join this event at UNOSSC, to commemorate the 30th anniversary of United Nations Fund for South-South Cooperation established by General Assembly resolution back in 1995. 

Also, on the occasion of action by General Assembly today on Palestinian question resolutions, I am extremely honored to recall the announcement by President Xi Jinping on Dec. 4 that China will provide US$100 million of assistance to Palestine to alleviate the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and support its recovery and reconstruction.

China highly appreciates the Fund’s steadfast adherence to the fundamental principles of South-South Cooperation over the past three decades. In supporting economic and technical cooperation, knowledge and experience sharing, and capacity building among developing countries, the Fund functions as an important platform for exchanges, mutual learning, and collaboration among nations of the Global South. By prioritizing support for countries in special situations—LDCs, LLDCs and SIDS—the Fund responds to the most urgent development needs. With the long-standing support of UNDP, the UNOSSC has effectively fulfilled its role as the Secretariat, undertaking extensive work in Fund management and operations, laying a solid foundation for the positive outcomes. This once again demonstrating the UN's central role in advocating and promoting South-South Cooperation.

As global governance stands at a new crossroads in a world of turbulence and transformation, the financing gap for sustainable development is increasingly evident, international development cooperation is undergoing profound changes. As the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development enters homestretch, developing countries are facing more diverse needs and daunting challenges. The international community, more than ever, must revitalize multilateralism and renew consensus on development. China has the following expectations for the future development of the Fund:

First, to prioritize development as center of future agendas. In the context of UN80 reform, the Fund shall focus on its own mandate and practical needs of developing countries, to deliver more tangible results and impact on the ground and better support the UN development pillar.

Second, to uphold the fundamental principles of South-South cooperation. The Fund shall continue support for solidarity and mutual assistance among countries of the South, and strengthen their ownership and leadership in South-South Cooperation.

Third, to keep abreast with the times. Through innovative initiatives such as trilateral cooperation, the Fund shall foster more equal and balanced partnerships, better advocate the vision and practice of South-South Cooperation, and further amplify its positive impact.

Excellencies, 

As the largest developing country, China has long placed South-South Cooperation at the forefront of its foreign policy. China actively advances collaboration under Belt and Road Initiative and promotes the Global Development Initiative in a substantive manner. China has consistently made annual voluntary contributions to UNOSSC and the Fund, remaining the largest contributor, taking concrete actions to strengthen solidarity and cooperation among countries of the Global South.

In September, President Xi Jinping solemnly put forward the Global Governance Initiative, elaborating on the principles, approaches, and pathways for reform and improvement of global governance. In his speech during the General Debate of the 80th session of the General Assembly, Premier Li Qiang announced that China will work with the UN to establish the “China–UN Global South-South Development Facility”. As an important measure to promote common development, enhance governance effectiveness, and support multilateralism, the Facility will intensify the momentum for the future development of UNOSSC and the Fund. To facilitate following implementation, a delegation from the China International Center for Economic and Technical Exchanges(CICETE) has also joined us today and will subsequently share further details of the Facility.

China looks forward to working together with all parties to ensure that the Fund achieves even greater success in the next thirty years, and to continuously inject new impetus into advancing South-South Cooperation and implementing the 2030 Agenda.

Thank you.