Interview: China acts as facilitator of global sustainable development

It is widely recognized that China has been offering its support to countries in need to promote global sustainable development, said Wu Hongbo, UN under- secretary-general for economic and social affairs.

"When I was in Ethiopia for the Third International Conference on Financing for Development, I saw China constructing a railway road in that land-locked country all the way to port of Djibouti," Wu told Xinhua in a recent interview. "That impressed me a lot."

Sharing his experience in Ethiopia, Wu mentioned that China has also been helping the country with several infrastructure projects such as construction of highway, wind power plants and also urban light rail, which have provided the country with fundamental support.

"These are quite common in China, but they are all new to this African country," he said, adding that China's presence in Ethiopia is just part of its contribution to the world's sustainable development under the framework of South-South cooperation.

China will continue to help other developing countries within its capacity, said Wu, who suggested China further cooperate with them to achieve sustainable and inclusive industrialization.

China is now currently undergoing industrial transformation with excess capacity, and thus there are plenty of opportunities emerging for China and other developing countries, especially countries in Africa, to cooperate to upgrade industrial levels, he explained.

"We have witnessed a lot of examples of win-win cooperation," Wu said. "And they are welcomed by developing countries."

Wu insisted the momentum of South-South cooperation development remains strong; however, he stressed that regardless of the success of South-South cooperation, developed countries still bear the main responsibility to help developing countries with their development.

"North-South cooperation is the mainstream of global partnerships today," he said. "South-South cooperation is just a supplement."

A PRACTITIONER OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

As the largest developing country in the world, China has been actively involved in global sustainable development effort, and has taken it as a serious obligation, according to Wu.

Taking poverty eradication as an example, China has made a significant contribution by accounting for two-thirds of the world 's population reduction in extreme poverty.

According to a report published jointly by China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and UN system in China, China has achieved the UN target of halving the proportion of poor people ahead of schedule. The poverty-stricken people in the country have decreased by 439 million, from 689 million in 1990 to 250 million in 2011.

The report on China's Implementation of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) (2000-2015) also said the country has already met the UN goals of reducing the under-five mortality rate by two-thirds and reducing the maternal mortality ratio by three quarters.

"These are important indicators to measure development, and can also be counted as China's contributions to the international community on development," he said.

A new sustainable development agenda is going to be adopted in September this year to replace the MDGs to guide the world development in the next 15 years. It basically redefines how the world works together to end poverty, promote prosperity, and to combat climate change.

In terms of combating climate change, Wu said China has made progress in the area of sustainable energy, including wind power and other renewable sources of energy. Also, the country has promised to reach the peaking of carbon dioxide emissions around 2030 and make best efforts to peak early in its intended nationally determined contributions (INDC).

In accordance with China's INDC, an action plan submitted to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, the country said it aims to cut carbon dioxide emissions per unit of gross domestic product by 60 percent to 65 percent from the 2005 level by 2030.

"I think China has not only made its commitments to combating climate change, it has also taken actions to fulfill its promises, " Wu said. "And I think this will promote the global negotiations on climate change." Endite