Countries should implement core tasks in social development based on national conditions: Chinese envoy

Countries should implement the core tasks in social development in a comprehensive and balanced manner based on their national conditions, said a Chinese envoy here Friday.

Wang Min, China's deputy representative to the United Nations, made the remarks at a meeting on the commemoration of the 20th anniversary of the World Summit for Social Development.

"In the area of social development, there are no universally applicable policy initiatives," said Wang. "Countries differ in national conditions, levels of development and priorities of social development policies."

"In formulating and implementing social development policies, countries should advance these goals in a comprehensive and balanced manner based on their specific conditions, and ensure the equal enjoyment by their people of the opportunities and fruits of development," he said.

Twenty years ago, the World Summit for Social Development adopted the Copenhagen Declaration and Program of Action, which remain the programmatic documents guiding the global endeavor for social development.

Although the international community has achieved many positive results in social development over the past 20 years, Wang said, there are still old and new problems such as regional conflicts, climate change and emergent public health crisis.

By the end of 2014, over 1 billion people had been living under the poverty line while over 201 million people had been unemployed, including 73 million young people, he noted.

In this regard, Wang said, countries should build sound social security systems to effectively safeguard the rights and interests of vulnerable groups.

Meanwhile, "the international community should strengthen cooperation in social development and increase support for developing countries," he added.

"Over the 30-plus years since the beginning of its reform and opening up, China has, in line with its national conditions, chosen a path of social development with Chinese characteristics and has achieved remarkable success," he said.

"Going forward, the Chinese government is committed to realizing development that is innovative, coordinated, green, open and shared by all, and engage in significant reforms in the social area, including establishing a system of accountability for poverty eradication and ensuring the enjoyment by all urban and rural residents of medical insurance for critical illness, so as to lay down a solid foundation for attaining our goal of building a moderately prosperous society by 2020," he said. Enditem