Chinese envoy calls for balanced social development

A Chinese envoy to the United Nations said on Thursday that poverty reduction, social integration and full employment, as the three core goals of social development, should be advanced in a balanced manner.

Countries should advance these three core goals in an integrated manner, taking poverty reduction as the basis for social development, employment promotion as the priority goal of social development, and eradication of discrimination and injustice as important elements of inclusive growth, Wang Min, China's deputy permanent representative to the UN, said in a speech at the 54th Session of the Commission for Social Development.

In the speech, Wang also noted that "the autonomy of countries in formulating their implementation programs should be respected," since the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development has left its implementation to national governments.

On the social development of developing countries, Wang said the international community should show political will, make an effort to address the unevenness of development between the North and the South, and promote global development partnerships characterized by win-win cooperation, so as to realize common development and prosperity.

"Developed countries should effectively honor their ODA (Official Development Assistance) commitments and continue to provide financial and technical support to developing countries," he said.

In terms of China's efforts to implement the 2030 Agenda, the Chinese government has set up an inter-agency coordination mechanism at the national level and is in the process of formulating implementation plans in social development-related areas, in a bid to make them an integral part of China's overall national development strategy for building a moderately prosperous society in all respects, he said.

As the largest developing country, China has done its utmost to advance the development and prosperity of the world.

At the UN headquarters in September 2015, Chinese President Xi Jinping put forward a new concept of development that pursues "fair, open, comprehensive and innovative" development, and announced a series of initiatives to help other developing countries develop their economies and improve people's lives. These initiatives included the China-UN Peace and Development Fund and the South-South Cooperation Assistance Fund.

China will take the implementation of the 2030 Agenda as its mission, work to implement the assistance initiatives announced by President Xi Jinping, and provide the world with more "Chinese opportunities" so as to promote the global cause of social development toward achievement of greater success, said the envoy. Endi