China asks UN development system to respect host countries

UNITED NATIONS, May 31 (Xinhua) -- China on Thursday asked the UN development system to respect the will of the host countries in carrying out development assistance.

Chinese Permanent Representative to the United Nations Ma Zhaoxu made the appeal after the General Assembly adopted a resolution on the repositioning of the UN development system.

The resolution provides for greater respect on the part of resident coordinators for the leadership and ownership of host countries and makes it clear that program countries have the final say on the UN Development Assistance Framework, said Ma.

The composition of the UN country teams should be determined in consultation with program countries. The selection criteria of resident coordinators should be decided with inputs from member states in line with program countries' priorities and development needs, he said.

Reform of the development sector is a long-term and systematic project. Adopting the resolution by the General Assembly is the first step of the reform process, he said.

The reform outcomes should be implemented in a way to ensure program countries' full sovereignty over their development and implementation of the 2030 Agenda, as well as respect for the development models and pathways that countries, especially developing countries, choose based on their national conditions, he said.

As the largest developing country in the world, China is home to 30.46 million rural population living in poverty. China expects the UN development system, through reform, to remain focused on development as its core function and give top priority to achieving sustainable development goals such as poverty reduction, said Ma.

"In the context of implementing the 2030 Agenda, we should deepen international development cooperation, jointly seize development opportunities and properly address development challenges to build a community of shared future for mankind where all countries enjoy development and prosperity." Enditem