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Press Release
24 May 2022
Ministry of Commerce and United Nations in China co-host the Inaugural Meeting of the Joint Steering Committee of UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework
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Video
20 May 2022
Charlene Ren, UN Young Champion on Nature-based Solutions (NbS) for Disaster and Climate Resilience
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Speech
20 May 2022
The Inauguration Ceremony of the United Nations Global Geospatial Knowledge and Innovation Centre
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The Sustainable Development Goals in China
The Sustainable Development Goals are a global call to action to end poverty, protect the earth’s environment and climate, and ensure that people everywhere can enjoy peace and prosperity. These are the goals the UN is working on in China:
Publication
04 May 2022
United Nations in China 2021 Annual Country Results Report
The Annual Country Results Report showcases the collective progress made in 2021 by the United Nations (UN) in supporting China to implement its national development priorities and enhance its international development cooperation efforts, as outlined in the UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF) 2021 – 2025 for the People’s Republic of China (PRC). This is the first Annual Report under the new country programme cycle.
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19 July 2021
Happy 50th anniversary: What China and the UN can achieve together
China was one of the architects of the United Nations and was the first signatory of the UN Charter in San Francisco in 1945.
But it was only in October 1971, with the Chinese delegation led by Mr. Qiao Guanhua, that China's representation at the UN resumed. Since that time, the UN has had the great privilege of witnessing and supporting China in achieving one of the greatest periods of socio-economic progress in world history.
Now, on the 50th anniversary of the UN in China, I am honored to serve as the UN Resident Coordinator, a post I took earlier this year.
While I am a recent arrival to China, only just beginning to understand its rich tapestry of over 5,000 years of civilization, the UN in China has had the privilege to shape and witness the profound economic and social transformations that have occurred since reform and opening-up.
As we commemorate a half-century of cooperation, a question naturally emerges: Which way now for the UN and China?
This is a weighty question, as China and the world are at a critical juncture. Tentatively emerging from the COVID-19 pandemic, but with many countries still struggling terribly. Staring down the threats of climate change, with record-setting heat, fires, storms, and other disasters. Counting down the years in this "Decade of Action" to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.
China's standard-setting leadership in past decades gives me confidence that we can achieve even greater things in the years to come.
China's record-breaking economic development
In 1978, Deng Xiaoping's reform and opening-up policy began to transform the nation, as evidenced, for example, in Shenzhen, which changed from a fishing village on the Pearl River Delta into an international hub for research and innovation in a single generation.
And in 1979, China chose to accept development assistance from the UN, learning from its long experience in poverty alleviation and industrial and agricultural growth.
China's success in the more than 40 years since then has been nothing short of miraculous. During this time, China: Lifted over 750 million people out of absolute poverty; Invested in public health and education, investing in human capital thus making possible a happier and healthier workforce that contributed to economic productivity; Became the world's manufacturing centre, based on a growth model of foreign investments, resource-intensive manufacturing, cheap labour, and exports; Multiplied its per capita GDP from $180 in 1979 to an incredible $12,000 today.
The signs of this progress are evident not just in statistics, but in daily quality-of-life matters. Throughout China now lie the classic hallmarks of a market economy, with opulent shops from luxury brands, foreign and domestic.
A far cry from what I saw as a young boy growing up near Chinatown in my native Kolkata, India, though fondly remembered as a warren of alleys, narrow aisles of food markets, elderly men playing board games in parks, with Chinese characters on the signs overhead.
For example, in Beijing during the early 1980s, cabbage was often the only vegetable on menus. With help from the UN's development agency in China, availability at markets expanded - supporting the diversification of domestic vegetables and introducing new ones from abroad, such as broccoli.
This startling success is on track to continue. China's per capita GDP is projected to more than double by 2025, reaching over $25,000, adjusted for purchasing power. The country's surging economy is set to overtake 56 countries in the world's per-capita income rankings during the quarter-century through 2025, the International Monetary Fund projects.
No less an authority than Professor Jeffrey Sachs, a United Nations SDG Advocate and director of the Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University, has called China an "inspiration" in stopping the pandemic and ending poverty.
This progress is all the more remarkable considering the hit that the pandemic has delivered to the global economy. China's generosity and leadership on this front are commendable. China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi told the 9th World Peace Forum in Beijing "to build a 'Great Wall of Immunity' to battle the COVID-19 pandemic."
Still, challenges remain. As with any economy at this stage of development, the relentless pursuit of high growth is reaching its natural limits, and China faces new economic, social, and environmental challenges.
New priorities for agenda 2030 and beyond
The UN Sustainable Development Goals are meant to be achieved by the year 2030, and we are now in what is called "the Decade of Action." I see three areas for close cooperation at this critical juncture.
First, a new sustainable development model. The Government recognizes slower economic growth as the "new normal." Changing demographic, labour, and investment realities present China with new obstacles in addressing food security, pervasive inequalities, and cost-effectiveness in universal healthcare.
In a post-Xiaokang society, China needs to embrace innovations and services that drive equitable and inclusive progress, dealing with the legacies of rapid expansion to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and leave no one behind.
Second, climate change. As a consequence of its large population and economy, China is the world's single largest emitter of carbon dioxide, responsible for a quarter of global emissions. Having recognized the environmental costs of this development model, President Xi Jinping has set a bold ambition for China to hit peak carbon emissions by 2030 and reach carbon neutrality by 2060.
This enormous feat will require a massive transition in how China's economy works and its population lives every day. Seismic shifts in investments and technologies will be needed.
Third, multilateralism. China is a champion for multilateral efforts to address global challenges. China has the will, knowledge, and resources to contribute enormously to the Sustainable Development Goals and position itself as an exceptional member of the community of nations.
Today, China is the second-largest contributor to the UN peacekeeping budget and has sent more peacekeepers to UN missions than any other permanent member of the Security Council. China also played a vital role in shaping the consensus needed for the SDGs and the Paris Agreement.
Future efforts should emphasize initiatives that expand vaccine access, grant debt relief to lower-income countries, and provide sustainable financing for infrastructure and climate efforts.
China and the United Nations
The United Nations family in China is in lockstep with China's vision. The 2030 Agenda and the recently agreed-upon Country Framework are the blueprints for building on the gains of the past.
In this Decade of Action to achieve the SDGs, the UN can support this ambition and convene, connect and catalyze stakeholders in leveraging China's development experience to benefit other countries, especially those in Africa, in the spirit of South-South Cooperation.
As the world deals with the pandemic, the UN Secretary-General António Guterres says, "As we strive to respond and recover, we must re-examine many longstanding assumptions and reconsider the approaches that have led us astray. We must also re-imagine the way nations cooperate. The pandemic has underscored the need for a strengthened and renewed multilateralism."
This October will also be time for the UN and China to celebrate our 50-year relationship. China and the UN will re-imagine, innovate, reinvigorate and continue the hard and daily work and dedicate ourselves anew to creating lasting prosperity for the people of China and all the world.
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13 May 2021
Sharing the story of China’s development miracle: a UN Resident Coordinator’s blog
Arriving in Guangzhou as a first-time visitor to China, I could not help but think of former U.S Secretary of State Henry Kissinger's description of what he saw as an underdeveloped provincial city in the 1980s.
As I gazed at the city's architecture and infrastructure from the airport and hotel during my 21-day quarantine period, I felt amazed as if my plane had taken me back to Dubai, which is another city that represents another iconic demonstration of dramatic transformation.
Looking at this city from this lens as I spent three weeks in isolation gave me a unique perspective through which to view this city's history while considering China's meteoric rise in recent decades. A development miracle to be shared with the world In lifting nearly 800 million people from extreme poverty over the past four decades as well as the nearly 100 million poor rural citizens in the past eight years, China's accomplishments are simply remarkable.
The story of its development into the world's second-largest economy and its key takeaways
are of great significance, which we must share with other developing nations, especially those in Africa, where I was last posted as UN Resident Coordinator in Kenya. Whether in manufacturing, its open market access, or its agricultural sectors, China's has a breadth of development experience worth learning from. Consider this; over 40 per cent of Africa's agricultural produce is wasted every year due to post harvest loss. Africa should be the breadbasket of the world, but yet it imports nearly US 60-70 billion dollars' worth of food. In this Decade of Action for the SDGs, our direction is clear. We leave no one behind.
With these remaining challenges present as we embark on the Fourth Industrial Revolution, the United Nations Country Team in China now stands in a unique position to cooperate with the Government of China and apply these successes in Africa and other nations in the Global South. Working with a champion for multilateralism Rather than shirk from international cooperation, China has shown its firm belief in the principles of multilateralism. Despite the stresses that the COVID-19 pandemic has placed on international cooperation, China has acted in tenacity and compassion, joining hands with other nations to face this global challenge. As I witnessed in Kenya, China's donations of personal protective equipment and other supplies played a critical role during the disruption in global supply chains in March 2020. And its preventative public health response has set a model for the world to adopt in slowing the virus's spread to save lives and livelihoods. As President Xi Jinping noted at the Davos Forum, "winter cannot stop the pace of spring". Mankind will overcome the COVID-19 pandemic. Whether it's the continued investments in South-South Cooperation or the Belt and Road Initiative, we see China moving forward to build an ecosystem that provides a network for prosperity, well-being and education on a global scale. Economic progress is mutually reinforcing and interdependent. The human race cannot be decoupled just as technology and humanity cannot be decoupled. Ambitious and determined to win My arrival here is one of fate. At the age of 9, as a boy in Chinatown, Kolkata, India, I found a pair of brown boots at the markets, simply too expensive for my family. The Chinese shopkeeper then came over, hand on shoulder, and handed me a bag where I later found the exact boots in my size. Upon returning to this store, the shopkeeper told my parents said that he once had a son my age, whom he lost due to a cholera outbreak. My mother reminded me of this story upon my nomination by the UN Secretary-General Mr Antonio Guterres, to serve as UN Resident Coordinator in China. Every day I am here, I am inspired by what I see around me, what China has achieved and can achieve as a country. The maturity and spirit of a country with 5,000 years of civilization. I pledge to keep enhancing my knowledge of China, understand its trends, maintain a spirit of innovation as we explore new partnerships with the private sector, and give full play to the UN family's initiatives. As I continue on my journey as the UN Resident Coordinator in China, I lead a UN Country Team that will deliver as one. I hope that the Government of China and its people see us make progress so that they can say that this is a United Nations that is fit for purpose, fulfils its mission and lives up to the vision of the Secretary-General.
As I gazed at the city's architecture and infrastructure from the airport and hotel during my 21-day quarantine period, I felt amazed as if my plane had taken me back to Dubai, which is another city that represents another iconic demonstration of dramatic transformation.
Looking at this city from this lens as I spent three weeks in isolation gave me a unique perspective through which to view this city's history while considering China's meteoric rise in recent decades. A development miracle to be shared with the world In lifting nearly 800 million people from extreme poverty over the past four decades as well as the nearly 100 million poor rural citizens in the past eight years, China's accomplishments are simply remarkable.
The story of its development into the world's second-largest economy and its key takeaways
are of great significance, which we must share with other developing nations, especially those in Africa, where I was last posted as UN Resident Coordinator in Kenya. Whether in manufacturing, its open market access, or its agricultural sectors, China's has a breadth of development experience worth learning from. Consider this; over 40 per cent of Africa's agricultural produce is wasted every year due to post harvest loss. Africa should be the breadbasket of the world, but yet it imports nearly US 60-70 billion dollars' worth of food. In this Decade of Action for the SDGs, our direction is clear. We leave no one behind.
With these remaining challenges present as we embark on the Fourth Industrial Revolution, the United Nations Country Team in China now stands in a unique position to cooperate with the Government of China and apply these successes in Africa and other nations in the Global South. Working with a champion for multilateralism Rather than shirk from international cooperation, China has shown its firm belief in the principles of multilateralism. Despite the stresses that the COVID-19 pandemic has placed on international cooperation, China has acted in tenacity and compassion, joining hands with other nations to face this global challenge. As I witnessed in Kenya, China's donations of personal protective equipment and other supplies played a critical role during the disruption in global supply chains in March 2020. And its preventative public health response has set a model for the world to adopt in slowing the virus's spread to save lives and livelihoods. As President Xi Jinping noted at the Davos Forum, "winter cannot stop the pace of spring". Mankind will overcome the COVID-19 pandemic. Whether it's the continued investments in South-South Cooperation or the Belt and Road Initiative, we see China moving forward to build an ecosystem that provides a network for prosperity, well-being and education on a global scale. Economic progress is mutually reinforcing and interdependent. The human race cannot be decoupled just as technology and humanity cannot be decoupled. Ambitious and determined to win My arrival here is one of fate. At the age of 9, as a boy in Chinatown, Kolkata, India, I found a pair of brown boots at the markets, simply too expensive for my family. The Chinese shopkeeper then came over, hand on shoulder, and handed me a bag where I later found the exact boots in my size. Upon returning to this store, the shopkeeper told my parents said that he once had a son my age, whom he lost due to a cholera outbreak. My mother reminded me of this story upon my nomination by the UN Secretary-General Mr Antonio Guterres, to serve as UN Resident Coordinator in China. Every day I am here, I am inspired by what I see around me, what China has achieved and can achieve as a country. The maturity and spirit of a country with 5,000 years of civilization. I pledge to keep enhancing my knowledge of China, understand its trends, maintain a spirit of innovation as we explore new partnerships with the private sector, and give full play to the UN family's initiatives. As I continue on my journey as the UN Resident Coordinator in China, I lead a UN Country Team that will deliver as one. I hope that the Government of China and its people see us make progress so that they can say that this is a United Nations that is fit for purpose, fulfils its mission and lives up to the vision of the Secretary-General.
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13 May 2021
Women and Girls to the Front: Gender Equality in STEM for a better tomorrow
Women hold up half the sky.
Some years ago, Sarah Al Amiri, a young Emirati engineer, had a fixed gaze beyond the sky and towards our galaxy. “Space was a sector that we never dared to dream growing up,” she noted.
Fast forward and Sarah Al Amiri is now the United Arab Emirates first Minister of State for Advanced Technology, successfully leading an ambitious project which launched a spacecraft into orbit around Mars, the first-ever Arab interplanetary mission. This has only been achieved by four other nations, including China.
Al Amiri contends that, “the mission is called Amal, which means ‘hope’ in Arabic, because we are contributing to global understanding of a planet. We are going above and beyond the turmoil that is now defining our region and becoming positive contributors to science”.
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, women in the UAE, China and elsewhere have also led ground-breaking efforts against the virus in the fields of public health, vaccines and treatments. The Hope Mission and COVID-19 pandemic highlight the potential gains to be achieved by ensuring full and equal access for women and girls in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). As UN Secretary-General António Guterres emphatically stated, “women and girls belong in science and there is a dividend to be gained for countries that acknowledge this truth.”
Greater Participation Needed in STEM Fields
According to UNESCO, women account for only 28 percent of engineering graduates and 40 percent in computer science and informatics. This gender disparity is alarming, especially as STEM careers are often referred to as the jobs of the future, driving innovation, social wellbeing, inclusive growth and sustainable development.
Women account for only one-third scientific researchers globally, holding fewer senior positions than men at top universities. Furthermore, with the growth of artificial intelligence, automation and machine learning, there are risks for reinforcing inequalities, as the needs of women are more likely to be overlooked in the design of products and projects.
Increasing women’s participation in STEM accelerates sustainable development in low and middle-income countries, offering an opportunity to close gender pay gaps and boosting women’s earnings by USD 299 billion over the next decade. Studies indicate that girls perform as well as boys in science and mathematics, and in many parts countries outperforming them. Aptitude is not the issue.
Gender equality in STEM acts as a powerful accelerator for the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Norms and stereotypes that limit girls’ expectations need to be eliminated, while educators must motivate girls to become changemakers, entrepreneurs and innovators.
Thankfully, there are already encouraging signs of change, in both the UAE and China.
Growing Equality and Empowerment in China
In China, the 14th Five-Year Plan provides new opportunities to prioritize gender equality. Central to the development agenda is a strengthening of science, technology and R&D sectors to address a transformation to a digital and innovative economy. In China, women launch more than half of all new internet companies and make up more than half of inventors filing patent applications. The recently enacted Civil Code establishes new mechanisms for addressing sexual harassment and abuse in workplaces.
Success stories of women specializing in STEM fields should be heralded in order to empower others to follow. As examples, Tu Youyou was China’s first Nobel laureate in Physiology or Medicine in 2015, with her discovery of a malaria therapy; whilst Hu Qiheng was a leader promoting Internet access in China, being inducted into the Internet Hall of Fame in 2013 as a global connector.
In the private sector there are stellar mentors and role-models such as billionaire Zhou Qunfei, who rose from a migrant worker to being the world’s richest self-made woman. As the CEO of Lens Technology, she built an empire manufacturing glass for tech giants such as Tesla, Apple and Samsung.
In Shenzhen, the private sector is now embracing its civic responsibilities, with companies such as Alibaba, Tencent and Huawei launching initiatives to recruit and promote women in STEM fields.
Rapid Progress by the UAE
The space industry is not the only sector in which Emirati women are exemplary.
According to the World Economic Forum 2021 Global Gender Gap Report, the UAE ranked first globally in four of the report’s indicators: women in parliament; sex ratio at birth; literacy rate; and enrolment in primary education. Meanwhile, in the 2019 UNDP Human Development Report, the UAE ranks 35 of the 189 countries in the world in terms of women's empowerment.
In terms of education, 77% of UAE women will continue to receive higher education after high school graduation, and 70% are graduates of higher education in the UAE. Female students now account for 46% of STEM subjects in UAE higher education. Two thirds of the public sector positions are held by women, with 30 per cent of which are leadership positions.
On 30 March the UAE National Action Plan for Women, Peace and Security was launched by H.H. Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak, Chairwoman of the General Women's Union, President of the Supreme Council for Motherhood and Childhood, and Supreme Chairwoman of the Family Development Foundation. This Plan is not only a step in the right direction but also spearheads the vital role of women in the UAE.
For many years, Sheikha Fatima and the UAE have championed and presided over a group of specialised conferences in the Arab, international and Islamic worlds to empower women and enhance their stature.
As the UAE approaches its 50th Jubilee since foundation, it is a matter of pride that the country is making outstanding achievements and launching initiatives to empower women, surging ahead in promoting gender equality and ensuring that women play a key role in the nation’s growth. This has earned the UAE a reputation as being among the most progressive countries in the world.
Global Gender Equality Initiatives
In March 2021, International Women’s Day was celebrated with the UN China Country Team coming together in recognizing tremendous contributions and leadership demonstrated by women and girls around the world. Joint campaigns such as #HERstory saw the UNDP and UN Women shared inspiring stories on social media from women leaders in STEM around the world. A workshop was launched to combat stereotypes and encourage women and girls across China to learn and excel in science and technology.
As part of the Generation Equality global initiative led by UN Women, governments, civil society, private sectors and change-makers from around the world are coming together to fuel a powerful and lasting coalition for gender equality.
It is 25 years since the UN Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action committed nations to the advancement of the rights of women. Now is the time to recommit to ensuring gender equality, especially for STEM in order to harness women’s full potential. Then women of China, the UAE and the world can hold up half of the sky, in principle and reality.
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12 May 2022
Delivering as One, a UN in China conversation presented by Resident Coordinator Siddharth Chatterjee: Episode 7 with Sixi Qu, Representative and Country Director for WFP in China
In the seventh episode of the UN in China podcast, UN Resident Coordinator in China Siddharth Chatterjee sits down with Sixi Qu, Representative and Country Director for the World Food Programme (WFP) in China.
Dr. Qu, a Chinese national, was born and raised in a rural village in southern Hunan Province. Having finished school at an earlier than typical age, he then engaged in all forms of agricultural and farming work, specifically in rice production, only further impressing upon his views from childhood on the importance of food security. He later enrolled at the then Hunan Agricultural College in 1980, graduating four years later and joining the then Ministry of Agriculture following his studies, working largely within the Department of International Cooperation.
During his 33-year career at the Ministry of Agriculture, starting as a project officer and progressing onwards to Director-General level Counsel, he worked closely with UN entities such as FAO, IFAD, and WFP. His experience also saw him gain more experience and a closer lens on bilateral and multilateral agricultural cooperation, technical support and exchange programmes with other parts of the world. Dr. Qu joined WFP in April 2016 as Director of the WFP China office.
“The story of our cooperation in China can be divided into two parts. Before 2005, China was one of the major recipient countries of WFP, and after 2005, China became a (net) donor to WFP.”
In this episode, Dr. Qu highlighted how WFP’s engagement in the country has evolved over the past decades, from establishing its presence in China as part of the UN family in 1979, during the first phase of reform and opening-up. China was once one of the primary recipient countries of food aid from WFP, with over 70 funded large-scale projects in every province in China, including large cities such as Beijing and Shanghai, benefitting over 30 million people. Thanks to China’s socio-economic progress and its adoption of relevant policies and innovations toward food security, China stopped receiving food aid from WFP in 2005 and, since 2006, has emerged as a net food aid donor.
During the conversation, Dr. Qu explains how because of these changes and through initiatives such as the WFP Centres of Excellence, WFP in China now works to be a platform in four main thematic areas, including smallholder value chain capacity development, post-harvest loss management and food systems, disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation, and innovation in rural revitalization and poverty reduction. In stepping up efforts and engagement with relevant government and private-sector stakeholders, he describes several new WFP pilot projects in areas such as preschool nutrition improvement in provinces like Hunan, Gansu, Guangxi, and Sichuan.
Together with the Resident Coordinator, the two also discuss challenges and opportunities in the years ahead, including the rural revitalization agenda as emphasized in China’s 14th Five-Year Plan, sharing crucial experiences and lessons in food security with other parts of the world in South-South Cooperation, and the remaining need to tackle nutrient deficiencies in China with a focus on women and children, as well as WFP’s work in China to leave no one behind and contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, as part of the UN system in China.
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Sixi Qu
Dr. QU Sixi was born in 1963 in Hunan province in South China. He graduated from China Agriculture University and holds a Doctor’s degree in management.
QU joined China Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) in 1984 as Project Officer for FAO affairs and UNDP-funded agricultural projects at the Department of International Cooperation. From 1987-1989, he was seconded by MOA to FAO China office as a secretary. From 1992-1993, he was seconded by MOA to WFP China office as Senior Programme Officer. During 1994-2003, he was first Deputy Division Director, Division Director and later Deputy Director General responsible for cooperation with FAO and WFP as well as bilateral cooperation with American/Oceanic/Asian/African Countries. From 2004-2012, he worked as the Director-General, Center for International Cooperation Service, Ministry of Agriculture, responsible for bilateral agricultural cooperation, technical exchange programmes and technical support. From July 2012 to March 2016, he served as the Counsel (Director General level) at the Department of International Cooperation responsible for multilateral cooperation with FAO and WFP as well as agricultural exchange with CGIAR, G20, APEC and ESCAP. He joined WFP in April 2016 as Representative/Country Director of WFP China Office.
Dr. QU is married with one daughter.
Siddharth Chatterjee
Siddharth Chatterjee took office as the United Nations Resident Coordinator in China on 16 January 2021 and is the designated representative of - and reports to - the UN Secretary-General. He presented his letter of credence to the President of China on 14 April 2021.
Mr. Chatterjee has more than 25 years of experience in international cooperation, sustainable development, humanitarian coordination and peace and security in the United Nations and the Red Cross movement. He has served in many fragile and war-torn countries all over the world.
A 3 times TEDx speaker, he is a regular opinion contributor on humanitarian and development issues for a range of journals which includes Newsweek, Los Angeles Times, Reuters, Huffington Post, Forbes, CNN, Al Jazeera, the Guardian and as of late has also published in mainstream Chinese journals.
Mr. Chatterjee holds a master’s degree in public policy from Princeton University in the United States of America.
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10 May 2022
UNFPA supports midwifery training for local health providers in Qinghai and Shanxi
“I hope to deliver my second baby here,” says a new mother, who just had her first newborn safely at the Yushu County People’s Hospital, Qinghai province of west China.
Gengsong Daizhong is a Tibetan doctor from the hospital. She is confident that more local women will be willing to have their babies here, thanks to the advancement of their midwifery skills.
Since 2016, China has been providing competency-based midwifery education and training to health workers across the country with the support of UNFPA. Since midwifery is not yet an independent profession but carried out by doctors and nurses in China, the national training offers a critical opportunity to enhance the midwifery skills of health workers in line with the global standards for midwifery set by the International Confederation of Midwifery.
Dr. Gengsong was a participant of the standardized training programme in 2020. She was supported by a project delivered by China Family Planning Association in partnership with UNFPA and the National Health Commission and supported by the Government of Denmark, to improve sexual and reproductive health among vulnerable populations, including ethnic minorities, in Qinghai and Shanxi provinces.
With her newly acquired midwifery skills, Dr. Gengsong is now able to apply the Doula mode of delivery to relieve the anxiety of women during childbirth.
“As the Doula method helps to speed up the process and reduces the risk of severe tearing and postpartum infection, we are receiving very positive feedback from the new mothers.”
A local sexual and reproductive health service provider, Ms. Sun Daomin, participated in the national midwifery training in late 2021. Building on her decades of midwifery experience at the township health center, Sun is supporting the local health facilities in improving their information and services on human-centered, family planning and maternal and child health.
“Postpartum contraception is an essential part of midwifery,” says Sun, as she learned about the different contraceptive choices available to a woman after giving birth. She is expected to visit the villages and share her knowledge on postnatal health management with field health workers, as the COVID-19 situation improves.
From 2020-2021, UNFPA facilitated Dr. Gengsong Daizhong, Ms. Sun Daomin and fifteen other health providers from Qinghai and Shanxi provinces to participate in the 12-week standardized midwifery training programme offered by certified trainers from the Chinese Maternal and Child Health Association.
The training covers theoretical and practical learning on midwifery skills and technologies during pregnancy, childbirth and beyond. It highlights the importance of human-centered care and health education and information throughout the whole process.
Beyond the training of individual health workers, UNFPA is supporting the development of midwifery training bases in health facilities in less developed regions, including the Qinghai Provincial Maternal and Child Health Hospital. This will ensure that, in the future, midwifery training is available to more health workers in Qinghai and nationwide.
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27 April 2022
UN Resident Coordinator Siddharth Chatterjee meets with State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi
In their bilateral meeting, the two sides discussed the China-UN partnership, the Global Development Initiative (GDI) and its importance to accelerate global progress in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and realizing the promise of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
As UN Secretary-General António Guterres said on the 50th anniversary of General Assembly Resolution 2758 last October, “announcement of the Global Development Initiative brings forward new potential in its deep alignment with the Sustainable Development Goals.”
During the meeting, the Resident Coordinator said that the UN in China would work with the Government of China to make the GDI a best-in-class endeavour to keep the SDGs on track and provide velocity to the SDGs, by offering technical assistance while ensuring alignment to relevant international norms and standards, as he reiterated the proposal to establish a joint task force of experts from the Government of China and the UN in China.
He noted that the UN in China, present since 1979, has witnessed many profound economic and social transformations that have taken place, with the country lifting over 770 million people out of extreme poverty, and stressed the need to share these relevant lessons and experiences with the rest of the developing world, with the UN in China as a potential bridge for further and more effective South-South Cooperation and South-South learning.
With eight years left to achieve the SDGs and with the COVID-19 pandemic reversing global progress towards the 2030 Agenda, combined with threats from the climate crisis, widening inequalities, and increasing conflicts, in addition to skyrocketing food, energy, and fertilizer prices, the UN system always welcomes initiatives by any Member State that marshal ideas, capacities, and resources in support of the SDGs, as stated previously by the Resident Coordinator in a briefing with Member States on 17 February 2022.
The Resident Coordinator thanked the Foreign Minister for China’s support of the Organization, as the second-largest contributor to the UN’s regular and peacekeeping budgets, while acknowledging China’s support of recent UN development reforms for a new generation of fit for purpose Country Teams, as envisaged by the Secretary-General.
Following their meeting, the Resident Coordinator joined the Foreign Minister for a forum at the invitation of the China International Development Cooperation Agency (CIDCA) to mark the 50th anniversary of the discovery of Artemisinin and on Building a Global Community of Health for all.
During his remarks, the Resident Coordinator commented that the occasion coincided with World Malaria Day and followed China’s successful seven-decade effort to reduce malaria incidences from 30 million cases to zero, being certified as malaria-free in 2021 by the World Health Organization.
He noted that artemisinin was responsible for a class of some of the most effective antimalarial drugs ever produced and that its discovery by Dr. Tu Youyou, now a Nobel Laureate, has saved countless lives globally.
The Resident Coordinator also took the opportunity to congratulate the Chairman of CIDCA, Luo Zhaohui, for his leadership in advancing South-South Cooperation and global development cooperation while stating that CIDCA, which marks its 4th anniversary this month, is a valued development partner of the UN in China.
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15 April 2022
Delivering as One, a UN in China conversation presented by Resident Coordinator Siddharth Chatterjee: Episode 6 with Gauden Galea
In the sixth episode of the Delivering as One podcast, UN Resident Coordinator in China Siddharth Chatterjee sits down with Dr. Gauden Galea, Representative in China for the World Health Organization (WHO) ahead of World Health Day.
Dr. Galea hails from the small island of Malta, a far cry from working in China, a country of 1.4 billion inhabitants. With his capabilities in epidemiology and medicine, the field of public health became a natural move for the physician by training for many reasons, but it was his invitation to the First International Conference on Health Promotion in 1986, resulting in the Ottawa Charter, that marked a turning point in his career. His early career also saw him set up and lead a health promotion department in the Ministry of Health of his home country and become the first Executive Director of what is now the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Malta.
His journey with the WHO started nearly 24 years ago, taking him to locations as varied as Suva (Fiji), Manilla (Philippines), Geneva (Switzerland), and Copenhagen (Denmark). Throughout this time, in his differing roles, Dr. Galea solidified his interest in health promotion throughout the life-course and the prevention and control of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs). These two areas have become a growing priority in the context that China now faces.
“I was suddenly switched on to the idea of global development, of global health.”
In this episode, Dr. Galea describes the working priorities of the WHO in China, focusing on the areas of technical support in health policy, health systems design and transformation, and advocacy and communications for health, also guided by the Healthy China 2030 Action Plan and the “For the Future” vision for innovation in the WHO Western Pacific Region.
During the conversation, he explains how the WHO in China plays an important role as advocates, conveners, and enablers of support, by collaborating with local and national governments and institutions on people-centred integrated care models in response to the demographic and economic transitions taking place in China as well as reaching out to policymakers and leadership to bring forward best practices in population health and areas including tobacco control, women’s health, mental health, immunization, road safety and more.
Together with the Resident Coordinator, the two also discuss challenges in the years ahead, including the need to tackle health disparities between different population groups in China, building universal health coverage while increasing preparedness for future pandemics, sharing these crucial lessons in public health with other parts of the world in South-South Cooperation, as well as the WHO’s work in China to leave no one behind and contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, as part of the UN system in China.
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Dr. Gauden Galea
Dr. Gauden Galea is a public health physician, currently working as the WHO Representative in China, based in Beijing since April 2018. He has been coordinating the collaboration between WHO and China across all health concerns, with a primary focus on: the COVID-19 response, the review of a decade of health sector reform, advocacy for tobacco and alcohol control, and exploring the digital health landscape of China. On behalf of the Western Pacific Region of WHO, he has been coordinating an effort promoting innovation in public health within the "For the Future" vision of the Region.
Dr Galea has worked for WHO since 1998. Before assuming his current post, he worked as Director of the Division of Noncommunicable Diseases and Promoting Health through the Life-course, in WHO/Europe. He previously held posts in Suva, Manila, and Geneva as technical officer, regional adviser, and coordinator respectively in areas related to NCDs and Health Promotion.
Over the past two decades, he has contributed to the work on developing a national stepwise approach to NCDs, to the development of a process to link the prevention and control of NCDs to health systems, to the compilation of evidence linking NCDs to the global development agenda, to the renewal of life-course approaches to public health in Europe, and to action plans on women’s health and men’s health in Europe.
He has a deep interest in computer programming and the applications of data science to public health.
Siddharth Chatterjee
Siddharth Chatterjee took office as the United Nations Resident Coordinator in China on 16 January 2021 and is the designated representative of - and reports to - the UN Secretary-General. He presented his letter of credence to the President of China on 14 April 2021.
Mr. Chatterjee has more than 25 years of experience in international cooperation, sustainable development, humanitarian coordination and peace and security in the United Nations and the Red Cross movement. He has served in many fragile and war-torn countries all over the world.
A 3 times TEDx speaker, he is a regular opinion contributor on humanitarian and development issues for a range of journals which includes Newsweek, Los Angeles Times, Reuters, Huffington Post, Forbes, CNN, Al Jazeera, the Guardian and as of late has also published in mainstream Chinese journals.
Mr. Chatterjee holds a master’s degree in public policy from Princeton University in the United States of America.
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Story
22 April 2022
Challenging the inequalities people living with HIV/AIDS face
An anxious crowd and deafening silence. People with masks are being called into a clinic cube with an ambiguous sign reading “Immune Deficiency.” This ten-square metre safe house is where people living with HIV meet. As a UN Volunteer Programme Assistant with UNAIDS in China, Weng Huiling shares their stories and fights for their rights.
Weng provides strategic information, advocacy and technical support to coordinate stakeholders to deliver comprehensive life-saving HIV service. She focuses on technical and administrative support to programmes and coordinates partners from the Government, private sector and local communities.
"I have been devoted to the field of HIV/AIDS for years, and UNAIDS has helped broaden my scope to go beyond medical care. My UN Volunteer assignment allowed me to participate in changing the underlying institutional inequality that burdens people living with HIV," she explains.
"Medical care is no longer the bottleneck in HIV response. What we need is accessible and integrated services, community leadership, an evidence-based approach and eradication of the profound inequality. Ending AIDS is possible, if we work together, like with COVID-19." - Weng Huiling, UN Volunteer Programme Assistant with UNAIDS China
In 2021, Weng joined an HIV online prevention intervention study and helped to collect data from key population group discussions and literature reviews. She also used her clinical knowledge to contribute to a cost-effective study on antiretroviral treatment to inform governmental policy prioritization. "I am glad that I could help strategic and technical programme management and participate in discussions on effective, evidence-informed and targeted HIV response," she adds.
"Despite remarkable progress in diagnosis and treatment, people living with HIV are still shackled by discrimination and stigmatization, which can only be overcome by collective inclusiveness. Our goal is to end AIDS as a public health threat by 2030." - Weng Huiling
With UNAIDS, Weng has been able to tell the untold. During this year’s Zero Discrimination Day campaign in March, she led five poster exhibition tours and over ten hours of group discussion for more than 60 visitors from UN agencies, schools and universities, and community-based organizations.
She also worked on connecting funding opportunities and the Beijing LGBT Centre for a peer group programme on HIV. The programme, which aims to provide People Living with HIV with group consultations and educational programmes, is now being implemented with an estimated 1,000 influenced population.
"I was so impressed by the five portraits of people living with HIV. Their stories touched my heart. Our mindset towards people living with HIV, sex education and fragile population needs to be revolutionized." -Rita, a visiting student from Renmin University of China
UNAIDS plays a pivotal role in mobilizing China’s political, technical and financial resources through South-South Cooperation and China-Africa Collaboration.
Accordingly, at the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) meeting in late 2021, Weng organized a virtual dialogue on China-Africa Health Cooperation, jointly hosted by UNAIDS and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. She drafted outcome documents that served for FOCAC in November, emphasizing a joint commitment to local production and multilateral cooperation.
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Press Release
23 May 2022
Ministry of Commerce and United Nations in China co-host the Inaugural Meeting of the Joint Steering Committee of UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework
In their opening remarks, Vice Minister of Commerce and Deputy China International Trade Representative Wang Shouwen and UN Resident Coordinator Siddharth Chatterjee reiterated the importance of the JSC as the highest governing structure for the implementation of UNSDCF in China. They highlighted the opportunity provided by the Committee to strengthen the UN-China collaboration and guide the programmatic work of the Organization in the country.
“Under the guidance of the UNSDCF, China and UN development agencies will further deepen cooperation, support China’s economic development, and help the world better achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. MOFCOM is willing to continue coordinating with relevant Chinese government departments and work with the UN development system for the effective implementation of the UNSDCF.” said Wang Shouwen, Vice Minister of Commerce and Deputy China International Trade Representative.
Vice Minister Wang put forward three proposals to enhance China-UN collaboration, including: i) to deliver on commitments and enhance demonstration effect under the three priorities of the Cooperation Framework, including People and Prosperity, Planet, and Partnerships; ii) to innovate more and harvest more, tapping into UN’s expertise, experts and global networks, and scaling up collaboration with China in digital economy, climate change, renewable energy, etc.; and iii) to strengthen experience sharing and promote common development between China and other developing countries.
“The UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed has said that ‘we have to flip the orthodoxy’ for the repositioning of the UN. This is the core spirit of the UN development system reforms. It is the core mandate of the JSC to identify areas and new opportunities to ensure our work remains relevant and adds value to what China and others are doing already in the development area.” said Siddharth Chatterjee, UN Resident Coordinator in China.
The inaugural meeting also featured panel discussions during which the chairs of the Results Groups and the Thematic Groups under the UNSDCF reported on the progress on the implementation of the Cooperation Framework. Speakers highlighted the results achieved over the course of the past year under the three priorities of the framework. Representatives of the Government of China, including from the Ministry of Commerce, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, National Health Commission, All-China’s Women’s Federation and Ministry of Ecology and Environment provided their guidance for the work of the UN in China going forward.
In closing the event, Director-General Yu Benlin of the Department of International Trade and Economic Affairs at the Ministry of Commerce and the UN Resident Coordinator Chatterjee agreed that the UN and the Government of China will continue to work in lockstep to implement the Cooperation Framework. They also underscored the opportunity to leverage China’s resources and experiences to the benefit of other developing countries, in response to their needs, with a view to support them in meeting the Sustainable Development Goals and realize a more sustainable and just future.
The next JSC meeting will take place in the spring of 2023.
For further information, please contact:
Louise Xi LI, Head of Communications, UN Resident Coordinator’s Office in China
Tel: +8610-85320725, Email: xi.li@un.org
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Press Release
09 May 2022
UNDP And UNEP Co-Host Policy Dialogue On Environmental Protection In China And Around The World Ahead Of Stockholm+50 International Meeting
Jointly organized by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), this high-level policy dialogue is the second part of the wider three-day (27th-29th) Stakeholder Consultation, which began with yesterday’s business roundtable event examining how companies in China can adopt sustainable business practices, leverage green finance opportunities, and lower carbon emissions.
This Stakeholder Consultation is one of many national consultations being held around the world in the lead up to the international meeting "Stockholm+50: a healthy planet for the prosperity of all - our responsibility, our opportunity" taking place in Stockholm (Sweden) on 2-3 June. The meeting will mark the 50th anniversary of the 1972 United Nations conference on the Human Environment and the adoption of the Stockholm Declaration, the first document to put the interconnections between development, poverty, and the environment at the forefront of the international agenda.
“The Stockholm+50 consultations around the world, including this event, bring together thought leaders, policy makers and practitioners to influence, to build a shared vision and to take that vision forward together, with the money, policies and institutions it requires,” said Kanni Wignaraja, UN Assistant Secretary General and UNDP Regional Director for Asia and Pacific in her opening remarks during the policy dialogue.
Dechen Tsering, Regional Director, UN Environment Programme Regional Office for Asia-Pacific stated, “this national consultation will also inform and feed into the outcome of the international meeting in Sweden. We hope to contribute by yielding clear and concrete recommendations for action at all levels, including through strengthened cooperation.”
The high-level policy dialogue is convening some of China’s key policy makers and leaders to share knowledge and lessons learned from China’s historical achievements in environmental protection.
“Humanity only has one earth. It is the common responsibility for all countries to protect the ecology and environment. Building on our previous achievements, let’s join hands to forge ahead for a clean and beautiful world, and pass the azure sky, blue ocean, clear water and green mountains to the coming generations,” stated Huang Runqiu, China’s Minister of Ecology and Environment.
Keynote speakers offered insights on the future outlook for environmental protection in China and globally, and the need for multilateral action to halt the degradation of nature moving forward, and keep the Paris Agreement’s goal of limiting temperature increases to 1.5 degrees Celsius alive.
“In the course of human environmental protection, China is transforming from a passive recipient and active participant to a major player. The world and China are interdependent and interconnected,” said Professor Qu Geping, Former Chairman of the Committee on Environment and Natural Resources of the National People’s Congress and Former Administrator of the National Environmental Protection Agency in his keynote address. “The Earth's environment and its diverse ecosystems are the cornerstone of a community of shared future for mankind. "Only one Earth" must be firmly remembered by all people around the world.”
“We commemorate the 50th anniversary of the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment to revisit the spirit and intention of the Conference, and adhere to and implement the consensus reached by the international community through tangible actions and cooperation.” said Special Envoy for Climate Change and Former Director of the State Environmental Protection Administration, Xie Zhenhua.
Day one of the policy dialogue included a panel discussion exploring the nexus between climate, biodiversity, and prosperity in the Chinese context, with a focus on ensuring a just and inclusive transition towards a low carbon economy. It concluded with a commemoration of both China and Sweden’s efforts in environmental protection highlighted by the presentation of the book “Ocean Currents are Still Protecting Us” co-authored by Professor QU Geping, Dr LI Lailai, and Mr. Måns Lönnroth, exploring the significance the 1972 Stockholm conference.
“A 50-year anniversary represents a historic milestone for the UN and China’s partnership in environmental cooperation, and this is only the beginning,” said Siddharth Chatterjee, UN Resident Coordinator in China. “If we raise up our head and look towards the horizon, the need for this environmental multilateralism will only grow and strengthen, just like the title of the book presented today: “Ocean Currents are Still Protecting Us”.
“The 1972 Conference and the subsequent outcomes were by no means a foregone conclusion, but in the end helped to place environmental concerns at the forefront on the international agenda,” said Helena Sångeland, the Ambassador of Sweden in China. “Fifty years on we are faced with new global challenges, with an even greater urgency.”
The policy dialogue’s second day will center on specific actions for SDG attainment, focusing on nature-positive solutions, the circular economy, as well as looking at the impact of greenhouse gas emissions beyond CO2.
Discussions and takeaways from the two-day event are expected to inform impactful decision-making that will accelerate achievement of the SDGs as well as climate and environmental agendas in China and around the world.
About Stockholm+50:
Stockholm+50: a healthy planet for the prosperity of all – our responsibility, our opportunity” (Stockholm+50) is an international meeting, hosted by the Government of Sweden, convened by the United Nations General Assembly to be held in Stockholm, Sweden, from 2-3 June 2022. It will commemorate 50 years since the 1972 UN Conference on the Human Environment, which made the environment a pressing global issue for the first time. Some 113 countries attended, and participants adopted a series of principles on the environment, including the Stockholm Declaration and Action Plan for the Human Environment. The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) was created as a result of the conference.
For more information, please contact:
Ms. Zhao Yue, Innovation and Communications Officer, UNDP China, yue.zhao@undp.org
Ms. Liu Sijia, Project Officer, UNEP China, sijia.liu@un.org
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) partners with people at all levels of society to help build nations that can withstand crisis, and drive and sustain the kind of growth that improves the quality of life for everyone. On the ground in nearly 170 countries and territories, we offer global perspective and local insight to help empower lives and build resilient nations. www.undp.org.
United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is the leading global voice on the environment. It provides leadership and encourages partnership in caring for the environment by inspiring, informing and enabling nations and peoples to improve their quality of life without compromising that of future generations. www.unep.org.
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Press Release
09 May 2022
UNDP Co-Hosts Business Roundtable On Advancing Sustainability Among Chinese Enterprises Ahead of Stockholm+50 International Meeting
The Business Roundtable, held in partnership with the China International Chamber of Commerce (CCOIC) with support from the Swedish Embassy, Business Sweden and PwC, exchanged insights on how China’s business sector can adopt sustainable business practices, leverage green finance opportunities and lower carbon emissions.
Improving sustainability among the business sector is essential for achieving net-zero carbon emissions and building a greener future for all. The roundtable therefore convened business leaders in various sectors, policymakers and academics to share their experiences, and discuss the opportunities and challenges to ensure a low carbon and just transition.
The roundtable is part of a series of regional consultations taking place globally ahead of June’s Stockholm+50 international meeting in Stockholm. The meeting will commemorate the 1972 United Nations conference on the Human Environment – the first time in history the environment, poverty and sustainable development were recognized as interconnected.
Stockholm +50 aims to serve as a springboard to accelerate the implementation of the UN Decade of Action to deliver the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including the 2030 Agenda, Paris Agreement on climate change, the post-2020 global Biodiversity Framework, and encourage the adoption of green post-COVID-19 recovery plans.
“Business-as-usual cannot continue,” said Beate Trankmann, UNDP Resident Representative, in China. “To keep the 1.5 degrees Paris target for global temperature rises alive – widely seen as the only safe limit – we must urgently decarbonize our economies, transform our societies and fundamentally reshape our relationship with nature”.
As one of the world’s largest economies, businesses in China adopting greener practices would have a significant impact on achieving global climate agendas. The roundtable therefore served as an important opportunity for businesses to further understand sustainable best practices, composing effective net-zero strategies and ensuring they take the right steps to meet both national and international goals.
“Achieving the carbon peak and carbon neutrality goals is a tough battle that needs to be addressed by all stakeholders,” said Mr. Sun Xiao, Secretary-General of CCOIC. “First, we should adhere to the UN Sustainable Development Goals and practice true multilateralism. Second, we should strengthen research in and promote carbon-neutral technology innovation and third, we should strengthen multi-party cooperation and the decarbonization of industrial supply chains.”
Mr. Joakim Abeleen, Trade and Invest Commissioner & Market Area Director Greater China, Business Sweden remarked, “many Swedish companies have global CO2-neutrality goals, many of which are ahead of the national 2045 target. Here in China, Team Sweden has launched our ‘Pioneer the possible’ platform, which focuses on supporting Swedish enterprises in China to become role models of sustainable development”.
The third annual report on the SDG practices of enterprises in China was also announced today and businesses were invited to participate in this year’s study. The report, produced by UNDP in collaboration with PwC and CCOIC, seeks to help the corporate world better understand and integrate the SDGs into business plans and activities, while at the same time inform policy and decision making. This year’s report is set to be released towards the end of 2022.
Finally, during the Youth Consultation Workshop, 30 selected young climate activists from government, research institutions, private sector and NGOs shared their opinions and recommendations for combating climate change and protecting the planet. The consultation provided a platform for youth engagement and civic participation in climate issues, amplifying their voices for more inclusive decision making.
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MEDIA CONTACTS:
Ms. Zhao Yue, Innovation and Communications Officer, UNDP China, yue.zhao@undp.org
Ms. Liu Sijia, Project Officer, UNEP China, sijia.liu@un.org
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) partners with people at all levels of society to help build nations that can withstand crisis, and drive and sustain the kind of growth that improves the quality of life for everyone. On the ground in nearly 170 countries and territories, we offer global perspective and local insight to help empower lives and build resilient nations. www.undp.org.
United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is the leading global voice on the environment. It provides leadership and encourages partnership in caring for the environment by inspiring, informing and enabling nations and peoples to improve their quality of life without compromising that of future generations.
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Press Release
22 April 2022
ILO welcomes China’s move towards the ratification of two forced labour Conventions
The International Labour Organization (ILO) has welcomed the decision by the National People’s Congress of the People’s Republic of China to approve the ratification of the Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29) and the Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957 (No. 105).
Ratification of these two instruments, which are classified as Fundamental Conventions, will bring the total number of ILO Conventions ratified by China to 28, including six of the eight Fundamental Conventions.
By approving these ratifications, China reinforces its commitment to eliminate all forms of forced labour within its jurisdiction, realize work in freedom for its 1.4 billion people, and respect the ILO’s fundamental principles and rights at work.
Convention No. 29 prohibits the use of forced labour in all its forms and requires State parties to make forced labour practices punishable as penal offences. This instrument is supplemented by Convention No. 105, which specifically calls for the immediate abolition of forced or compulsory labour in five specific circumstances listed in its article 1.. These Conventions will enter into force in China one year after their instruments of ratification are deposited with the ILO.
ILO Director-General Guy Ryder, said “I welcome the ratification by China of these two ILO Fundamental Conventions on forced labour. The move demonstrates China’s strong support for ILO values and reflects its commitment to protect any female or male workers from being trapped into forced labour practices, which have no place nor justification in today’s world. This is a milestone on the road towards universal ratification of the forced labour Conventions and the realization of Sustainable Development Goal 8, Target 7.”
“I expect theses ratifications to create renewed momentum and further efforts by the government and the social partners in China to support human-centred development and decent work in the second largest economy in the world, in line with the ILO Centenary Declaration on the Future of Work.”
The ILO stands ready to further its collaboration with China’s government and social partners for the full implementation of these two Conventions and the full realization of principles under the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work.
According to the latest global estimates, about 25 million people globally are forced to work under threat or coercion. Many other workers, who were hard hit by the economic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, have become more vulnerable to being trapped into forced labour.
There are eight ILO Fundamental Conventions covering four core principles: forced labour, child labour, discrimination, and freedom of association and collective bargaining. All ILO Member States are expected to respect and promote these principles and rights, regardless of whether or not they have ratified the relevant Conventions.
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Press Release
19 April 2022
Seminar on Digital South-South Cooperation Boosts Innovation and Transformation
More than 100 representatives from the Government of China, foreign missions in China, international organizations and academia, attended the event either online or in person.
Du Zhanyuan, President of China International Communications Group (CICG), stated in his opening remarks at the seminar that we should grasp the important opportunities brought by digitisation, and make digital transformation an indispensible force to accelerate economic and social development. This is an unavoidable topic of our times and an important part of strengthening South-South Cooperation in the digital era. Du said, utilizing formats such as digital media and publishing will serve as an important development direction that helps CICG provide digital support for South-South cooperation projects, assist with development capacity building and knowledge sharing in developing countries, and promote more inclusive and sustainable digital economic cooperation with partners.
A memorandum of understanding on strengthening South-South cooperation was signed between WFP and CICG by Qu Sixi, Representative and Country Director of WFP China, and Gao Anming, Vice President and Editor-in-Chief of CICG. Wang Xiaohui, Editor-in-chief of CIIC, presided over the signing ceremony.
The two parties pledged to develop South-South Cooperation knowledge products, provide training, and share China's technical solutions, best practices, experiences, and development approaches with other developing countries. Focusing on UN SDG 2 - Zero Hunger, WFP and CICG will promote the development of South-South Cooperation-oriented knowledge products by conducting research, organizing online and real-world knowledge sharing and exchange activities, building South-South Cooperation websites and publishing in other media, engaging in advocacy, and taking other actions together.
The WFP-China South-South Cooperation Knowledge Sharing Platform was also launched at the seminar. The platform was supported by MARA, and jointly developed by WFP China COE and CIIC. Visitors can access information on the platform about China's experiences and solutions in the following four thematic areas: Value Chain Development for Smallholders, Post-harvest Loss Management and Food Systems, Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Resilience, and Innovative Poverty Alleviation Initiative. These can help empower them to enhance food security in their local areas.
The platform also offers Cloud School, an inclusive digital education space, which features programmes that are tailored to the needs of participants of all levels. It is a response to the rising demand for China's vetted knowledge about food security, nutrition improvement, poverty reduction and rural transformation. Courses offered in Cloud School reflect WFP China COE's work on the four thematic areas, as well as the value chain development in rice, Juncao and cassava. Certificates of completion are awarded to those who successfully finish them.
Xie Jianmin, Counsel (Director-General Level) of Department of International Cooperation, MARA, said in his speech that the knowledge sharing platform and Cloud School will use digital technology to disseminate and share knowledge, technology and experience in a more effective way in the development of small farmers, the value chain of agricultural products, post-harvest loss management, disaster risk reduction to help more developing countries improve their food production capacity and disaster resilience.
Rahamtalla Osman, Representative of the African Union to China, emphasised that people are living in a digitalised world that is experiencing remarkable technological transformations and that it is important that these digital tools are used for activities that save lives and protect people from the threats of hunger and malnutrition.
Jin Nuo, Former Secretary of the Communist Party of China Committee, Renmin University of China said that as the largest developing country in the world, China has solved the food problem of 20 percent of the global population with 8 percent of the world's cultivated land. China should promote its agricultural development experience and technology to help other developing countries to ensure food security in these countries and the rest of the world.
Siddharth Chatterjee, United Nations Resident Coordinator in China, noted in his speech that South-South Cooperation and humanitarian cooperation will serve as the foundation for all of the UN System's work in and with China over the next five years and will support China's high-quality development and provide the basis for cooperation with the nation in assisting other developing countries around the world in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
David Kaatrud, Director of Programme, Humanitarian and Development, WFP, observed in his video speech that the Platform responds to the increasing need of host governments to engage with SSC providers from China, enhances access to forward-looking insights from a network of experts, and promotes SSC experience sharing around the globe.
Wang Xiaolin, Deputy Dean of Institute for Six-Sector Economy, Fudan University, pointed out that at present, the way of generation and sharing of knowledge has undergone profound changes with the widespread use of new digital technology, especially mobile terminals. The high penetration of the digital technology makes it possible to share knowledge at the grass-roots level. Wang mentioned that the construction of the website is a key step in the digital transformation of WFP South-South cooperation as well as an important milestone for digital South-South cooperation globally. We look forward to contributing to zero hunger.
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