Climate change, inequality, and sustainable development top of agenda at UN in China/CCG symposium

This year marks 50 years since the General Assembly adopted Resolution 2758, deciding to “restore all its rights to the People’s Republic of China and to recognize the representatives of its Government as the only legitimate representatives of China in the United Nations.”

“In the decades since, China has become an increasingly important contributor to the work of the Organization and a major pillar of international cooperation,” said UN Secretary-General António Guterres on the occasion.

Since the introduction of reform and opening-up in 1978, China has experienced remarkable economic and social transformations, rising to become the world’s second-largest economy and an upper-middle-income country over just four decades.

With China and the world now striving to recover from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and “build back better” in the Decade of Action to achieve the SDGs, leading experts from government, international organizations, think tanks, and academia met today to discuss the road ahead.

Participants to the symposium took part in two roundtable discussions entitled “Towards a new development model for common prosperity” and “Towards 2030 and 2060: sustainable development and climate”.

“The UN has been a trusted development partner of China, with the first UN office in China opened back in 1979. In the four decades following that year, the role of the UN in China has shifted from that of a traditional donor to that of a partner providing technical expertise and support, both within and beyond its national boundaries, including in its activities under the framework of South-South Cooperation,” said UN Resident Coordinator Siddharth Chatterjee in his opening remarks at the symposium.

“As we celebrate the great progress achieved, we also need to focus on the big challenges ahead. Climate change poses an existentialist threat to humanity and inequality threatens progress towards the SDGs.”

Topics covered during these roundtable discussions also included the importance of rural development, childhood development, and biodiversity, and the role of public-private partnerships and international development cooperation, with a particular focus on the China-Africa relationship. 

“50 years in, amid constant changes and shifts in the global context, China’s participation to the UN system has made significant advancements; improved its status in the international community; contributed to global unity and initiatives with resilience. It has been a story of changemaking,” said President of CCG Wang Huiyao.

“Facing unprecedented changes and challenges in today’s world owing to the pandemic, climate change, widening inequalities, the rise of populism and deglobalization, the reinvigoration of multilateralism is urgently needed. China and the UN are the forefront of this endeavour.” 

The symposium also featured remarks from leading figures including Wu Hongbo, Special Representative of the Government of China on European Affairs, Rahamtalla Mohammed Osman, Ambassador of the African Union to China, Mamadou Ndiaye, Ambassador of Senegal to China and Tian Lin, Director-General of the International Department of the China International Development Cooperation Agency.

The UN in China and CCG wishes to thank today’s participants for the constructive discussions, and both look forward to furthering cooperation in future on shared priorities.

For further information, please contact:

Ms. Louise Xi LI, Head of Communications, UN Resident Coordinator’s Office in China

Tel: +8610-85320725, Email: xi.li@un.org    

Ms. Liang Chen, Media Department in Center for China and Globalization 

Tel: +8618500565085, Email: liangchen@ccg.org.cn

About The UN in China

The United Nations (UN) in China has been a trusted development partner of China for over 40 years. It has witnessed the profound economic and social transformations that have taken place in the country since the introduction of reforms in the late 1970s. 

In the four decades since, the role of the UN in China has shifted from that of a traditional donor to that of a partner providing technical expertise and support, both within and beyond its national boundaries, including in its activities under the framework of South-South Cooperation. In all of these endeavours, the role of the UN in China is to add value, contribute expertise and ensure compliance to international norms and standards. 

The UN in China values its engagement with national stakeholders, including Government, bilateral and multilateral donors, non-governmental organizations, civil society organizations and businesses in both the public and private sectors. The UN in China seeks to consistently build up on its position as a key partner, most notably by creating and reinforcing partnerships for the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in line with national development priorities.

About Center for China and Globalization

The Center for China and Globalization (CCG) is a Chinese non-governmental think tank based in Beijing. CCG has been granted the official special consultative status by the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations (ECOSOC) as a non-governmental organization. In the “2020 Global Go To Think Tank Index” by the University of Pennsylvania Think Tank and Civil Society Program (TTCSP), CCG ranked 64th of the top think tanks worldwide and among the top 50 global independent think tanks. CCG has also been recognized as a “4A non-governmental organization” by Beijing Municipal government civil affairs department.

Founded in 2008 and headquartered in Beijing, the Center for China and Globalization (CCG) is China’s leading global non-governmental think tank. It has more than ten branches and overseas representatives and over 100 full-time researchers and staff engaged in research on globalization, global governance, international economy and trade, international relations and global migration. CCG is also a national Postdoctoral Programme Research Center certified by the Chinese Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security.