CIFTIS 2022 - CCG 9th China Inbound-Outbound Forum

A recording of these remarks can be found on YouTube and Tencent Video

H.E. Mr. HOU Junshu, Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of Beijing Municipal People’s Congress,  

H.E. Mr. YI Xiaozhun, Former Deputy Director-General of the World Trade Organization, 

H.E. Mr. Ali Obaid AI Dhaheri, Ambassador of the United Arab Emirates to China, 

H.E. Mr. ZHOU Yanli, Former Vice Chairman of China Insurance Regulatory Commission, 

Mr. WANG Huiyao, President of the Center for China and Globalization, Vice Chairman of China Association for International Economic Cooperation, 

Excellencies, 

Distinguished Guests, 

Ladies and Gentlemen, 

I thank the Center for China and Globalization (CCG) for the invitation to address the 9th China Inbound-Outbound Forum.

I also want to specifically commend Mr. Henry Wang, the President of CCG for his leadership, passion and great intellectual acumen in driving CCG to become a best-in-class think tank.

The world economy is transforming, in large part due to the rapid evolution and growing adoption of information and communications technologies. Although the pace of digital transformation varies, all countries are being affected. This has significant implications for the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, presenting immense opportunities as well as daunting challenges.

Digital technologies are a powerful enabler of development, allowing countries to accelerate economic growth and link citizens to services and jobs. In times of crisis, from natural disasters to pandemics, including the COVID-19 pandemic, digital technologies boost our resilience by keeping people, governments and businesses connected and empowered.

Access to technology, however, is far from equal around the world. Widening digital divides threaten to leave developing countries, and especially the least developed countries (LDCs), even further behind. 

While 93 per cent of the world’s population live within physical reach of mobile broadband or Internet services, only 53.6 per cent of the world’s population now use the Internet, leaving an estimated 3.6 billion people without access. The LDCs rank last, with only 19 per cent of their populations using the internet.

This is alarming and frankly unacceptable. 

Without access to technology and the digital economy, it will be harder to achieve the SDGs and improve the lives and livelihoods of the world’s poorest and most vulnerable in all countries. Unless we connect the dots, we face a disconnected future. 

It is paramount that we foster digital inclusion, work to close digital divides, and ensure that data-driven digitalization can create global opportunities while we mitigate potential consequences. 

Urgent action is needed to ensure emerging technologies are made a global public good, equally accessible to all geographical regions and every section of society.

Building an effective architecture for global digital cooperation, including in areas such as artificial intelligence, can better support the attainment of economic, social and environmental objectives of the 2030 Agenda.

Disinformation, misinformation, cybercrime, the spread of violent extremism and terrorism, and online abuse and harassment – particularly targeting women and children – must also be addressed to reaffirm the centrality of human rights and the individual in the digital era. This requires greater engagement from all countries.

As the UN Secretary-General, Mr. António Guterres, has said, “We have a collective responsibility to give direction to these technologies so that we maximize benefits and curtail unintended consequences and malicious use”. 

The UN Secretary-General’s Roadmap for Digital Cooperation lays out a roadmap in which all stakeholders play a role in advancing a safer, more equitable digital world, one which will lead to a brighter and more prosperous future for all. 

Ladies and Gentlemen, 

Today’s forum provides a timely opportunity to bring relevant stakeholders together, showcase solutions, and nurture partnerships to advance digital cooperation. 

China, as the world’s second-largest economy, leads the world in many applications of digital technologies.

But with these strengths also comes the duty for all countries to harness technology responsibly. This moment calls for the new and improved governance of the digital space, nationally and internationally, and based on relevant international norms and standards.

Here, the UN in China is keen to act as a bridge to leverage China’s relevant development experience, including in digital technologies, for the benefit of other developing countries. We stand ready to offer our support and technical expertise. 

No country, institution or company has the resources to achieve the SDGs alone. Strengthening multilateralism is our only choice. Through global partnerships, which include governments, enterprises and individuals, we can take action and innovate together to realize the 2030 Agenda and its central promise, to leave no one behind.

After all, the SDG is our Global North Star. It inspires hope and must be achieved by 2030. And to do that, the UN Deputy Secretary-General Ms. Amina J. Mohammed reminds us that we must ‘flip the orthodoxy’.  

Thank you.