A recording of these remarks can be found on YouTube and Tencent Video
Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I would like to thank the People’s Government of Shenzhen Municipality and, in particular, its Commerce Bureau, for the invitation to participate in this Conference.
I would also like to congratulate the Municipality on its achievements since the State Council approved Shenzhen’s proposal to make it a national innovation demonstration zone in 2018, based on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Over the past four years, Shenzhen has carried out a series of policies to create a more open environment for trade and investment, making the area more cost-effective for industrial development, more attractive for talent development and more efficient governance, in order to strengthen the vitality of the market while encouraging high-quality development.
Distinguished Guests,
Investment is critical for achieving sustainable development, especially in developing regions, as it increases productivity, creates jobs, and can put us on the path towards a greener, more sustainable, future.
The experience of Shenzhen, as a hub for investment and being ranked as mainland China’s top city for “overall economic competitiveness” by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, can serve as an example, both for other cities within China that seek to attract more foreign investment, and for cities and countries around the world.
The focus of the 14th Five-Year Plan on the development of “core digital economy industries” is especially relevant, given the pace with which digital technologies are transforming our societies and the possibilities these technologies hold to catalyze progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals.
Nevertheless, the rapidly growing opportunities and the incredible potential created by these digital dividends are accompanied by digital divides – for those with limited or no access to these technologies can find themselves being left behind in the development process.
For this reason, it is imperative that investment, not only in these digital technologies, but more generally, serves to benefit all people, and that efforts are made to ensure greater inclusion in the benefits that these investments provide.
As Mr. Antonio Guterres, the United Nations Secretary-General, said earlier this year, “Bold investments and new finance models can put the Sustainable Development Goals at the heart of business models.”
The UN family in China is committed to supporting the Government of China in increasing investment opportunities, both within China and abroad, to ensure the ambition of the 2030 Agenda becomes a reality. With the renewed commitments of Member States at the recently concluded COP27 on efforts to keep the 1.5 degree limit alive, increased investment in renewable energy sources, including solar, wind and hydro, are essential.
China is already a global leader in many of these technologies, and I am confident that through bilateral, and South-South Cooperation along with other partnerships, this knowledge can be shared in order to speed up the green energy transition and turn the ambitions of COP27 into reality.
We look forward to continuing to strengthen our collaboration with the People’s Government of Shenzhen Municipality and to working together to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, both in China and abroad.
I wish you fruitful deliberations at today’s conference.