Remarks by Mr. Miao Deyu, China's Assistant Foreign Minister, at the Pre-Summit of the Future Dialogue on Accelerating Progress Towards Global Sustainable Development

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

How has this event come to be? Months ago, in the early days of this year, we met and we discussed what can we do together. The Coordinator's Office and the Chinese government, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to do something to contribute to the upcoming Summit of the Future, which is to be convened in September. We had plenty of ideas on our table. We had discussions. One of those was this idea. Today's event. In saying this, I wish to commend the efforts of Sid and your team. I think in you and your work, I see passion, I see devotion, I see your aspiration for the future, for multilateralism, for sustainable development.

GSD is what we are focusing on today. So I wish to thank you and your team for the work. And also I wish to say, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, Friends, it's a great pleasure to see you. Sid and I have been talking of arranging some opportunity for me to meet friends from the other offices from the UN here. Today we have so many representatives. It gives me great pleasure to know you. I welcome you to reach me in the Foreign Ministry. 

May I return back to Chinese.

[The following text is an English translation of the remarks, originally delivered in Chinese]

Distinguished Resident Coordinator Mr. Siddharth Chatterjee,

Distinguished guests,

Friends, 

It’s a great pleasure to co-host this event with the UN Resident Coordinator Office in China. On behalf of the Foreign Ministry of China, I’d like to extend a cordial welcome to all the guests and friends joining us today.

As major global transformation unfolds at a faster pace, we are witnessing intertwined risks in the world and challenges to global development. Active efforts are being made by countries to implement the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. However, overall progress is falling behind schedule. According to a UN analysis, half of the 140 targets that are monitored show deviation from the desired trajectory. More than 30% of these targets show no substantive progress compared to 2015 baseline. This is worrisome.

As the most important agenda item for the UN this year, the Summit of the Future carries the hope of people across the world. The purpose of holding this event today on Accelerating Progress Towards Global Sustainable Development is to call on the international community to seize the moment and facilitate accelerated implementation of the 2030 Agenda.

In this regard, I would like to share four observations with you.

First, it is important to inject a strong political impetus to global development. Since the beginning of this year, from the 3rd South Summit to the UNGA Sustainability Week, from the 4th International Conference on Small Island Developing States to the events in celebration of the 60th Anniversary of United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, a series of important international conferences this year have showcased the commitment of the international community, especially the developing countries, for peace, development and cooperation. The Summit of the Future should respond to the aspirations of people around the world by putting development at the center, focusing on implementing the 2030 Agenda and ensuring that the implementation progress remains on track.

We should continue the positive momentum of last year's SDG Summit and urge all parties to make firm commitments to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda as scheduled, and reach a forward-looking, practical, and actionable Pact for the Future.

Second, new solutions need to be provided to achieve common development. President Xi Jinping has pointed out that no country or nation should be left behind on the path of mankind's pursuit of happiness. The Summit of the Future should actively respond to the urgent needs of the global South and work on solutions to achieve stronger, greener and healthier global development. We should focus on poverty alleviation, food security, energy transition and other key areas, and urge the international community to increase support and invest in developing countries, and focus on addressing the problem of unbalanced and inadequate development. We should focus on scientific and technological empowerment, bridge the digital divide, urge developed countries to tear down small yards with high fences, expand knowledge and technology sharing, and not let any country fall behind in the new round of scientific and technological revolution and industrial transformation.

Third, we should foster a more just and reasonable global governance system. In the face of new circumstances and challenges, the global governance system urgently needs to be improved and strengthened. The hegemonism and unilateralism of certain countries have undermined the effectiveness of multilateral institutions and its governance. In preparation for the Summit of the Future, we should uphold genuine multilateralism, practice the principles of extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits of global governance, advocate for an equal and orderly multipolar world and a universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalization, and promote more just and equitable global governance. We should encourage the international community to reaffirm its commitment to the purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter, uphold the international system with the United Nations at its core and the international order based on international law, and support the United Nations in playing a more important role in the global governance system.

Fourth, we should forge a future-oriented global development partnership. President Xi Jinping has repeatedly said that mankind is a community with a shared future, unity and cooperation are the right ways to go. We should simultaneously strengthen South-South cooperation and augment the role of North-South cooperation as a main channel. Developed countries should fulfill their commitments to development assistance, development finance, and climate finance in a timely manner.

China agrees with Secretary-General Guterres that the reforms to the international financial architecture should be the focus for the Summit of the Future and to call for more representation from developing countries. International financial institutions and multilateral development banks should come up with more pragmatic initiatives to help developing countries increase development resources and meet urgent challenges.

Ladies and Gentlemen, 

The Chinese government attaches great importance to the implementation of the UN 2030 Agenda, and has taken the lead in launching country programs and progress reports on the implementation of the Agenda, and integrated the implementation work with medium and long-term development strategies, such as the 13th Five-Year Plan, the 14th Five-Year Plan, and the 2030 Vision. We have set up an inter-departmental coordination mechanism composed of 45 government agencies, and issued three progress reports on China's implementation of the 2030 Agenda to assess the implementation status at various stages. In 2020, China completed the poverty reduction goal, lifting nearly 800 million people out of poverty, achieving the poverty reduction targets of the 2030 Agenda 10 years ahead of schedule, and contributed to more than 70 percent of the world's poverty reduction. At the forefront of these implementation efforts, China has always been mindful of the future of mankind and the well-being of its people, and has actively helped the global South realize common development.

President Xi Jinping has put forward the Belt and Road Initiative, the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative, and the Global Civilization Initiative in order to push the world towards peace, security, and prosperity. Prosperity, in particular the Global Development Initiative has been supported by more than 100 countries and many international organizations over the past two years. More than 80 countries have joined the Global Development Initiative system, and cooperation in the eight key areas of the Initiative have achieved positive results, bringing tangible benefits to the people of developing countries.

Ladies and Gentlemen, 

Development is an eternal theme of human society and an important way to realize the aspirations of providing all people with a better life. We are ready to work with all parties, including United Nations development agencies, to promote the Summit of the Future, focus on development issues, and actively implement the joint construction of the Belt and Road Initiative and the Global Development Initiative to revitalize the cause of global development, to come up with more actions and initiatives, and jointly build a community with a shared future for mankind.

[End of remarks delivered in Chinese]

In the end, I wish to again respond to Sid's remarks. Multilateralism, coordination, responsibility. What is upon our shoulders? We do carry heavy responsibilities, moral obligations, to move the GSD and GDI in parallel together for a common goal. And I wish to thank you for all the contributions you have made. Thank you for listening. 

Thank you.