Statement by Mr. Ke Yousheng at the sixth North-East Asia Multi-stakeholder Forum on Sustainable Development Goals 2022
2022-09-09 20:44

Dear Mr. Ganbold Baasanjav, Head of East and North-East Asia Office of ESCAP,
Distinguished delegates,
Ladies and gentlemen,

Good morning!

First of all, I would like to thank the East and North East Asia office for the arrangement. I wish this forum a great success.

Development is the eternal theme of human society. As the world's largest developing country, China has been actively promoting the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. China has issued its position paper and its national plan, and has taken a lead in releasing its national progress report. China has made significant progress in meeting sustainable development goals, including goals related to water and sanitation, energy supply, infrastructure development and sustainable cities.

China improves water and sanitation. By the end of 2020, China’s urban water supply coverage reached 99.0%, and centralized water supply rate in rural areas reached 88%, with a significant enhancement in water supply capacity. The national urban sewage treatment capacity reached 190 million cubic meters per day by the end of 2020, and national penetration rate of sanitary toilets in rural areas reached 90% by the end of 2021. China has been actively engaged in international cooperation on water and sanitation. By the end of 2020, it had signed a total of 72 bilateral cooperation agreements with 57 countries, 8 multilateral cooperation agreements with 6 international organizations and related countries, and established 34 regular multilateral and bilateral exchange mechanisms, with a purpose of providing support to address regional water resources challenges and promoting water resources sustainable utilization and protection.

China advances energy transition. In 2021, the installed capacity of China's renewable energy power generation has exceeded 1 billion kilowatts, the installed capacity of hydropower and wind power exceeded 300 million kilowatts, and the installed capacity of offshore wind power leaped to be the world's largest. China insists on putting the people at the center and had successfully realized a full coverage of electricity access for all people by the end of 2015, which is a significant achievement 15 years ahead of the 2030 Agenda.

China accelerates infrastructure development. China has built the world's largest high-speed railway network, highway network and world-class port cluster. About 1.1 million kilometers of railroads and highways have been built since 2012. China has built the largest network infrastructure in the world, with more than half of the world's 4G base stations and 1.165 million 5G base stations. China has cooperated with many partners to build the "Belt and Road" with high quality. The construction and operation of the China-Laos Railway, the Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Railway and the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor have been steadily carried out, while the number of China-Europe trains and cargo volume has reached record high. All this progress provides new opportunities for the economic and social development of the co-construction countries and makes new contributions to the global economic recovery.

China promotes sustainable city construction. China has built the world's largest housing security system, housing conditions for urban and rural residents continue to improve. The urban infrastructures and ecological environment construction have been improved, the capacity of urban sustainable development has been strengthened. China continues to facilitate the construction of smart cities, promoting the widespread application of digital technologies such as cloud computing, big data and artificial intelligence in the transformation and development of cities. In 2020, the number of pilot smart cities in China reached nearly 800, making it the largest country in the world to develop smart cities.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Today, the COVID-19 pandemic drags on and resurges, global economic recovery facing strong headwinds. Unilateralism, climate change, loss of biodiversity, food and energy crises and other factors cause the global development deficit continuously to grow, and the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is facing unprecedented challenges.

We should practise the true multilateralism, uphold the vision of global governance featuring consultation, cooperation and benefit for all and adhere to the UN-centered international system and the international order underpinned by international law. All forms of protectionism, unilateralism and the abuse of sanctions should be resolutely opposed so as to build an open world economy.

We should insist on the priority of development and place development prominently in the global macro policy framework, to forge international consensus to promote development and create an international environment conducive to development. The opportunities of the new round of technological and industrial changes should be firmly seized to cultivate new dynamics of global development.

We should deepen solidarity and cooperation, and build a global development partnership that is united, equal, balanced and inclusive. We should strengthen North-South cooperation, deepen South-South and triangular cooperation, and enhance the capacity of developing countries to develop on their own, to ensure that no country or person will be left behind.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Last year, President Xi Jinping solemnly proposed the Global Development Initiative (GDI) at the United Nations General Assembly, aiming to promote the collective efforts of international community to refocus on development issues and enhance stronger, greener and healthier global development. The GDI will be an accelerator for the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. So far, the GDI has been warmly received by more than 100 countries and international organizations, and more than 50 countries have joined the Group of Friends of the Global Development Initiative. In June this year, President Xi Jinping hosted the High-level Dialogue on Global Development virtually and delivered an important speech, further proposing to foster a development paradigm featuring benefits for all, balance, coordination, inclusiveness, win-win cooperation and common prosperity. President Xi Jinping also announced China's important measures to implement the GDI, including setting up the Global Development and South-South Cooperation Fund, enhancing support for the China-UN Peace and Development Fund and other initiatives to contribute China’s efforts to mobilize development resources and solve development problems.

The 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China will be held next month, which will take China’s development to a new path and elevate China’s implementation of 2030 Agenda to a new height. China is willing to work with the international community to implement the GDI with concrete and tangible outcomes to accelerate the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Thank you all!