China to boost UN development aid

The amount China will contribute in 2020 to UN efforts toward global sustainable development will be $100 million more than last year, Premier Li Keqiang said in New York on Sept 19.

In addition, the amount the country injects into the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria is to reach $18 million in the next three years, Li said at the United Nations headquarters.

He made the remarks while addressing the Roundtable on the Implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development: Global Process and China's Practice, hosted by China's UN permanent mission.

The amount donated by China to UN development agencies last year was not immediately available. However, Li said the total figure given between 2010 and 2012 to various agencies and the global fund was 1.76 billion yuan ($263 million; 235 million euros).

The premier said sustainable development is a common cause for the world, and he called for the international community to tackle unbalanced development, promote inclusive economic growth and jointly address global challenges such as public health and climate change.

"China will continue to make unrelenting efforts to promote sustainable development and will actively participate in cooperation with the international community in this area," he told participants at the event, including UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, UN General Assembly President Peter Thomson, and heads of other international organizations.

Li said China has lifted 400 million people out of poverty in the past 15 years. It has also reduced the mortality rate for children under 5 by 66 percent and the mortality rate for pregnant women by 75 percent in that time.

The country approved a road map for implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, a blueprint the UN adopted in September last year for ending poverty and hunger, promoting equality and protecting the environment by 2030.

Helen Clark, administrator of the UN Development Programme, says the agency looks forward to continuing its work with China to support the rapid progress that the nation seeks to make on its sustainable development goals.

China is showing its determination to lead on implementation by being among the countries that took part in the first national voluntary reviews at this year's high-level political forum for sustainable development, he says.

Haibing Ma, senior research associate and China program manager at the World Watch Institute, says in the era of globalization, China's rapid economic growth has become one of the positive leading forces for the global economy.

Amy He and Hong Xiao contributed to this story.

Contact the writers at huyongqi@chinadaily.com.cn