Statement by Mr. Fu Ziying, Vice Minister of Commerce, P. R. China on South-South Cooperation at the Roundtable Nine of the 3rd High-level Forum on Aid Effectiveness Accra, 3 Sept. 2008

Distinguished Mr Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen,
First, I would like to thank the government of Ghana, the World Bank and the OECD for the invitation. I am very glad to exchange ideas with the colleagues on aid effectiveness. I would like to share with you China's progress and experience in south-south cooperation.

China is the largest developing country in the world. Development is our long-term and hard task. After 30 years' reform and opening-up, China's economic and social development has made great achievements. However, China's development progress still faces great challenges, including serious structural problems, imbalanced development between urban and rural areas and between regions as well as the extensive pattern of growth. At present, China still has a rural population of 800 million and nearly 80 million disabled people. 135 million Chinese people earn less than a dollar a day. China has to work harder and go a long way to build a relatively well-off society that benefits 1.3 billion people and realize modernization and prosperity for all. China owes its development in the past 30 years to reform and opening-up, so will China in the future. We believe that resolving the development issue of China with a population of 1.3 billion people, will be a major contribution to the global development cause.

Dear Colleagues, Ladies and Gentlemen,

Due to its own development experiences, China has a deep understanding about the difficulties and aspirations of other developing countries in development. Since 1950, despite its own difficulties and need for international assistance, China has provided assistance to more than 100 developing countries under the framework of south-south cooperation, involving many areas of economic and social development. We have helped build nearly 2000 projects, including 725 in industrial production, 368 in economic infrastructure, 529 in social undertakings of science, education, health, culture and sports, and 212 in agriculture. These projects, well received and acclaimed by recipient countries, have promoted local economic and social development, expanded employment, increased tax revenues, improved people's living conditions and reduced poor population.

China has the following experience in providing assistance under the framework of south-south cooperation:
One, we fully respect the recipient countries and help them sincerely. We respect the sovereignty and will of recipient countries. We neither interfere in their internal affairs nor seek any political privileges. China's assistance is the help among friends.

Two, we help the other developing countries to the best of our ability. We carry out projects with recipient countries through economic and technical cooperation, combining our utmost capacity with their actual needs.

Three, we provide in time help to the other developing countries to their urgent needs. We help recipient countries with most needed infrastructure and social welfare projects to reduce poverty, develop economy and improve people's livelihood.

Four, we help the people of the other developing countries to help themselves by enhancing their ability. Through project cooperation and training programs, we provide practical technologies and management knowhow needed by recipient countries and help with capacity building.

Five, we treat the other developing countries equally and stand by them in times of need. Chinese experts overcome difficulties and stay together with the government and people of recipient countries through thick and thin, winning respect and trust from them.

Dear Colleagues, Ladies and Gentlemen,

China's national conditions decide its development path as well as its policies and practices in receiving and providing assistance. In order to promote the realization of the UN MDGs, while developing itself with assistance from the International Community, China will continue to advance south-south cooperation in the principle of equality and mutual benefit, being practical, diversity and common development, so that other developing countries can eliminate poverty and achieve harmonious development.

Assistance among developing countries belongs to South-South cooperation. South-South cooperation is different from the development assistance in North-South cooperation. It is an important part of international development cooperation and a valuable complement to North-South cooperation. In recent years, South-South cooperation has been playing an increasingly important role in international development cooperation. The aspirations and ownership of both the assistance providers and recipients in South-South cooperation shall be fully respected.

Dear Colleagues, Ladies and Gentlemen,

By actively engaged in south-south cooperation, the Chinese government has had a deeper understanding of enhancing and ensuring aid effectiveness. In this connection, I would like to make the following points:
One, improving aid effectiveness is a major issue in international development assistance. China attaches great importance to aid effectiveness and endorses principles conducive to developing countries' economic and social development and capacity building, such as country ownership, alignment with developing countries' national strategy planning.

Two, the key to ensure aid effectiveness is to respect for developing countries' aspirations. We should respect national conditions of different countries and attach no political conditions. Developing countries' satisfaction should be one of the basic benchmarks for evaluating aid effectiveness.

Three, aid effectiveness should be based upon sufficient input. While focusing on quality, the International Community must ensure the steady rise of the quantity of Official development assistance. Developed countries should honour their commitments in Monterrey Consensus that ODA should reach 0.7% of their GNP.

Four, to achieve aid effectiveness, we should encourage diversity in actors and in patterns of development assistance. A flexible and practical approach shall be adopted in providing and receiving assistance, and full respect shall be given to both donors and recipients on their own aspirations and their choice of cooperation modalities.

Dear Colleagues, Ladies and Gentlemen,

In the context of economic globalization, south-south cooperation has a promising prospect. We believe that the key to realizing the MDGs lies in strengthening developing countries' independent developing capacity. We call on the International Community to pay attention to developing countries' development issues, honour commitments, increase aid flows, sincerely help developing countries improve independent development capacity and promote their economic and social development. At the same time, we also call on developing countries to strengthen cooperation, make full use of various resources and join hands in south-south cooperation for the early realization of the MDGs.

Thank you.