By H.E. Ambassador Ma Jianchun
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the restoration of the lawful seat of the People’s Republic of China in the United Nations. 50 years ago, the UN General Assembly adopted Resolution 2758 with an overwhelming majority at the UNGA 26th Session, restoring all the lawful rights to the People’s Republic of China in the United Nations. This was a historical moment, as it signified that the UN had truly become the most representative and authoritative inter-governmental organization. It also opened a new chapter in China’s cooperation with the UN. As H.E. President Xi Jinping pointed out at a recent conference commemorating this event, this was a victory for the Chinese people and a victory for people of the world. It came as the result of joint efforts of all peace-loving countries that stood up for justice in the world.
50 Years at the UN: China’s Actions and Contributions
The past 50 years since the People’s Republic of China restored its lawful seat in the UN have witnessed China’s peaceful development and China’s commitment and dedication to the well-being of all humanity. With concrete actions, China has lived up to the purposes and principles of the UN Charter. China has served as an important builder of world peace, the biggest contributor to global development, and a firm defender of international order.
Over the past five decades, the Chinese people have made extraordinary efforts, winning the battle against poverty and attaining the goal of fully building a moderately prosperous society on the vast land of China. We have now embarked on a new journey toward fully building a modern socialist country. China has contributed to over 70 percent of global poverty reduction, attaining the poverty reduction target under the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development ten years ahead of schedule, setting a stellar example for this international endeavor.
Over the past five decades, China has been consistently following an independent foreign policy of peace, firmly supporting other developing countries in their just struggle to safeguard sovereignty, security and development interests, and offering the world new opportunities through China’s own development. China has implemented several thousand assistance projects, over 10,000 technological cooperation projects and human resources development programs, and provided more than 400,000 training opportunities, benefiting over 160 fellow developing countries including The Gambia. China launched the Belt and Road Initiative, creating the world’s largest cooperation platform.
Over the past five decades, China has faithfully fulfilled its responsibility and mission as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, and upheld the central role of the United Nations in international affairs. China has earnestly implemented the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Paris Agreement, and worked for harmony between man and nature. China has engaged actively in international cooperation against COVID-19, and has been honoring its commitment of making Chinese vaccines a global public good.
Global Development Initiative: For a Brighter Future for All
Today, our development is under the combined impacts of changes and a pandemic both unseen in a century, and more than ever, the international community need to come together to meet the challenges and promote common development. Standing at this new starting point, China is ready to make even greater contributions to advancing the noble cause of the UN. At the General Debate of the 76th Session of UNGA, Chinese President H.E. Xi Jinping proposed the Global Development Initiative, calling for working together to steer global development toward a new stage of balanced, coordinated and inclusive growth.
The Initiative advocates for putting development high on the global macro policy agenda, fostering global development partnerships that are more equal and balanced, and speeding up the implementation of the UN 2030 Agenda. We need to safeguard and improve people’s livelihood and protect and promote human rights through development, and make sure that development is for the people and by the people, and that its fruits are shared among the people.
The Initiative advocates for caring about the special needs of developing countries, and addressing unbalanced and inadequate development among and within countries. We need to seize the historic opportunities created by the latest round of technological revolution and industrial transformation, and redouble efforts to harness technological achievements to boost productivity. We should foster new driving forces for growth in the post-COVID era, and jointly achieve leapfrog development.
The Initiative advocates for staying committed to harmony between man and nature. China will strive to peak carbon dioxide emissions before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality before 2060. China will step up support for other developing countries in developing green and low-carbon energy. Moreover, China calls for advancing on cooperation in poverty alleviation, food security, COVID-19 response and vaccines, development financing, industrialization, digital economy and connectivity, and so on, so as to build a global community of development with a shared future.
China and Africa: Community with a Shared Future in the New Era
The past 50 years since the People’s Republic of China restored its lawful seat in the UN have witnessed China’s increasingly close cooperation with the international community, and the China-Africa cooperation is a fine example and epitome of that.
In the face of challenges brought about by COVID-19, the China-Africa cooperation has demonstrated extraordinarily strong resilience. Until this year, China has been the largest trading partner with Africa for 12 consecutive years, and China has offered the largest amount of debt suspension for Africa among G20 members. During the fight against COVID-19, over 1,100 China-Africa cooperation projects kept ongoing, and nearly 100,000 Chinese engineers and technicians continued their work in Africa despite tremendous challenges. Near 1,000 medical experts came to assist in Africa’s fight against the pandemic, working with their African peers at the front line. China has so far provided 1.7 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines to over 110 countries, many of which are African countries. Furthermore, China-Africa cooperation in such fields as digital economy, space exploration, clean energy, new infrastructure and so on have started to yield achievements.
The Gambia is a member of the China-Africa big family, and China attaches great importance to the China-Gambia relations and cooperation. With concrete actions, China supports The Gambia’s efforts in fighting COVID-19. China has been and will continue to provide The Gambia with needed medical supplies including vaccines, so as to assist The Gambia overcome challenges from the pandemic and resume economic and social development at an early date. China supports The Gambia’s efforts in improving infrastructure and people’s livelihood. The recently completed Road and Bridges project in URR is a good example. It joined The Gambia’s national roads into a ring, and will largely benefit the coordinated development of The Gambia and its deeper engagements with regional partners. More recently, I and Hon. Foreign Minister Dr. Tangara signed a new bilateral economic and technological cooperation agreement. In accordance with this agreement, the Chinese government will provide the Gambian government with grant aid of 150 million RMB (equivalent to 1.2 billion dalasis) for implementing projects jointly decided by China and The Gambia through consultation. This is yet another step of implementing consensus reached by our respective Presidents at the 2018 FOCAC Beijing Summit, and a new milestone in the China-Gambia cooperation.
At the end of this month, a new session of FOCAC will be held in Senegal. China and Africa will join hands and open a new chapter of cooperation. China is ready to stand together with African partners including The Gambia, and jointly draw the road map of the China-Africa cooperation for the next three years and beyond based on the principle of extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits. We are ready to join hands with African partners, deepen the China-Africa partnership and promote sustainable development to build a China-Africa community with a shared future in the new era!
