China stresses role of Belt and Road Initiative in UN 2030 Agenda

China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative contributes to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, said Liu Jieyi, China's permanent representative to the United Nations, at the UN Economic and Social Council forum on financing for development Tuesday.

"Four years on, the Belt and Road Initiative abides by the principle of extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits, strongly promote infrastructure development and connectivity, the alignment of development strategies among countries and enhance coordinated development," Liu said.

The Chinese envoy said the initiative has gained support from more than 100 countries and international organizations. So far, China has signed cooperation agreements with over 40 countries and international organizations, and established industrial capacity cooperation mechanisms with more than 30 countries.

Between 2014 and 2016, total trade volume between China and other Belt and Road countries exceeded 3 trillion U.S dollars, Liu said.

China's overall investment in these countries surpassed 50 billion dollars, and Chinese companies set up 56 economic and trade cooperation zones in over 20 countries, generating some 1.1 billion dollars in tax revenue and 180,000 jobs, according to the Chinese envoy.

The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank has provided 1.7 billion dollars in loans to nine projects carried out in Belt and Road participating countries while the investment from the Silk Road Fund has amounted to 4 billion dollars. "All these efforts contribute to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda," he said.

In the Silk Road spirit of peace and cooperation, openness and inclusiveness, mutual learning and mutual benefits, the forum on financing for development reached a multitude of fruitful outcomes, said Liu.

Liu told the meeting that financing for development is an important means of implementation for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

He called on participating countries to carry forward global economic governance and foster an international environment conducive to the development of developing countries.

"(China) expresses its sincere appreciation to South Africa and Belgium for their efforts as the co-facilitators" he said, adding that "international community should strengthen global cooperation for development, and help developing countries as they strive to meet the SDGs(Sustainable Development Goals)."