VIII. Future Prospects for China's International Development Cooperation

The Covid-19 pandemic poses a huge threat to the lives, safety, health, and wellbeing of people throughout the world, creating significant challenges for global public health security. Implementing the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development remains a long and uphill journey. In the future, China will continue to uphold the vision of a global community of shared future, and follow the principle of pursuing the greater good and shared interests. It will do everything within its means to promote cooperation and inject Chinese strength into global development.

1. Contributing to a Global Community of Health for All

We will continue to support developing countries in their fight against the pandemic according to their actual needs and to the best of our abilities, thus making our contribution to safeguarding global health.

– Doing all we can to support developing countries in the fight against Covid-19. China will continue to offer medical supplies to all parties concerned, engage in cooperation on medical technologies, and dispatch medical expert teams. We will give US$2 billion of international aid over two years to countries hard hit by Covid-19, especially developing countries, in supporting their fight against the virus and their efforts to resume economic and social development. China will continue to share without reserve information and experiences with the WHO and the international community, and engage in international cooperation on the research and development of testing methods, clinical treatments, drugs and vaccines to stem the global spread of the virus as soon as possible and safeguard global public health.

– Helping developing countries to improve their public health systems. Since Covid-19 appeared, deficiencies and weak links have been exposed in the public health systems of many countries. We should jointly strengthen public health systems through solidarity and cooperation. China will work with the WHO to help developing countries, especially African countries, fortify their public health defenses and improve the speed of their response and their capacity for disease control, through establishing a cooperation mechanism for Chinese hospitals to pair up with 30 African hospitals and accelerating construction on the Africa CDC headquarters.

– Supporting the WHO and other international organizations in playing key roles. The WHO has made a significant contribution to the fight against the pandemic by leading and encouraging global cooperation. To support the WHO is to support global cooperation in the fight against the pandemic and support the effort to save lives. China will continue to support the WHO in playing its role, and call on the international community to give it more political and financial support, so that it can mobilize the necessary resources worldwide to defeat this virus. We will continue to support multilateral organizations, including the G20, APEC, BRICS, and SCO in increasing exchanges and coordination and in carrying out international cooperation on joint prevention and control.

2. Promoting Implementation of the UN 2030 Agenda

China will persevere with a people-centered approach, focus on improving living standards, and join forces with other developing countries in responding to global challenges.

– Fulfilling commitments and international obligations. We will earnestly implement the cooperation initiatives announced by President Xi Jinping at major international events including the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation, the summits commemorating the UN's 70th anniversary, the 2018 Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, the 73rd World Health Assembly, and the high-level meetings marking the UN's 75th anniversary. In keeping with its comprehensive national strength and due international responsibilities, China will steadily increase assistance to other developing countries, especially the least developed countries, helping them to reduce poverty and improve people's lives.

– Upholding coordination and promoting common development. In the face of the impact of Covid-19, the Belt and Road Initiative has continued to show great vitality, giving confidence to participating countries and providing a realistic choice. China will work to integrate its responsibilities in building the Belt and Road and in implementing the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, strengthen coordination of international macroeconomic policies to respond to the concerns of developing countries, support more pragmatic approaches to the resumption of work, and safeguard the stable and smooth operation of international industrial and supply chains.

– Improving lives and sharing happiness. China will take eliminating poverty and improving people's lives as its ultimate objective, and implement more projects for improving living standards in developing countries, especially the least developed countries, to ensure food security and guarantee basic needs, and prevent secondary disasters in the world economy. Special attention will be given to creating more jobs for young people, safeguarding the interests of vulnerable groups including women, children, the elderly and people with disabilities, and launching more initiatives to benefit the wider public so that they can have a stronger sense of fulfillment and happiness.

– Promoting South-South cooperation and acting as a major and responsible country. China will continue to share without reserve its governance experience and all appropriate technology. We will increase the supply of global public goods, channel more resources to developing countries to support their sustainable economic and social development, and do more to help them remove development blockages. China will increase assistance to participating countries of the Belt and Road Initiative, the least developed countries, landlocked developing countries, small island developing countries and heavily indebted poor countries, help reinforce the South which is a weak link in the global governance system, and push for the integration of more developing countries into international division of labor and cooperation.

– Strengthening solidarity to meet global challenges. China firmly supports multilateralism, and takes an active part in bilateral and multilateral dialogue and cooperation on international development. We work to improve global governance in international development cooperation, and safeguard the international system with the UN at its core. We will give more financial support to international organizations, helping them work together to meet global challenges including public health crises, food security threats, and economic recession. We will enhance communication and coordination with other countries and international organizations, discuss and advance tripartite cooperation with countries and international and regional organizations on the basis of fully respecting the sovereignty and will of recipient countries, and seek to break new ground in international development cooperation.

3. Improving the Capacity for Cooperation

China will optimize management, improve its policy-making and management skills, and strive to enhance the quality of international development cooperation.

– Reinforcing planning and strengthening the institutional framework. We will devise medium- and long-term foreign aid plans and targeted plans for different regions, countries and projects as needed, while taking full account of other developing countries' development priorities and needs, and the goals of the Belt and Road Initiative and the UN 2030 Agenda. China will continue to improve relevant laws, regulations and institutions, providing a legal guarantee for international development cooperation. The inter-ministerial coordination mechanism for foreign aid will play a more active role, and we will forge synergy at all levels, coordinate efforts by central departments, local governments and social organizations, pool premium resources, and enhance cohesion and efficiency.

– Improving project management and exploring new approaches to aid. We will strengthen the whole process of managing aid projects and increase their overall efficiency. We will invest more on the feasibility studies of aid projects, analyzing their environmental impact, and evaluating post-project operation and management, so as to make sound and rational decisions and improve the reserve of projects. We will steadily advance the model where the recipient countries implement the projects with funding and technical support. This will help fuel local employment and improve the ability of the recipient countries to sustain their own development. China will continue cooperation on human resources development, share development experiences, and disseminate appropriate technology, providing intellectual support for sustainable economic and social development in other developing countries. We will enrich the South-South Cooperation Assistance Fund with diversified partners and cooperation models, and build partnerships for international development cooperation.

– Enhancing supervision and evaluation to improve project efficacy. Coordinated supervision and management mechanisms will be put in place, in which each party performs its own functions and power carries accountability. We will strengthen oversight over key links and improve project management through routine and special supervisory measures. We will develop complete systems of impartial and independent project evaluation, set sound and effective evaluation standards, conduct comprehensive evaluation and special evaluation, and strengthen the application of evaluation results. Based on its own national conditions and drawing experience from international practices, China will work to revise and improve the statistical indicator system of foreign aid, and develop a modern statistical information system for foreign assistance.