China urges action on poverty

With alliance formed, top envoy to UN says joint efforts needed to reach goals

China’s top envoy to the United Nations called on the international community “to seize this opportunity to take joint actions and move forward the global cause of poverty reduction” at an event marking the inauguration of the UN’s Alliance for Poverty Eradication.

Zhang Jun, China’s permanent representative to the UN, said that ending poverty is a common objective of mankind and a big challenge that requires the hard work of generations of people.

Under the world body’s leadership, thanks to the concerted efforts of the international community, a spectacular drop in poverty has been achieved over the past decades.

Zhang said the world is marking the 75th anniversary of the founding of the UN and entering the decade of action for the Sustainable Development Goals. However, the COVID-19 pandemic is posing challenges to poverty eradication.

“We should seize the opportunity of the launching of the alliance to take joint actions and move forward the global cause of poverty eradication,” Zhang said at the UN General Assembly’s virtual highlevel meeting on poverty eradication on Tuesday. The event was held under the theme of Trends, Options and Strategies in Poverty Eradication Across the World.

The event marked the formal inauguration of the Alliance for Poverty Eradication, which was initiated by the president of the UN General Assembly.

“The alliance can pull together all the factors and interests in poverty eradication and serve as a one-stop networking, information sharing and bridge-building center,” said Tijjani Muhammad Bande, president of the UN General Assembly. “The alliance should provide a mechanism for interrogating the poverty challenge from all possible, or at least, multidisciplinary, angles. There is no amount of time and attention given to poverty eradication that is too much.”

With China as a founding member of the alliance, Zhang called for the international community to take development as a top priority.

Zhang said countries need to act with greater urgency, increase input into development and formulate policies for development and poverty reduction based on national conditions.

“China has always put development at the center of its work. And we commit to mobilize engagement in all social sectors in poverty reduction,” he said, adding that China benefits greatly from those approaches.

Put people first

To achieve poverty eradication and leave no one behind, Zhang called for countries to put people first.

“Advancing people’s well-being should always be the core of our work,” he said.

Zhang said China is committed to delivering a better life for the people. They are at the center of development and the fight against poverty.

From 2012 to 2019, the impoverished population in China dropped from nearly 99 million to 5.5 million. And the poverty occurrence rate fell from 10.2 percent to 0.6 percent.

Zhang said that in 2020, China is on track to lift out of poverty all those rural residents who are under the current poverty line, and achieve relevant goals and targets set in the 2030 agenda 10 years ahead of schedule.

For years, China has been guided by regional, innovative, coordinated, green, open and shared development to achieve better quality and efficiency in combating poverty.

Targeted and tailored measures have been adopted to help support these advantages and ensure that no one is left behind, Zhang said.

Zhang said that with the spread of the novel coronavirus under control, China is working hard to achieve recovery and help those in need on a priority basis, so as to minimize the impact of COVID-19 and meet poverty-reduction goals and targets as scheduled.

Zhang said it’s a must to remain committed to international cooperation.

“The international community should firmly uphold multilateralism, jointly tackle challenges posted by COVID-19, help developing countries strengthen capacitybuilding and increase cooperation in digital economy, clean energy, 5G and other new business areas, to promote inclusive and sustainable growth,” Zhang said.