Beijing’s hefty UN aid helps developing nations
Last week, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang arrived in New York to attend the high- level meetings and general debate of the 71st session of the UN General Assembly, where more than 140 heads of state gave speeches and negotiated about peaceful development across the globe.
This year marks the 45th anniversary of China’s resumption of its legitimate seat in the UN. In the twoday meeting, Li hosted and participated in a number of multilateral meetings and held bilateral talks with UN General- Secretary Ban Ki- moon and state leaders. He elaborated on China’s ideas and policies in development, security, human rights and refugees, showing China’s full support to the UN and its responsible actions as the world’s second- largest economy.
In recent years, China has paid increasing attention to the UN and kept investing in this body. Currently, China pays 7.92 percent of the total UN regular budget, making it the third- largest contributor among 193 member states, following the US and Japan.
From 2016 to 2018, China will bear 10.2 percent of the UN peacekeeping assessed contribution, only second to the US. The number of peacekeeping personnel sent by China is almost twice the total sent by the other four permanent members of the UN Security Council.
When he attended the UN General Assembly last year, Chinese President Xi Jinping announced a series of measures to support the work of the UN, including establishing a 10- year, $ 1 billion peace and development fund, setting up a permanent peacekeeping police force and a standby force of 8,000 troops, and training 2,000 peacekeepers from other countries in the coming five years. All these show China’s contribution to UN peacekeeping and the security of Africa.
China’s contribution to the UN in social and economic development is more prominent. Li pledged an additional $ 300 million over the next three years to cope with the massive number of refugees and migrants moving throughout the world. This only constitutes a minor part of China’s assistance to the UN.
China has become a firm supporter of the UN- led 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Last year, Xi announced China would provide $ 2 billion to support South- South cooperation and help developing countries to implement the development agenda. In the G20 summit early this month, China outlined plans to carry out the agendas.
When Li chaired the symposium on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, he released a National Plan for the Implementation of the Agenda and announced an additional $ 100 million in annual aid to UN development agencies by 2020 on top of the amount in 2015.
China’s remarkable progress in its rapid development in the past three decades, particularly in poverty reduction, health, education, women’s rights and basic infrastructure, has laid a solid foundation for the realization of UN goals. China’s rich experience in development will benefit a great number of developing nations through the UN and the “One Belt and One Road” initiative and the Asian Infrastructure Invest- ment Bank project. To address climate change, another issue facing the UN, China and the US, two of the largest emitters of greenhouse gases, have cleared obstacles for the Paris Agreement through bilateral negotiations. China has committed to peak carbon emissions and pledged to cut its carbon intensity per unit of GDP by 60 to 65 percent from 2005 levels by 2030. Beyond its role as a developing nation, China announced a China South- South Climate Cooperation Fund to provide 20 billion yuan ($ 3.1 billion) to assist developing countries. The extensive diplomacy by Premier Li and the Chinese delegation in the UN General Assembly is characterized by the following aspects. First, as a founding member of the UN, a permanent member of the UN Security Council and the world’s second- largest economy, China has been endeavoring to provide more public benefits and development assistance to the international community. Second, the UN has played a major role in the multilateral effective governance in the world by being given more authority to cope with new challenges and providing more resources. Meanwhile, eyeing the UN’s role in security and development, China is trying to inject more Chinese proposals and ideas into the two areas. By promoting democracy and the rule of law, China is trying to make the UN an authoritative platform to advance South-South cooperation and strengthen the rights of developing countries.