China's Assistant Foreign Minister Shen Guofang said in Beijing
Saturday that China has full confidence in reaching the Millennium Development
Goals.
Shen made the remarks at the closing ceremony of the three-day
High-Level International Conference on the Millennium Development
Goals.
The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) originated at the
Millennium Summit held at the headquarters of the United Nations in
September 2000, when heads of state and government from over 100 UN
member countries adopted the Millennium Declaration, making a
commitment to meet the goals by the end of 2015.
Shen said the MDGs have become a key yardstick measuring
countries' efforts in coping with challenges of globalization and
all sectors of society should join efforts in reaching the
goals.
According to the "Millennium Development Goals (MDGs): China's
Progress" report published by the Office of the Resident UN
Coordinator in China on Thursday at the conference, China has made
enormous progress toward achieving its MDGs and China will probably
achieve most of the United Nations-set goals of poverty reduction
and social development by 2015.
Shen also urged developed countries as well as the United
Nations to take concrete actions to create good international
environment for developing countries to reach the MDGs.
Also at the conference, Wang Maolin, vice chairman of the law
committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), calls for the
establishment of a new type of global partnership to ensure the
smooth achievements of MDGs.
Wang said in order to achieve the MDGs, many big and pressing
problems must be solved. "To ensure the development, it is one of
our most important mission to forge a new type of global
partnership and do a good job in cooperation between international
economies and various regions."
In today's world, all sides should take the building of a new
and harmonious global partnership as a strategic measure for
propelling peace and development, which will be identified and
pushed by all the countries in the world, said Wang, who is also
president of the China International Institute of Multinational
Corporations.
Wang suggested that the new type of partnership should be "for
realizing the strategic goals of common development of mankind,"
"constructive and responsible," "featuring equality and
credibility," "in harmony with the demand of the sustainable
development," and "benefiting all sides."
For forging such a partnership, the United Nations, governments,
business circle and non-governmental organizations should play
their active roles, especially the United Nations should a good job
of organization and coordination, he said.
He said along with its rise in the world, China will play its
role more actively in forging an international partnership.
The MDGs includes eight items that most countries aimed to
complete by the year 2015. They are: to eradicate extreme poverty
and hunger, to achieve universal primary education, to promote
gender equality and empower women, to reduce child mortality, to
improve maternal health, to combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other
diseases, to ensure environmental sustainability, and to develop a
global partnership for development.
(Xinhua News Agency March 28, 2004)