— Speech by Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao at a high-level round table of UN Conference on Sustainable Development

(Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, June 20 2012)

It's a great pleasure for me to participate in today's round table conference and exchange views on the topic of "looking into the future, implementing achievements." History and reality both show that although we will encounter many setbacks and twists on the road to sustainable development, we still have a bright future. I'm fully confident about this. To implement the results of the conference, every country should take action. China will join hands with the international community to stick to the road of sustainable development.

China is a staunch supporter of the concept of sustainable development. Since the 1970s, from Stockholm to Rio de Janeiro, China has participated in several important international conferences during the formation and development of the concept of sustainable development and made active contributions. Entering the new century, based on experience drawn from both home and abroad, China proposes the people-centric scientific development concept emphasizing comprehensive, coordinated and sustainable development, and aims to build a resource-saving, environmentally friendly society and an ecological civilization that takes a new path of industrialization. These advanced concepts are a full reflection of China's characteristics and are also based on helpful international experience.

China is an active practitioner of sustainable development strategies. China takes into account economic development, social progress and environmental protection as a whole. In terms of economic development, China's GDP has grown at an annual average rate of 9.9 percent for the past 34 years, helping more than 200 million people rise out of poverty. China is among the first countries to achieve the Millennium Development Goal target of halving the proportion of people living below the poverty line. China practices the strictest systems of arable land and water resource protection, managing to feed 20 percent of the world's population with less than 10 percent of the world's arable land and 28 percent of the world's per-capita water resources. In terms of social construction, China is conducting comprehensive free compulsory education, continuously deepening reform of the pension security system, and has set up a basic pension and medical security system covering both urban and rural residents. In terms of environmental protection, China is pressing ahead with energy saving and emission cutting programs. In the past 6 years, per unit GDP energy consumption has dropped by 21 percent, equal to a reduction of 1.6 billion tons of carbon dioxide. The discharge of major pollutants has dropped by 15 percent. China has created the largest artificial forest in the world, covering 620,000 square kilometers. China has honored its solemn commitments to its own people and to the international community with practical actions.

China is a strong facilitator of international cooperation for sustainable development. China actively carries out South-North (developing and developed countries) cooperation and has made due contributions to the sustainable development of the world. By the end of 2011, China had exempted a total of around 30 billion yuan ($4.76 billion) of debt owed by 50 heavily indebted and least developed countries. China has offered zero-tariff treatment to over 60 percent of goods from 38 least developed countries. In addition, China has also provided more than 100 billion yuan worth of preferential loans. China actively pushes forward South-North cooperation and has developed system-based cooperation mechanisms with developed countries in terms of environmental protection, climate change as well as energy and resources. China actively participates in the activities of international organizations and earnestly implements international conventions with due responsibilities and obligations.

There is still a long way to go for China to promote sustainable development. As a developing country, despite its huge economic aggregate, its per-capita national income still ranks around 90th in the world. According to the new poverty criteria, China still has 100 million people living under the poverty line. With rising pressure on the environment, problems like unbalanced, uncoordinated and unsustainable development remain serious.

China will fully implement the 12th Five-Year Plan, accelerate the transformation of its economic development mode, adjust and optimize the economic structure. China is trying to control the total amount of energy consumption by setting up a production, living and consumption mode that saves resources and protects the environment. China is making great efforts to achieve the goal of cutting carbon dioxide emission by 17 percent and energy consumption by 16 percent per-unit GDP in 2015 from 2010 levels. The proportion of non-fossil energy is expected to rise to 11.4 percent, while the emission of major pollutants will drop 8 to 10 percent, with the goal of improving the quality of development and realizing green prosperity.

China will promote international cooperation with more active participation in global governance for sustainable development and will gradually increase assistance to other developing countries. China will join hands with the international community to create a better home for future generations.