— Speech by Premier Wen Jiabao at the LDCs and Rio+20 high-level side event

(Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, June 21, 2012)

I'm greatly pleased to attend the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and Rio+20 high-level side event to discuss measures for poverty reduction in the LDCs with you.

We live at a time when wealth is increasing rapidly. But prosperity has yet to reach all corners of the planet. In many places, hunger, diseases, unemployment, discrimination and harsh living conditions remain realities many poor people have to face every day. There were 24 LDCs recognized by the UN 40 years ago, and today there are 48, mainly in Africa, Asia and the South Pacific. There are still 1.3 billion people in the world living below the poverty line. These countries and people rarely benefit from globalization and information technology and are still stuck in poverty and marginalization. This is the challenge we must confront.

Over the past decades, the international community has made a series of efforts to help the LDCs to develop. Since 1981, the UN has held an LDC conference every 10 years. Many countries have adopted measures such as free grants, debt relief, trade facilitation and personnel training for the benefit of the LDCs, which have achieved positive results. Regrettably, the UN's poverty reduction goals have yet to be realized, the causes of poverty have yet to be eliminated, and the LDCs find themselves mired in an even more difficult situation.

It is the common responsibility of the international community to help with the development of the LDCs. All countries, especially developed ones, should earnestly fulfill the commitments to increasing official development assistance to the LDCs and reducing their debt burden. In the reform of the international financial system and the Doha Round trade negotiations, the LDCs' difficulties and aspirations should be fully taken into account to provide institutional conveniences and guarantees for their effective participation in the multilateral trade regime. The international community should strengthen South-South cooperation and North-South cooperation, help the LDCs integrate into economic globalization and narrow the digital divide.

With their own unique advantages, every LDC is filled with hope for a better life. The LDCs should take economic development and improvement of people's livelihoods as the most urgent and important tasks, do all they can to expand employment, and try to lift themselves out of poverty. To realize these goals, they should focus on developing industries in which they have comparative advantages. They should also put more efforts into education and public health, further improve the employment skills of their population and enhance their ability to seek development independently. Based on this, they should actively explore a sustainable development path and an effective mode of developing a green economy in line with their national conditions.

It is a long-term consistent policy of China to help the LDCs. Over the years, the Chinese Government has called on the international community to put the LDC problem on top of the agenda and protect the interests of these countries at multilateral forums such as the UN General Assembly, the UN Conference on Trade and Development and World Trade Organization negotiations. Although China is a developing country with a large poor population, we have offered financial and technological assistance to the LDCs to the best of our ability. By the end of 2011, China had forgiven 30 billion yuan ($4.7 billion) in debt owed by 50 heavily indebted poor countries and LDCs. It has also promised to give zero-tariff treatment to 97 percent of the tariff items of exports to China from most of the LDCs. China and the UN Development Program have jointly established the International Poverty Reduction Center in China to share China's experience in poverty reduction with other countries. China has trained more than 35,000 managerial and technological personnel in the LDCs, while helping to build many infrastructure projects such as hospitals, roads and water supply facilities. All of China's actions are free of political strings attached. In the future, China will continue to support the LDCs' economic and social development, increase investment and technology transfers, expand the scale of financial assistance, strengthen personnel training and help promote the sustainable development of the LDCs.

The rights to subsistence and development are the inherent rights of every individual. Tolerating poverty and hunger means indifference toward morality and conscience. Those who struggle with poverty in Africa, Asia and the South Pacific live on the same planet with us, and they are entitled to equally share the achievements of the advancing human civilization. When I envision this, I can almost see their expecting eyes and hear their cries for help. We should not let them down any more. I believe we have the wisdom and ability to defeat poverty and build a peaceful, tranquil, prosperous and beautiful world with the help of the international community and the individual efforts of the LDCs.