President Xi Jinping announced China's participation in 600 new projects that aim to help developing countries on trade, poverty reduction and in other areas, saying that China remains "as committed as ever" to South-South Cooperation.

In the next five years, China will initiate 100 new poverty-reduction projects, 100 agricultural projects, 100 trade projects, 100 projects on ecological preservation and climate change, 100 new hospitals and clinics, and 100 schools and vocational training centers, Xi said.

China will set up a South-South Cooperation and Development Academy and offer $2 million in cash assistance to the World Health Organization in addition to training a half- million technical personnel from developing countries, Xi said in opening remarks at a high-level roundtable on South-South Cooperation at United Nations headquarters in New York on Saturday afternoon.

"There should be more communication and exchanges with developed countries and greater participation of businesses and the private sector to build multi-tiered partnerships and create a community of shared interests among various stakeholders," he said.

Xi said that South-South Cooperation should deliver practical results and be results-oriented rather than "just being empty talk". Projects should yield tangible results that create better economic, social, and environmental impacts for the benefit of the general public, he said.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, co-host of the roundtable with China, said he is "deeply grateful" for China's support and commitment to nations of the global south.

"All this support will go a long way to address the needs of the poor and the most vulnerable and contribute political momentum for the success for the climate negotiations in Paris in December," he said. "As we implement the 2030 sustainable-development agenda, it will be important to widely share the effective policies and practices that China and other fast-growing economies in the global south are employing."

China currently contributes more than $4 billion of aid toward South-South Cooperation on a yearly basis.

Prior to the high-level roundtable, Gyan Chandra Acharya, undersecretary-general at the UN and representative of the least developed countries, said that China is an example of a developing country that was able to transform its economy and lift millions out of poverty, setting an example for other nations.

"It is possible to really change the narrative of the world — which is, 'Oh, you have too many challenges, you have too many big issues' — no, you have to look at the possibilities. We can really go towards the success if there is global collaboration and cooperation. I think that message coming from China will be very strong, because it has … over one generation completely transformed its economy," he said.

As a developing country, Xi said China looks to enhance solidarity and cooperation with other developing countries, an "unshakable foundation" of China's foreign relations. The country will share with developing countries more development opportunities, he added.

"The profound friendship between the Chinese people and people of other developing countries are our most valuable asset," Xi said. "We will as always promote our development along with the common development of all developing countries, align our efforts to realize the Chinese dream with the endeavors by other developing countries to attain their dreams for a better life for their peoples and pursue common progress of all developing countries. China will never waver on this commitment, not under any circumstances."

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