Geneva, 5 July 2007

(Translation)

Mr. President,

      On behalf of the Chinese Government, I wish to begin by warmly congratulating the official launching of the Development Cooperation Forum (DCF) and thanking you for the hard work that you have done to make this possible. I would also like to express my appreciation to the remarks of Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and support the statement the Pakistani representative has made on behalf of the Group of 77 and China.

      The creation of the DCF marks another major step forward in the implementation of the decisions taken at the 2006 UN Summit and important progress in reforms in the economic and social field. This will help boost UN input in development, ensure resources for development, strengthen development agencies and provide an important platform for closer development cooperation in the international community.

      Mr. President,

      Properly defining the goals, direction, priorities and modality of the DCF will be key to its success as the only UN mechanism newly established that specifically works to comprehensively review international development cooperation. In this connection, I wish to make the following points regarding future work of the DCF.

      First, the DCF should always focus on promoting development. It should call upon the United Nations to pay more attention to development cooperation. China believes that such cooperation at the current stage should set priority on two issues, financing for development and the Doha Round of trade talks and work for progress on both of them. On the financial issue, the DCF should urge developed countries to honor their commitment of earmarking 0.7% of their gross national income as ODA to developing countries as early as possible, and encourage the setting-up of more innovative mechanisms for financing. In this process, the DCF may strengthen cooperation with the follow-up mechanism to the Financing for Development Conference to avoid repetition. The Doha Round now stands at a critical juncture, and there is no sign of convergence of different positions. The DCF should shore up the political will of various parties and get developed members, major trading nations in particular, to demonstrate political sincerity and greater flexibility to facilitate comprehensive and balanced outcomes of the talks.

      Second, the DCF should work for putting in place an MDG assessment and monitoring mechanism. The process of achieving the MDGs is already half-way through. The next few years will be critical for realizing these goals. The DCF should advocate a fair, reasonable and effective framework for MDG progress evaluation, under which timely assessment of progress in various countries and international cooperation and in the implementation of development assistance commitments can be made. China believes that problems concerning the means of implementation like funding, technology, capacity-building and market access are the biggest obstacles to achieving the MDGs. It is therefore necessary for the DCF to set priority on these areas in its future work and come up with practical and feasible recommendations to ensure that the international community invests the necessary resources in development.

      Third, the capability of the United Nations to address development issues should be enhanced. In a globalized world, the international community is faced with both traditional and non-traditional security challenges such as regional conflicts, public health, environment and sustainable development. In particular in the areas of energy security and climate change, the DCF should keep abreast of latest developments and study and respond to new trends and issues in international development cooperation. On the issue of climate change, the DCF should encourage all parties to remain committed to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Kyoto Protocol and the principle of "common but differentiated responsibilities" and work for progress in international cooperation on climate change. On energy security, the DCF should promote focused cooperation in the international community in raising energy efficiency and developing and applying clean energy and renewable energy and in safeguarding energy security.

      Fourth, the role of the stakeholders should be given full play to. The DCF brings together stakeholders in the government, private sector and civil society and works on thematic and cross-cutting issues at national, regional and international levels. It should use this advantage to promote closer partnership among the stakeholders on international development and forge synergy through encouraging them to enhance coordination and supplement and reinforce each other's work, with a view to contributing to the international development cause.

Mr. President,

Expectations are high on our newly established Forum. It should follow the principles of gradual progress, consensus and ensuring equal participation of developing countries. China is ready to take an active part in its work, and maintain coordination and consultation with parties concerned to ensure that the DCF move forward on the right track.

Thank you, Mr. President.