China firmly committed to South-South cooperation

BEIJING -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday sent a congratulatory letter on the 5th anniversary of the establishment of the South-South Cooperation Assistance Fund (SSCAF) and the Institute of South-South Cooperation and Development (ISSCAD).

China set up both of these, and they highlight the country's unyielding commitment and concrete contributions to South-South cooperation.

Over the past five years, the SSCAF has worked closely with more than 10 international organizations to implement more than 100 livelihood projects in more than 50 countries, benefiting more than 20 million people. It has made tangible contributions to the UN 2030 Sustainable Development Goals implementation, ranging from responding to tropical cyclone Idai to combating Ebola and the COVID-19 pandemic.

The SSCAF has also been involved in promoting maternal and child health, solving migration crises, strengthening agricultural governance, enhancing civil aviation safety, and helping people with disabilities find employment to reduce poverty.

The ISSCAD has enrolled more than 200 master and doctoral students from nearly 60 countries, introducing national development theories, sharing experiences in governance, building research and exchange platforms, and contributing to the training of high-end talents for many developing countries. The participants have witnessed China's ongoing efforts to build a community with a shared future for humanity and experienced the vitality of the flourishing South-South cooperation.

With the joint support of all parties, the SSCAF and the ISSCAD have developed into a vital public product in the cause of South-South cooperation and a significant international brand for developing countries to promote South-South cooperation and sustainable development.

Siddharth Chatterjee, the United Nations Resident Coordinator in China, has sent congratulations on the occasion, expressing appreciation of the SSCAF and willingness to continue partnering with the SSCAF and the ISSCAD, especially on sharing development experience.

If history is any guide, China has continuously demonstrated a spirit of internationalism and humanitarianism. It supports other developing countries' efforts to improve their people's lives and achieve development.

From the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949, even though China was itself short of funds, it started offering assistance to needy countries in support of their efforts to promote economic and social development. It laid a solid foundation for long-term friendship and cooperation with those countries. After launching reform and opening up in 1978, China has provided other developing economies with even more aid in more diverse forms to boost development.

China is ready to work with other developing countries to further release the potential of South-South cooperation and share development opportunities, Xi said in the congratulatory letter, underlining China's continued willingness in this regard.

Despite China's tremendous achievements, two realities have not changed: China is in the primary stage of socialism and will remain so for a long time to come, and China is still the world's largest developing economy.

"China's vote in the United Nations will always belong to the developing countries," Xi said at the general debate of the 70th session of the UN General Assembly in 2015.

China's development cooperation is a form of mutual assistance between developing countries. It falls into the category of South-South cooperation and therefore is essentially different from North-South cooperation. China is a staunch supporter, active participant, and a vital contributor to South-South cooperation. It will continue to shoulder the international responsibilities commensurate with its development level and capacity and further expand South-South cooperation to promote mutual development.

China will continue to share without reserve its governance experience and all appropriate technology. The world's largest developing country will increase the supply of global public goods, channel more resources to developing countries to support their sustainable economic and social development, and do more to help them remove development obstacles.