Hou Yanqi

This year marks the 71st anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China. In the last 71 years, an ancient country with around one-fifth of the world’s population strove to create a development miracle in human history by turning itself from a backward and poor country into a country working as a key factor in maintaining peace, stability and prosperity in the world. Today, China has risen to the second-largest economy in the world, its GDP accounts for around 15 per cent of world’s GDP. Since 2008 international financial crisis, China contributed 30 per cent to global economic growth for years in a row and has become the primary stabiliser and source of power for world economic growth.

Development concept
China has been upholding the concept of development that clear waters and green mountains are as valuable as mountains of gold and silver. China has actively shouldered the international responsibilities commensurate to its development stage and national conditions, and has taken a host of policy actions in response to climate change. The national carbon intensity decreased by 48.1 per cent from 2005 to 2019, which means China has reduced the carbon dioxide emissions of more than 5.2 billion tonnes and has met its climate target for 2020 ahead of schedule.
Poverty reduction and improvement of people’s livelihood are priority targets of the Chinese government. In the past 40 years, China has lifted 850 million people out of poverty, contributing over 70 per cent to global poverty reduction. We also share experience in poverty alleviation with other developing countries, and has assisted them with 180 poverty reduction projects. We have confidence to achieve our goals to lift out of poverty all rural residents living below the current poverty line within the set timeframe and meet the poverty eradication target set out in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development ten years ahead of schedule.
To further promote cooperation with other countries in the world, President Xi Jinping proposed the Belt and Road Initiative in 2013. Until now, China has signed 200 BRI cooperation documents with 138 countries and 30 international organisations, and launched more than 2,000 cooperation projects. The trade and economic exchanges and connectivity between China and BRI partner countries, including Nepal are continuously improving, which bring more tangible benefits to the people in these countries.
China is not only a contributor to global development but also works as a builder of global peace and a defender of international order. China has dispatched more than 40,000 peacekeepers in over 30 missions, the most in all the permanent members of the Security Council. As a member to nearly all universal inter-governmental organisations and a signatory to over 500 international conventions, China has faithfully fulfilled its international obligations and honoured its international commitments.
In the face of COVID-19 pandemic, China has adopted the most rigorous prevention and control measures with unprecedented scale, and brought the virus breakout under control in a short period of time. We were among the first to resume work and production, and is the first major economy across the world that has returned to growth since the outbreak of the COVID-19.
China has made a donation of US$50 million to WHO, provided assistance to and shared its experience with over 150 countries and international organisations. China will firmly implement its commitments to make China's COVID-19 vaccine development and deployment, when available, a global public good, and work with other G20 members to implement the Debt Service Suspension Initiative for the poorest countries in order to contribute to the building of a global community of health for all.
The COVID-19 pandemic is compounding the once-in-a-century transformations unfolding in our world. Just as President Xi Jinping pointed out, the pandemic has magnified the problems of maladaptation and mismatch in the global governance system and it calls for reform and improvement. We should stay true to multilateralism and safeguard the international system with the UN at its core.

Global public goods
Under the new circumstances, China will continue to shoulder its responsibilities and make its contribution as a major country by providing more global public goods. China will work with countries around the world including Nepal to uphold and carry forward multilateralism, advocate the values of peace, development, equity, justice, democracy and freedom shared by all of us, and contribute its share to world peace and development by promoting community with a shared future for mankind and new type of international relations featuring mutual respect, fairness, justice, and mutually-beneficial cooperation.

(The author is the Chinese ambassador to Nepal.)