China urges unity of developing world

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China urges unity of developing world

(Xinhua) 20:23, September 27, 2013

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Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Thursday urged unity of the developing world, and warned developing countries against attempts to sow discord among them.

"We must avoid the situation where each fights the war on its own, still less undermine each other's positions," Wang told an annual foreign ministers' meeting of the Group of 77 in New York.

"We must cultivate a keen sense of unity and coordination, seek common ground while reserving differences, come to each other's support readily, try to speak with one voice and better defend our interests," he said.

The strength and influence of developing countries are growing, noted Wang. They account for 82 percent of the world population, nearly half of the world GDP and international trade.

"We are participating in world affairs on an equal footing and working actively to build international systems," he said.

"There might be problems of one kind or another between or among the developing countries, but what comes first is our common interests. There might be subdivisions of one kind or another within the developing world, but what comes first is that we are all developing countries."

He said China is undoubtedly still a developing country despite the fact that it is the world's second largest economy and the world's biggest exporter.

China is ranked around the 90th in the world in terms of average per capita income and the 101st in terms of human development, he said. In addition, more than 100 million people are living in poverty in China and there is regional imbalances in development and a considerable income gap between urban and rural areas.

Even when China becomes stronger and more prosperous in future, it will remain a staunch member of the developing world and will forever be a reliable friend and sincere partner of other developing countries, said Wang, adding that developing countries are always the basis of China's foreign policy.

"In our relations with friends from developing countries, morality always comes before interests and interests are pursued only in a right way," Wang said.

"We stand for common development and mutual benefit and will never do things out of selfish interests or follow a beggar-thy-neighbor approach," he added.

There is a need for China and G77 members to learn from each other's experience in governance, strengthen exchanges on development ideas and policies and promote strategic cooperation in industrialization, urbanization, IT application and agricultural modernization, said the top Chinese diplomat.

He urged cooperation in infrastructure, connectivity, energy and resources and called for efforts to coordinate policies to tackle the spill-over effect of monetary policy adjustments by certain developed countries.

There is also a need, he said, to enhance coordination within the U.N. framework, to work to put development high on the international agenda and exert a greater influence of the G77 in the post-2015 develpment agenda, he said.

"We must scale up our communication and concerted efforts on such issues as U.N. reform, the handling of major emergencies and making of international rules."

The G77 is a grouping of developing countries established in June 1964. Its membership has grown to 133 from 77.