China holds workshop on Global Development Initiative with UN representatives

BEIJING, Dec. 9 (Xinhua) -- China on Thursday held a workshop with UN representatives to discuss how to advance the Global Development Initiative (GDI) cooperation toward the accelerated implementation of the 2030 Agenda.

The workshop, jointly hosted by the China's foreign ministry and the office of resident coordinator of the UN development system in China, was attended by some 20 representatives from various U.N. development agencies in the country.

The GDI, proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping, is an initiative to support the development of developing countries, promote global economic recovery in the post-pandemic era and strengthen international development cooperation, Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu said during the workshop.

"The GDI gives top priority to development, and aims to address the special needs of developing countries," he said, adding that the GDI identifies eight priority areas of cooperation and charts feasible pathways to accelerate the implementation of the 2030 Agenda.

Noting that the GDI provides important new opportunities for cooperation between China and the United Nations, in particular the UN development system, Ma called on the two sides to focus on development, maximize synergy, deepen cooperation and reinforce coordination.

"The Chinese foreign ministry will continue to support the UN development agencies in carrying out their operations in China, and explore new areas and modalities of cooperation under the GDI framework for win-win results," he said.

Delegates attending the workshop spoke highly of China's achievements in implementing the 2030 Agenda, and welcomed Xi's GDI proposal.

Noting that the GDI would inject impetus into the advancement of the global development cause, they pledged to support the implementation of the GDI by making good use of their respective resources, strengths and partnership networks.