UNITED NATIONS - "China is both a strong supporter for and an active participant in the South-South Cooperation," a senior Chinese official said on Tuesday.
Yi Xiaozhun, the Chinese vice-minister of commerce, made the statement as he was delivering a keynote speech at the Development Cooperation Forum, sponsored by the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, at the UN Headquarters in New York.
"This year marks the 60th anniversary of China's technical assistance to other developing countries through South-South Cooperation," Yi said. "It also marks the 31st anniversary of China as a beneficiary of the UN development assistance system."
Promoting South-South Cooperation and "help each other among the developing countries" is the centerpiece of development cooperation, he said. "As the developing countries are at similar levels of development and facing similar economic and social development problems, they can better appreciate the development needs of each other."
"China supports the 'Beyond Aid' initiative proposed in the UN secretary-general's report and emphasizes the need for enhanced policy coherence, host country ownership and capacity building over cash assistance," he said.
"With the concept of 'blood generation over blood transfusion', China believes that it is better to help host countries build long-term sustainability than to resort to short- term interventions and be overly dependent on foreign aid," he said. "An integrated and holistic approach should therefore be adopted by incorporating trade, investment, technology transfer, capacity building and other elements into the development policies. "
"Developing countries should also take the initiative into their own hands in order to identify the policies and solutions most responsive to their own needs," he said.
"China has tried similar approaches and learned some useful lessons," he said.
"First, providing non-politically conditioned assistance to developing countries," he said.
For the past 60 years, China has implemented a large number of programs within its capacity with a view to enhancing the productivity of other developing countries and improving the livelihood of the local people, he said.
"One such program is the Tazania-Zambia Railway when the Chinese people tightened our belts to build for Africa in the 1960s and 1970s," he said. "To date, it is still serving the local people."