China helps UN achieve poverty reduction goals: Ban Ki-moon

(ECNS) - Former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on Wednesday that China has made significant contributions to helping the UN reduce poverty, a key part of UN Millennium Development Goals.

At the Imperial Springs International Forum held in the southern Chinese city Guangzhou, Ban said China’s reform and opening up has lifted at least 500 million people out of poverty, bringing benefits to not only Chinese people but also those in other countries.

As China marks the 40th anniversary of its strategic policy, Ban said in the next 40 to 50 years it could contribute more to realize Millennium Development Goals.

"The World Bank announced proudly in 2010 that the number one goal in the UN Millennium Development Goals was achieved. If we look at the statistics internally it was because of China," Ban said.

The South Korean career diplomat also said it’s worrisome that some countries are "not respecting multilateralism, which has been the backbone of international society”.

International peace, security and prosperity have been underpinned by multilateralism over the last seven decades, said Ban.

During the G20 Hangzhou Summit in 2016, China and the United States ratified the Paris agreement to cut climate-warming emissions, marking a major step toward the enactment of the pact and also contributing to multilateralism.

Ban said Chinese President Xi Jinping voiced strong support for UN development goals during his visit to the UN headquarters in 2015 and also announced multiple cooperation projects at the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation.

China’s Belt and Road initiative means other countries can share the benefits of China's development achievements through win-win international cooperation, in line with President Xi's vision of building a community with a shared future for mankind, it was added.

"It's very important that countries along the Belt and Road benefit and cooperate with each other to build infrastructure and enjoy economic and social development," Ban said.

He added that global challenges require global solutions. “We are all in this together,” he said. “We have to work together."

Inaugurated in August 2011, Imperial Springs International Forum was officially established in 2015, and is currently co-hosted by the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (CPAFFC) and Australia China Friendship and Exchange Association (ACFEA). The forum serves as an important platform for people-to-people diplomacy and international exchange.