New Agenda, High Hopes

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development， passed at the UN Sustainable Development Summit on September 25， charts a course for international development cooperation in the upcoming 15 years. The Chinese Government highly values this agenda and worked closely with other countries for its adoption.

China has contributed to the new development agenda by putting forward guiding principles， such as prioritizing infrastructure construction， interconnectivity， industrial capacity cooperation and sustainable urban development. It has also proposed to safeguard an open， equal， orderly and rulebased multilateral trade system； promote trade liberalization； and increase developing countries representation and voice in international economic governance. These proposals have demonstrated the Chinese Governments commitment to advancing global development cooperation and improving international economic governance.

The post-2015 development agenda is a continuation of the Millennium Development Goals （MDGs）， which were passed at the UN Millennium Summit in 2000 and have since been implemented worldwide. The past 15 years have seen remarkable progress made in areas such as poverty reduction， safe water supply， equal access to primary education for boys and girls， and the fight against malaria.

China， for its part， is the first developing country to achieve the goal of reducing poverty and accounts for two thirds of the reduction in global extreme poverty. Chinas progress is also seen in its achievements in popularizing primary education， promoting gender equality， reducing child mortality and improving healthcare for pregnant women， as well as in its efforts to increase environmental sustainability. Under the framework of South-South cooperation， China has provided assistance to more than 120 other developing countries in their efforts to accomplish the MDGs. Chinas own achievements， together with its aid to fellow developing countries， have greatly stepped up the implementation of the MDGs.

The 2030 agenda has set higher goals for the sustainable development of the globe. As always， China will do its utmost to promote the realization of these Sustainable Development Goals. Despite massive achievements in its social and economic development， China remains a developing country. It is now facing the pressure of an economic slowdown， as well as unbalanced and unsustainable development.

In this context， China will continue to push forward development through reforms. It will play its role in the implementation of the post-2015 development agenda， but whether the agenda can be fully implemented globally depends on the joint efforts of all countries， particularly developed countries， which are in a position to shoulder greater responsibilities. Industrialized countries are expected to provide timely and sufficient aid as promised， further reduce and exempt debts for developing countries， and open their markets. They are also obliged to help strengthen developing countries capacity through training， experience sharing， knowledge transfer and technical aid. The principle of “common but differentiated responsibilities” should be upheld as countries implement the new development agenda.