Mr. Chairman,
Fellow Deputies,

In 2004, the Asia-Pacific region registered its fastest economic growth since the beginning of the new century, stepping into the world limelight. What merits a special note is that this growth was driven, to a great extent, by increased intra-regional trade and stronger domestic demand of various economies. That said, the Asia-Pacific is still faced with many threats and challenges, making the road to development for all a long uphill one. Particularly, the Indian Ocean tsunami that struck some countries in this region towards the end of 2004 brought huge damages and losses and dealt a heavy blow to their economic and social development.

The year 2005 is of special significance to development in the world and the Asia-Pacific in particular. Important events of this year include celebrations for the 60th anniversary of the UN, Asia-Africa Summit, South Summit, the 6th WTO Ministerial Conference, G8 dialogue meeting with China, India, Brazil, South Africa and Mexico as well as other international conferences closely pertaining to the cause of development. A core agenda item for those meetings is financing for development, the topic of our current meeting. This fully reflects the increasing importance the international community attaches to development.

Mr. Chairman,

Three years ago, the UN's International Conference on Financing for Development in Mexico adopted the Monterrey Consensus, a landmark international document on development. Three years has passed, and its implementation is not to our satisfaction. The ODA provided by developed countries is far below the target set by the UN. Today, I would like to share with you some observations on financing for development in perspective of specific circumstances in our region.

First, it is essential to truly deliver on the existing commitments and provide more assistance to developing countries. In his report entitled In Larger Freedom, Towards Development, Security and Human Rights for All submitted this year, the UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan recommended developed countries to "establish timetables to achieve the 0.7 per cent target of gross national income for official development assistance by no later than 2015, starting with significant increases no later than 2006." We are supportive of this recommendation and believe that the international community should formulate concrete plans and establish corresponding mechanisms to supervise the implementation of the relevant commitments. Most countries in the Asia-Pacific are developing ones and some of them least developed, landlocked or small island countries. As challenges loom large in their course of development, those countries need support from the international community.

Second, it is important to facilitate fair and rational evolution of the international trading regime and furnish a favorable external financing environment. Trade is an important vehicle for developing countries to raise funds. A comprehensive solution to the issue of financing for development in this region requires a fair and rational international trading environment. Development is the core issue in Doha negotiations. The 6th WTO Ministerial Conference will be held in Hong Kong at the end of the year, which will exert significant impact on Doha negotiations. We hope that all negotiating parties will show political sincerity and flexibility and genuinely address concerns of developing members, thus paving the way for a successful conclusion of Doha negotiations by 2006.

Third, it is necessary for our region to take measures to improve our investment climate to make it more attractive to foreign capital. For long, FDI and private capital inflow has made important contribution to development in our region. We must take stock of and spread our successful experience in attracting and utilizing foreign capital, so that all developing countries in this region can benefit from it and make good use of foreign capital to boost their development. I would like to inform you that the East Asia Investment Forum is scheduled for July 2 to 3, 2005 in the city of Weihai in Shandong Province of China. The forum will provide a platform for Asian countries to seize the opportunities and open new channels for better investment cooperation. We look forward to support and participation from the government, business and academics of all Asia-Pacific countries.

Mr. Chairman,

ESCAP, as an important and comprehensive UN organization on development in the Asia-Pacific, has unshirkable responsibilities for promoting economic and social development in the region. While fully recognizing the work it has done over the long past, we must not fail to see the galloping regional cooperation and mushrooming regional sub-regional mechanisms for economic and business cooperation in the Asia-Pacific. To name just a few, there are ASEAN plus China, Japan and ROK (10+3), Asia Cooperation Dialogue (ACD), Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) economic cooperation, South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) and Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). These fora and organizations complement one another, playing an important role in consolidating and developing regional cooperation. With that as the backdrop, people place high expectations on the reform of ESCAP, hoping it would make good use of its broad representation and deep-going practical cooperation and play its unique role to effectively help countries in the region address problems arising from globalization and achieve sustainable economic and social development.

ESCAP has made various experiments in meeting arrangements and institutional reform in recent years with the steering of Executive Secretary Kim Hak-Su. We appreciate this and hope that ESCAP can focus its reform on efficiency and give greater scope to its features of broad representation and deep-going practical cooperation, in order to better meet the needs of its members and associate members for economic and social development. In the spring of 2004, ESCAP returned to its birthplace Shanghai and successfully held its 60th session there. The session in Shanghai is a milestone for ESCAP, as it is significant in pointing the future direction for the Asia-Pacific and guiding the work of ESCAP. We expect ESCAP to carry forward the achievements of the Shanghai session, ensure the reform is right on track and forge ahead bravely and efficiently so as to open up a new vista for economic development and cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region.

Mr. Chairman,

Each country has primary responsibility for its development, which is a basic consensus of the international community that stands out prominently in the Monterrey Consensus. The Chinese Government has adopted a scientific approach to development as its policy of administration. It is a people-oriented approach aiming at comprehensive development of mankind and maximum benefit-sharing from such development. Focused on economic development, it calls for parallel progress in the political and cultural fields as well, designed to achieve all-round progress of the economy and the society. It is an approach for balanced development between urban and rural areas, between different regions, between economic and social progress, between man and nature, and between domestic development and opening-up. It is an approach that coordinates economic growth with population, resources and environment and ensures sustained development for future generations. The ultimate goal is to bring about a dynamic and stable society that is democratic, law-based, fair, just, honest and friendly where man and nature live in harmony.

We are glad to note the inclusion of China's development as a major driving force behind the Asia-Pacific growth in the background document of this meeting, which points out that China spurs and affects development in its surrounding countries through its own development. China cannot develop in isolation of other Asia-Pacific countries. Nor can Asia-Pacific countries develop without China. China will, as always, pursue the policy of befriending and partnering with the neighbors in a bid to create an amicable, tranquil and prosperous neighborhood, associate its own interests with those of other Asian countries, and seek win-win cooperation with the rest of Asia. We anticipate to make fresh contributions to development of the Asia-Pacific through stronger regional and international cooperation.

Thank you!