A joint press conference was held by the Organizing Committee of the 60th Session of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) in Shanghai on April 18. Mr. Shen Guofang, Deputy-Director of the Organizing Committee and Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Mr. Jiang Sixian, Vice-Mayor of Shanghai briefed the domestic and foreign media on the importance of the session and preparations for it. They both took questions from the media. Nearly 100 correspondents were present at the briefing. Their remarks are as follows:

Remarks By Assistant Foreign Minister Shen Guofang

Distinguished Guests,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Good morning. Thank you for your time on a Sunday to attend this press briefing for the 60th Session of ESCAP hosted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Shanghai Municipal People's Government.

The 60th Session of ESCAP, which is scheduled to take place at the Shanghai International Convention Center from April 22 to 28, is an important international conference hosted by the Chinese Government this year. The theme of this session is "Meeting the Challenges in an Era of Globalization by Strengthening Regional Development Cooperation", in which will be discussions about regional economic and social situations, poverty alleviation, globalization and social issues. The Shanghai Declaration and relevant resolutions are expected to be adopted. There will also be, among others, the High-level Visionary Meeting for Asia and the Pacific 2020, the Briefing on the United Nations High-Level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Changes, and the Asia-Pacific Business Forum in addition to a series of supplementary meetings and exhibitions. For information about ESCAP and the meeting agenda, please refer to the material that we have prepared for you.

ESCAP is the only inter-governmental economic and social development organization of the UN in the Asia-Pacific. As forerunner of regional cooperation, it has made positive contribution over the years to regional and sub-regional cooperation as well as the promotion of economic and social progress in the region, attracting increasing attention in the world.

The Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East, the predecessor of ESCAP, was founded in Shanghai in 1947 with China being one of its founding members. It is of special significance, therefore, for ESCAP to have this session at its birthplace more than half a century later. The UN and ESCAP members attach great importance to this session. Heads of the UN and relevant international organizations will join in. The 62 members and associate members of ESCAP will send high-level delegations, about 40 of which are at the ministerial level. Many former heads of government/state of the region are expected to attend relevant activities, including former Prime Minister Anand of Thailand, former President Leghari of Pakistan, former President Ramos of the Philippines, former New Zealand Prime Minister Shipley and former Prime Minister Kenilorea of the Solomon Islands. This session will be an unprecedented event with the number of expected participants well over 800.

The Chinese Government attaches great importance to this session. During the meeting, Chinese Vice President Zeng Qinghong will attend and address the opening ceremony. State Councilor Tang Jiaxuan will meet and have a banquet with all heads of delegations, major officers at the ESCAP Secretariat and heads of relevant international organizations. Former Vice Premier Qian Qichen will attend the High-Level Visionary Meeting for Asia and the Pacific 2020 as well as the Briefing on the United Nations High-Level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Changes. Mr. Li Zhaoxing, Chinese Foreign Minister and Head of the Chinese delegation, will chair the meetings and hold a reception for all representatives. Furthermore, there will be touring and sight-seeing activities arranged by Shanghai Municipality.

As host of this session, we expect to achieve the following goals:

1. To increase the exchanges and friendship among Asia-Pacific members to further expand and deepen regional cooperation in face of the challenges to the region.

2. To further demonstrate our support for multilateralism with the UN at the core, strengthen the role of the UN in regional cooperation and enhance ESCAP influence in the region.

3. To introduce China's success in reform and opening-up as well as the road of development relying on science matter-of-factly, and through Shanghai, present China to the world as being open, democratic, pragmatic and cooperative.

Relevant Chinese departments have been busy preparing for this ESCAP session since last year and done tremendous careful and meticulous work for protocol, press, security, logistics and other relevant activities. Almost all preparations have concluded by now. As host city of this session, Shanghai has done a wonderful job in all work, and on behalf of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, I wish to express our appreciation. We aspire to be a good host to make the session fruitful and satisfactory to all representatives. We are convinced that, with vigorous support from the ESCAP Secretariat and all the members, this session will be a complete success.

Thank you.

Remarks By Vice-Mayor Jiang Sixian

Dear friends from the media,

Good morning.

First of all, on behalf of the Shanghai Municipal People's Government, I wish to warmly welcome all of you to Shanghai for the Sixtieth Session of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP). Since its inception in 1947, ESCAP has been playing a very positive role in the economic and social development of Asia and the Pacific. As Shanghai was the birthplace of the organization, we are especially delighted to welcome ESCAP back to this city for its 60th session, which will commence two days from now. We sincerely wish the session great success, and hope that it will provide a good opportunity for the member states and associate members to communicate and exchange, consolidating and promoting peace, friendship, partnership and common interest in the region.

In order to contribute to the success of this meeting, we in Shanghai, under the leadership of the central government of China, have been working closely with the ESCAP Secretariat to make preparations. In recent years, Shanghai has successfully hosted a number of major international conferences, including APEC and the Annual Meeting of the Asian Development Bank, winning wide acclaim from both Chinese and foreign participants. Our preparations for this meeting are now all in place, as a result of active efforts by and close coordination between all concerned. Not long ago, we also consulted the consulates-general in Shanghai of the countries concerned, and solicited their suggestions. Our goal is to ensure that all services provided for the meeting are well-planned and appropriate, with no oversights or omissions, and that conference participants will feel at home in Shanghai and will learn more about and become fond of Shanghai.

Shanghai has maintained annual GDP growth of around 12% for twelve years in a row. At the same time, constant improvement of the city's urban landscape and environment, ongoing healthy social progress, together with the hospitality and dedication of the people, have made the city more and more attractive and capable in terms of hosting large-scale conferences and events. Moreover, Shanghai is a very safe city, thanks to the government's commitment to public security and the establishment of a system for early warning and emergency response. It is fair to say that Shanghai is a destination of choice not only for international investors, but also for international conference and event organizers. I believe that the ESCAP 60th Commission Session will contribute to an even better understanding of Shanghai by the international community.

While the conference is being organized by ESCAP itself, the government of Shanghai has, for its part, put a wide range of supporting arrangements in place, in coordination both with the central government of China and with ESCAP. We have made comprehensive plans for airport welcome, conference venue arrangements, transportation, accommodation, logistics, security, etc. More than twenty different departments of the municipal government participated in these preparations. And a volunteer corps of more than 300 people will provide high-quality services to the conference.

Although this will be a long meeting with a heavy program and complex activity arrangements, we are fully confident that the meeting will proceed smoothly according to schedule. With regard to Shanghai's preparations, if our friends from the press have any questions, we will be happy to take them in just a few moments.

In closing, I would like to highlight that through organizing large-scale international conferences and events, Shanghai is constantly learning and studying best international practices, and is developing know-how with Chinese characteristics. In general terms, our conference services aim to be enthusiastic, but not intrusive; impressive, but not extravagant; and unpretentious, but not inattentive. At the same time, we shall, following international customary practice, minimize disruption to the regular activities of residents, businesses and public institutions. Finally, I warmly welcome you all to Shanghai for this conference, and we hope that your cameras, pens and keyboards, will portray to the world a vigorous, dynamic new Shanghai.

Thank you all.