Speech by His Excellency Xi Jinping
President of the People's Republic of China
On the fight against hunger and poverty
In the first part of the 19th G20 Summit
Rio de Janeiro, 18 November 2024
Dear President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva,
Dear colleagues,
It is a great honour for me to attend the G20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro. I thank President Lu and the Brazilian Government for the warm welcome extended to the Chinese delegation.
Today, the world is in a period of transformation unlike any seen for a century. Humanity faces unprecedented opportunities and challenges. As leaders of great countries, we should not let short clouds cloud our vision. On the contrary, we must see the world as one community with a common future and shoulder our responsibility for history, take historical initiative and move history forward.
I have stressed in this forum that prosperity and stability are not possible in a world where the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. Countries should make global development more inclusive, inclusive and resilient. At the Hangzhou Summit, China for the first time placed development at the centre of G20 macroeconomic policy coordination, and the Summit adopted the G20 Action Plan for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the G20 Initiative to Promote Industrialisation in Africa and Least Developed Countries. The theme of this year's Rio Summit is "Building a just world and a sustainable planet". It puts the fight against hunger and poverty at the top of the agenda and has decided to establish a Global Alliance against Hunger and Poverty. From Hangzhou to Rio, we have pursued one and the same goal, namely to build a just world of shared development.
To build such a world, we need to channel more resources into areas such as trade, investment and development cooperation and strengthen development institutions. There should be more bridges of cooperation and fewer 'small backyards with high fences' so that more and more developing countries are better off and achieve modernisation.
To build such a world, we need to support developing countries in their transition to sustainable production and lifestyles, respond properly to challenges such as climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution, strengthen environmental protection and achieve harmony between man and nature.
To build such a world, we need an open, inclusive and non-discriminatory environment for international economic cooperation. We should promote universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalisation, revitalise sustainable development with new technologies, new industries and new forms of entrepreneurship, and support developing countries to better integrate into digital, smart and green development to bridge the North-South divide.
To build such a world, we must remain committed to multilateralism. We should defend an international system based on the United Nations, an international order based on international law and the basic norms of international relations based on the objectives and principles of the UN Charter.
Dear colleagues,
China's development is an important part of the common development of the world. We have lifted 800 million people out of poverty and met the poverty reduction target set in the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development ahead of schedule.
This success did not fall from the sky. It is the result of the tireless and united efforts of the Chinese government and people. China always puts people first and resolutely declares that 'no poor region or person shall be left behind'. To combat poverty, we adopt targeted policies tailored to each village, each household and each person; we promote growth by vigorously channeling talents, funds and technology to less developed areas; we help places generate growth by promoting industries with distinctive features and improving infrastructure according to their specific conditions; and we promote shared prosperity by connecting more developed regions with less developed ones. I have worked at the village, district, city, provincial and central government levels. Poverty alleviation has always been a priority and a major task that I am committed to.
China's story is proof that developing countries can eradicate poverty, and that even the weaker bird can start early and fly high if it has the persistence, determination and effort to allow drops of water to penetrate the rocks and turn plans into reality. If China can do it, so can other developing countries. This is what China's fight against poverty says to the world.
Dear colleagues,
China will always be a member of the Global South, a reliable long-term partner of developing countries and an active participant and implementer of global development. A single flower is not enough to bring about spring. China wants to see a hundred flowers bloom and will go hand in hand with other developing countries to modernize. Today I would like to outline China's eight steps for global development.
Firstly, the pursuit of high quality Belt and Road cooperation. In addition to the 700 billion yuan of added funding and an extra 80 billion yuan to the Silk Road Fund, China continues to develop multi-dimensional connectivity within the Belt and Road, which is led by the construction of the Green Silk Road and will strengthen the Digital Silk Road.
Second, the implementation of the Global Initiative for Development. Building on the more than 1,100 development projects that have already been implemented, we will ensure that the Global South Research Centre that is being built will be effective, and the $20 billion of development funds will continue to be used effectively to support developing countries and deepen practical cooperation in areas such as poverty reduction, food security and the digital economy.
Third, support for development in Africa. At the China-Africa Forum Summit held in September this year, I introduced ten partnership actions to support Africa in its modernisation over the next three years and pledged financial support of 360 billion yuan.
Fourth, promoting international cooperation in the fight against poverty and food security. China has decided to join the Global Alliance against Hunger and Poverty. We support the G20 in continuing to hold ministerial meetings for development and will continue to fully host the International Conference on Food Loss and Waste.
Fifth, China, together with Brazil, South Africa and the African Union, is proposing an International Open Science Cooperation Initiative to help the Global South better access global advances in science, technology and innovation.