Co-hosted by the State Administration for Market Regulation of P.R.China, the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, the Silk-road Planning and Research Center, and the Codex Alimentarius Commission, the Belt and Road Eco-agriculture and Food Safety Forum was successfully held on November 6, 2020 at the Shanghai National Convention and Exhibition Center.
Michael Winzer, Chief Delegate, Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung to Beijing attended the Forum and delivered a speech.
Distinguished President Lin Songtian, Distinguished guests, Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is a great pleasure to be invited to the 13th "Belt and Road" Ecological Agriculture and Food Safety Forum and to share my views on the theme of regional cooperation on poverty alleviation.
As we all know, China has made remarkable achievements in poverty alleviation in recent years. Till end of 2019, more than 700 million people have been lifted out of poverty to meet the poverty reduction targets of the United Nations 2030 agenda for sustainable development. President Xi Jinping has also proposed the goal of lifting all rural people out of poverty by 2020, which is 10 years ahead of schedule to achieve the poverty alleviation target of the United Nations 2030 agenda.
Like China, EU has also made global poverty alleviation an important and priority task. EU leaders have committed themselves to a plan to lift at least 20 million people out of poverty by 2020. EU is therefore following with great interest the progress and achievements of China in the fight against poverty. Both sides are committed to promoting sustainable development through poverty alleviation and other social development measures. In this context, EU and China have made numerous joint attempts at cooperation, which have yielded fruitful results. For example, in recent years, EU and China have established an urbanization partnership, which has led to extensive cooperation in the area of rural development, as well as ongoing experience-sharing and training in this area.
Meanwhile, EU and China are committed to cooperating within the international framework to promote economic and social development worldwide, specifically in helping developing countries alleviate poverty, and promote their social development. As an example, poverty alleviation and social development in Africa are important shared goals for EU and China from both economic and humanitarian perspectives. EU and China have published their respective key documents on the relations with Africa, "The European Union and Africa: Towards a Strategic Partnership" and "China's African Policy Paper". And now EU and China are working together to coordinate resources to achieve the poverty alleviation target of the United Nations 2030 agenda in Africa. To date, EU and China have held eleven Rounds of Consultation on African affairs and have cooperated in many areas, such as infrastructure construction and agricultural development in Africa, which has not only advanced the poverty alleviation and social development in Africa, but also the development of EU-China cooperative relations.
According to the definition of the United Nations, poverty means “lack of basic capacity to participate effectively in society. It means not having enough to feed and clothe a family, not having a school or clinic to go to, not having the land on which to grow one’s food or a job to earn one’s living, not having access to credit. It means insecurity, powerlessness and exclusion of individuals, households and communities. It means susceptibility to violence, and it often implies living on marginal or fragile environments, without access to clean water or sanitation”. In this regard, the alleviation of poverty is a comprehensive social development project, not only addressing material deprivation, but also human social issues such as social security and social inclusion.
Since its entry into China, the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung has been committed to promoting dialogue, mutual understanding and cooperation between Germany and China in the economic, academic and social fields. Every year, jointly with CPAFFC and local governments all over China KAS organizes a large-scale conference on the topic of urbanization, which serves as a platform for exchange and sharing experiences on sustainable urbanization. Furthermore, in December 2019, KAS and the China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation (CFPA) jointly launched the "Companion Mothers" program in Jiangxi Province to support and train caregivers for children staying behind in impoverished area, promoting social development in impoverished areas from the perspective of children's mental health. From these activities, it can be observed that poverty alleviation can be carried out through a multifaceted partnership between government, enterprises and social institutions such as NGOs, and it needs to take different forms to meet the needs of economic and social development in impoverished areas, both in terms of the alleviation of material poverty and the consideration of spiritual requirements.
Today, EU-China cooperation is entering a deepening stage. Despite the challenges of this cooperation, there are also different views on what a successful and sustainable social development model looks like. But drawing on EU’s experiences in advancing social development alongside achieving prosperity, and China’s experience in lifting millions of people out of poverty, there will be a lot of room for cooperation between the EU and China regarding poverty alleviation and social development. In this regard, we should have full confidence in the future prospects of EU-China cooperation.
Thank you very much for your attention!
