Remarks by China’s Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Fu Cong at the UNDP/UNFPA/UNOPS Executive Second Regular Session 2026—Interactive Dialogue with the UNDP[...]

President,

Let me begin by thanking Administrator Mr. De Croo for his introduction and mentioning the landslide disaster along the China-Nepal border. The Chinese government is making every effort to carry out emergency rescue and disaster relief operations. China aligns itself with the statement delivered by Uruguay on behalf of the Group of 77 and China. I would also like to express my special appreciation to ASG Ms.Kanni Wignaraja, in her capacity as Director of the Regional Bureau for Asia and the Pacific, for her tireless efforts over the years in advancing the SDGs for China and the Asia-Pacific region. I wish her and her family all the very best for the future.

I would like to highlight three points:

First, China supports UNDP in playing a more important role. China supports UNDP, as a cornerstone of the UN development system, in further strengthening its broad mandate centered on poverty reduction, leveraging its capacity for end-to-end country programmes, and ensuring close alignment between country programmes and the development strategies and needs of programme countries, so as to help the Global South respond to increasingly complex and evolving external challenges. China positively notes the smooth progress of the eleventh CPDs between UNDP and China, and looks forward to more early harvests.

Second, UNDP should make every effort to address its funding challenges. China notes that in 2025, UNDP's core resources declined significantly. We hope that UNDP will further strengthen dialogue with traditional donors and urge developed countries to earnestly fulfil their development financing commitments, so as to ensure adequate, stable and predictable funding. At the same time, UNDP should expand innovative and diversified partnerships, mobilize development resources from a wide range of sources, and provide Global South countries with greater financial, technical and intellectual support in key areas such as poverty reduction and normatives. In particular, UNDP should leverage the important role of South-South cooperation to support the Global South in pursuing self-reliant development.

Third, UNDP should help safeguard the right direction of international development cooperation. At present, the global development endeavour faces severe challenges. All parties should protect the hard-won achievements of international development cooperation, unequivocally support multilateralism, and create fair and enabling conditions for development cooperation. UNDP should step up internal reforms, actively participate in the UN80 Initiative process, better deliver on its mandate, help consolidate the development pillar, and ensure that development remains at the centre of the international agenda.

President,

This year marks the fifth anniversary of China's Global Development Initiative (GDI). To date, the GDI has mobilised over 23 billion US dollars and implemented more than 1,800 cooperation projects, including the successful "Tailored Intelligence for Actionable Early Warning Systems Project" carried out in partnership with UNDP. China stands ready to further deepen its cooperation with UNDP, provide more global public goods to the Global South, share development opportunities with all countries, and work together to build a community with a shared future for mankind.

Thank you, President.