MINISTRY OF COMMERCE
PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA
Address of Wang Yang at the 2nd China-Pacific Island Countries Economic Development and Cooperation Forum and the Opening Ceremony of 2013 China International Show on Green Innovative Products & Technologies (Full Text)
November 12, 2013 – 08:59 BJT (18:59 GMT) MOFCOM
On November 8, the 2nd China-Pacific Island Countries Economic Development and Cooperation Forum was opened in Guangzhou. The forum was jointly sponsored by China, Cook Islands, Niue, Micronesia, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Tonga, Vanuatu and Fiji. In China, it is hosted by Ministry of Commerce and Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and assisted by Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Environmental Protection, National Tourism Administration and People’s Government of Guangdong Province.
Wang Yang, Vice Premier of the State Council of the PRC, attended the Forum and the Opening Ceremony of 2013 China International Green Innovative Products & Technologies Show and made a speech. The full text is as follows:
Address at the 2ndChina-Pacific Island Countries Economic Development and Cooperation Forum and the Opening Ceremony of 2013 China International Show on Green Innovative Products & Technologies
Wang Yang, Vice Premier of the State Council of the PRC
(November 8, 2013, Guangzhou)
Your Excellency，Distinguished Heads of States and Governments,
Your Excellency, Distinguished Heads of Delegations, Ministers and Ambassadors,
Your Excellency Li Yong, Distinguished Director-General of UNIDO,
Ladies and Gentlemen:
Yesterday, I had a meeting with leaders of Pacific Island Countries, and reached many consensus and cooperation achievements. Today, we are together to attend the 2nd China China-Pacific Island Countries Economic Development and Cooperation Forum again. On behalf of China’s government, I convey my congratulations to the successful holding of the Forum, and extend a warm welcome to the distinguished guests from afar.
China-Pacific Cooperation Forum is the only mechanism for high-level dialogue and cooperation between China and Pacific Island Countries, building up an important platform for deepening understanding, promoting friendship and deepening cooperation. Under the joint efforts of all parties, cooperation in all fields between China and Pacific Island Countries has gained satisfying progress since the first Forum in 2006. Over the past seven years, bilateral trade developed rapidly with an annual growth of 27%. In 2012, the trade volume reached USD 4.5 billion. China set up almost 150 enterprises in Pacific Island Countries, the investment added up to almost USD 1 billion and the amount of construction contract was beyond USD 5 billion. Bilateral personnel exchanges becoming more frequently and there have been 7 pacific Island Countries who have become the group outbound tourist destinations for Chinese citizens. In 2012, the number of China citizens who traveled to the Island Countries added up to almost 700 hundred. The rapid development of economic and trade cooperation have brought genuine benefit to all parties, and narrowed the distance between People of China and Pacific Island Countries.
Helping Pacific Island Countries revitalize economy and improve people’s livelihood is the priority of developing friendly relations between China and Island Countries. China has provided cumulative USD 9.4 billion of all kinds of assistances to Island Countries, such as more than 90 set of construction projects, dispatching many batches of medical and agricultural work group to Island Countries. The National Medical Center standing in the capital of Samoa, significantly improved the medical condition of local people. The central business district reconstructed in Tonga’s capital has become a busy shopping center. Y-12 aircrafts and combination cargo-passenger ships provided for parts of islands Countries greatly facilitated the transportation of local people. All those are achievements of the sincere cooperation between China and Pacific Islands Countries, which will definitely become the witness of the friendship of the people of the two parties.
Ladies and Gentlemen:
Currently, International political and economic pattern is undergoing great readjustment and revolution. Various international challenges are on the increase. With special natural and geographical conditions, Pacific Island Countries are facing more challenges and larger difficulties in coping with climate changes, preventing disasters and reducing damages, and safeguard food security, therefore, they need understanding, support and help from international community. China and Pacific Islands Countries havesimilar historical experiencesand face the common mission of revitalizing the economy and getting rid of poverty. China understands Island Countries’ special condition and demands, and is willing to cooperation with Islands Countries to jointly combat all kinds of challenges and risks, creating a model of South-South Cooperation.
Our cooperation is equal. We advocate as always that each country, large or small, rich or poor, strong or weak, is an equal member of the world’s family. China respects and supports the pacific island countries to explore a development path suited to their specific conditions, encourages them to safeguard national sovereignty and development rights and supports them to participate in international and regional affairs.
Our cooperation is sincere. We heartily rejoice at the achievements on economic and social development of the Pacific island countries and have great empathy on your difficulties in the process of development. China’s aid to Pacific island countries is sincere and selfless, without any additional conditions. We will endeaver to realize all that we have committed and make sure that it goes on well from start to end.
Our cooperation is pragmatic. China has always put the economic development and livelihood improvement of Pacific island countries as the basis and foothold of bilateral cooperation. We advocate that both sides share complementary advantages and learn from each other, combine the demands with China’s practical capacity and make the limited capital spent on blades to solve the most practical and urgent difficulties, emphasize on the practical effects and profound influences so as to strengthen the sustainability of bilateral cooperation.
China’s commitments in last China-Pacific island countries Cooperation Forum have been comprehensively implemented. To further promote the economic and social development of Pacific island countries, China will make efforts in aspects as follow:
First, support the construction of major projects. China will offer the pacific island countries the concessional loans of US$1 billion to build major production projects, infrastructure and livelihood projects. China National Development Bank will set up a special loan of US$1 billion to suport the infrastructure construction of Pacific island countries.
Second, expand Pacific island countries’ export to China. China will implement zero tariffs on 95% products from the most undeveloped countries among Pacific island countries and also support them to come to China to attend various exhibitions and promotion activities so as to create great convenience for their products with competitive edges to enter China’s market.
Third, help them develop human resources. China will provide the scholarships for 2,000 students from these conutries in 4 years to help them train a group of professional technicians. We will continue to aid to build the primary and middle schools for Pacific island countries and aid the Chinese teaching work.
Fourth, to help Pacific island countries expand their tourism market in China. We will help them to hold tourism introduction meeting in China to attract more Chinese tourists. The air transport agreements will be signed for business in time to motivate airline companies to open direct flights.
Fifth, support Pacific island countries to develop medical and health undertakings. We will continue to provide them with medical facilities, medical team, medical devices and medicines and share the antimalarial experience and technology with them.
Sixth, render support on the development of agricultural production. We will strengthen the cooperation between agricultural & forestry products processing and trade, between agricultural & fishery investment and research, and between forestry protection and reasonable utilization. To make demonstration farm projects successful, we will continue to send experts in agriculture and fishery industry and provide the relevant equipment.
Seventh, render support on environment protection and disaster prevention and mitigation. We promise to provide the low carbon products like solar street lights and energy-saving appliance; help to build green energy projects relative to small hydro-electric power plants, solar energy and methane; help to improve the extreme weather forecast and marine environmental monitoring in Pacific island countries.
Ladies and Gentlemen:
To cope with climate change and save the world is a common challenge for all mankind, and is a major concern of all the Pacific island countries. China has made coping with climate change as an important strategic task, and has taken a series of policy measures. China is the first developing country to formulate and implement the National Climate Change Program, and makes most intensive efforts in energy conservation and emission reduction, it has enjoyed the fastest growth of new energy and renewable energy, and has the largest area of afforestation in the world. China will adhere to resource conservation and environmental protection as a basic national policy unswervingly, and will make efforts to promote green development, recycle development and low-carbon development, so as to achieve the goal that by 2020, carbon dioxide emissions per unit of GDP to drop 40%-45% as compared with that of 2005, so as to create a sound production and living environment for the Chinese people, and make contributions for global ecological safety.
We hold China International Show on Green Innovative Products & Technologies 2013 at the China-Pacific Island Countries Economic Development and Cooperation Forum is aiming to promote the concept of green development, and promote exchange and cooperation in low-carbon industries. We would like to strengthen cooperation with the Pacific island countries in green development, and welcome enterprises from the Pacific island countries to come to the Show to seek opportunities for cooperation, so as to jointly promote green development.
Ladies and Gentlemen:
It is a special arrangement to hold the forum in Guangdong Province, for if the forum were held in Beijing at this time, our friends from the Pacific island countries might have to buy lots of thick clothes which may never be used again when they back home. Of course, the more important factor is that Guangdong Province is also located in the Pacific coast, and is China’s largest province in economy and trade. The total import and export of Guangdong Province in 2013 is expected to exceed US$ 1 trillion, with tremendous business opportunities. We hope that Guangdong Province to strengthen economic ties with the Pacific island countries, and that all the Pacific island countries to expand pragmatic cooperation with Guangdong Province, and we believe the cake of interests will be made bigger, and a mutually beneficial and win-win pattern will be formed.
Ladies and Gentlemen:
Developing friendly and cooperative relations with the Pacific island countries is not expediency, but a long-term strategy. Practice has proven and will continue to prove that China is a trusted and intimate friend and a reliable partner of the Pacific island countries. As long as we stand shoulder to shoulder and hand in hand, the boat of China-Pacific island countries friendly cooperation will ride the wind and forge ahead in the vast Pacific Ocean!
Thank you!
