On May 9, 2022, Special Representative of President Xi Jinping, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi attended a Leaders' Meeting on Drought and Sustainable Land Governance in Beijing via video link.
Wang Yi said, as land provides the material basis for humanity to survive and thrive, drought and desertification pose real threats to economic and social development of the affected regions. Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, developing countries have been grappling with serious challenges in economy and livelihood, and face a daunting task in balancing development and environmental protection. To break the vicious cycle of poverty and desertification, and truly achieve harmony between man and Nature, it is necessary for the international community to work collectively to find a solution. To this end, China has the following three proposals:
First, we need to make solid efforts to strengthen international cooperation. Developing countries, especially African countries, face more severe challenges of drought and desertification, and the international community should lend a helping hand. China supports the adoption of the Abidjan Call by the meeting, and calls on developed countries to deliver on their commitments and provide strong support to developing countries in terms of funds and technology, among others. Key institutions such as UN agencies and the Group of Twenty should also channel more attention and support to this issue.
Second, we need to take firm actions to promote green development. It is important to follow a new path of coordinating economic development and ecological restoration. Food security, climate governance and green development are key cooperation areas of the Global Development Initiative proposed by President Xi Jinping, and drought mitigation and sustainable land governance are its inherent components. China welcomes the active participation of all parties to jointly write a new chapter of green development in a post-COVID world.
Third, we need to take effective steps to improve international rules. The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) is the main channel and key platform for the global fight against drought and desertification. It is important to actively address the concerns of African countries on drought, develop and improve rules on drought response, and foster a fair and equitable desertification governance system. We need to pay equal attention to rule-making in climate change, biodiversity and desertification control to pursue coordinated progress and form synergy.
Wang Yi said, China has established the new development philosophy and advanced ecological conservation with the vision that clean waters and green mountains are just as valuable as gold and silver. With solid and persistent efforts, China has achieved the historic transition from desert displacing human settlement to green oasis replacing desert, and has become one of the first countries to realize Land Degradation Neutrality. Meanwhile, China has taken an active part in international cooperation. We have built, together with the UN, the International Training Center on Combating Desertification and the International Desertification Control Knowledge Management Center, and have unreservedly shared our experience with the international community.
Wang Yi stressed, the map of global sustainable development would not be complete without Africa. China is committed to working for a green Belt and Road. Through such mechanisms as the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation and South-South cooperation, China is working with African countries toward the prospect of a green Africa. China will continue to push forward the implementation of the nine programs of China-Africa cooperation including the green development program and the Declaration on China-Africa Cooperation on Combating Climate Change, and assist Africa in enhancing environmental governance capacity and promoting economic and social development.
The Heads of State Summit on Sustainable Governance of Drought and Land is the high-level segment of the 15th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP15) of the UNCCD, hosted by Cote d'Ivoire. The Summit focused on land restoration and drought mitigation, and adopted the Abidjan Call to strengthen the governance of drought and land degradation.
