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Foreword
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As the largest multilateral development
assistance institution in the United Nations operational system for
development, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is the central
coordinating organization to help promote human sustainable development
through technical assistance. To date, it undertakes development activities
in 166 recipient countries with a worldwide network of 131 field offices.
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Since its resumption of state membership
of the United Nations in 1971, China has participated in UN development
system's work and for a certain time, used to be a net contributing
country without receiving assistance from it. In 1978 when China began
to implement reform and opening-up to the outside world policy, it
has been actively promoting international economic and technical cooperation
between China and the rest of the world. The Chinese government signed
Basic Agreement On Cooperation with UNDP in June 1979 and commenced
to accept its assistance, which marked a new period of "to take while
giving" policy in international cooperation. That is while continuing
to provide support to other developing countries, China began to accept
international assistance at the same time. During the 21 years from
1979 to 2001, UNDP had provided China with a total assistance of some
US$ 500 million. Besides, US$ 130 million was mobilized as cost-sharing
fund through other channels. With the above mentioned assistance and
cost-sharing funds, 557 projects were arranged, covering various fields
such as agriculture, industry, energy, communication, telecommunication,
education, public health, finance, taxation, environment protection,
poverty alleviation, women in development, social welfare, foreign
investment promotion, economic restructuring, and etc. Through the
successful implementation of these UNDP-assisted projects, thousands
of technical and managerial personnel were trained, a large number
of foreign experts were introduced to undertake technical support
and consultancy services, and various advanced equipments for scientific
research, production and teaching were procured. All these had improved
the working conditions and technical capacity of research institutes,
and promoted tremendously the industrial and agricultural production
of China. |
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In order to help China build up and improve
socialist market economy system swiftly, to be in line with the international
practice and to meet with the challenge brought about by economic
globalization, UNDP has played a unique and significant role through
multilateral cooperation. Since 1980s, UNDP has appropriated a total
of $50 million assistance, with 30 reform/governance projects having
been implemented, involving restructuring administrative organs, economic
system, financial system, planning management system, economic laws,
custom administration, capital market operation, foreign investment
introduction and reforming social security system. All these provide
China with good opportunity and effective channels to be involved
in international communication widely, learning foreign experience
and thus to accelerate China's reform and opening up. |
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To Complement with China's Eight Seven Poverty
Alleviation Program(1994-2000), UNDP initiated more than 40 Poverty-alleviation
(PA) pilot projects in poverty-stricken counties of 14 provinces,
municipalities and autonomous regions. UNDP appropriates about $40
million from its limited core resources to support 41 PA projects,
which involved 90,000 farmer households, and enabled 400,000 people
to be lifted out of poverty. At the same time, UNDP is also very active
in promoting cooperation between China's poverty-stricken regions
and foreign NGOs. Since 1985, more than 40 international NGOs have
provided nearly RMB300 million aid to more than 70 poverty-stricken
counties. Hence, 200 PA programs have been completed. All these PA
activities are warmly welcomed and highly praised by the poverty-stricken
population with remarkable economic and social impact. Although the
assistance provided by UNDP in the poverty-stricken regions is far
from enough compared with the local actual demands, yet through the
UNDP pilot projects, new ideas on PA were transfused into national
PA staff, and new PA modalities were explored and applied. For example,
based on China's reality and Bangladesh PA pattern -- micro-finance,
that is, lending the poverty-stricken farmers a small amount of fund
with a deadline for them to return for further recycling, China has
developed a series of new PA patterns, such as "S & T (Science & Technology)
+ M (Micro-finance)" and "M (Micro-finance) + F (Farmers) + R (Research
institutes)". These new patterns are featured with science and technology
being the forerunner, micro-credit supporting and companies connecting
the market. Thus PA is associated with market demands and the farmers'
inherent worries about the sale of their products. Now micro-finance
has been widely operated in China's PA. In addition, UNDP PA projects
also stress particularly on economic and social sustainability of
the poverty-stricken areas and capacity building of the grass-roots
people. Skill training on the improvement of ecological environment
in the poverty-stricken areas is made one of the important activities
in PA in China. Thus the development of poverty-stricken areas can
be put into a virtuous circle and people who have broken away with
poverty will not fall back into poverty again. |
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Environmental protection is another priority
area for cooperation. At present, environmental pollution not only
hinders economic development, but also endangers the subsistence of
human. Environmental protection is of a common concern both for international
society and the Chinese government. UNDP has implemented 36 EP projects
in China including education, public-awareness-strengthening for environment,
improving environment monitoring technique, clean energy, prevention
of air and ocean pollution, combating desertification, protection
of water resources and improving the techniques for solid wastes and
waste water treatment. These interventions play an important role
for sustainable development of China in conjunction with the GEF,
MP and other international assistance complementing the national environment
initiatives. It would be beneficial for our further cooperation by
reviewing the 21years cooperation between UNDP and China, summarizing
the achievements and experience, and examining the impact exerted
by UNDP assistance on China's opening and reform. By doing so, it
can also let people know about UNDP and the differences it has made
in China. As it covers a durable period and wide range of issues,
most of the projects have been concluded almost for 10 years, and
much change has taken place in particular, the personnel and institutions
involved in the implementation of these projects, it is extremely
difficult for us to gather sufficient credible information all the
time. In addition, the various project areas call for multi-disciplinary
knowledge. Constricted by our knowledge, it seems unavoidable that
there might be some mistakes; we are earnestly looking forward to
your comments and reflections. |
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Resident Representative UNDP Beijing
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China International Center for Economic and
Technical Exchange |
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