(May 30, 2022)

Hon. Atty. Paul Harris, Special Representative of the Vice President H.E. Dr. Jewel Howard-Taylor of the Republic of Liberia,

Hon. members of the Cabinet,

Hon. Cllr. T. Dempster Brown, Chairman of the Independent National Commission of Human Right in Liberia,

Distinguished development superintendents of Liberian counties,

Distinguished Ms. Li Xiaomei, Special Representative for Human Rights Affairs of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs,

Distinguished Professor Hu Biliang, Executive Dean of the Belt and Road School of Beijing Normal University,

Distinguished Mr. Uchenna Emelonye, Representative of the UN Office of High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in Liberia,

Distinguished Colleagues from the diplomatic corps, UN agencies and international organizations,

Representatives of governmental and non-governmental organizations and the media,

Ladies and gentlemen, dear friends,

Good morning! As co-organizer and on behalf of the Chinese Embassy in Liberia, I would like to express my warm congratulations on the convening of the first Conference on the Right to Development(RTD) in Liberia, and a sincere welcome to the guests attending the event!

Development is the eternal theme of human society, and the long history of human civilization is the process of continuous pursuit and realization of development by human beings. In 1986, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the landmark Declaration on the RTD (hereinafter referred to as the “Declaration”), recognizing that the RTD is an inalienable human right and that every person and all peoples have the right to participate in, contribute to and enjoy economic, social, cultural and political development in which all human rights and fundamental freedoms are fully realized. The Declaration states that the RTD is both an individual right and a collective right, and as a fundamental human right, it applies to all people in all countries, regardless of race, color, sex, language, religion, politics, nationality, origin, property, etc. It can be said that the ideal pursuit of human society is to have equal development opportunities and share development achievements, so that everyone can develop in an all-round way and realize the full RTD. Development provides for people's basic needs and gives them hope of better life. The RTD symbolizes dignity and honor. We must implement the spirit of the Declaration and vigorously promote the implementation of the RTD globally.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Chinese President Xi Jinping pointed out that subsistence is the basis for the enjoyment of all human rights, and a happy life for the people is the greatest human right. China is an advocate, practitioner and promoter of the RTD, and believes that the rights to subsistence and development are the primary basic human rights.

In order to defend the RTD and promote the development and progress of all mankind, China has participated in the previous sessions of the governmental expert group that drafted the Declaration by the UN Commission on Human Rights(UNCHR), and made important contributions to the final adoption of the "Declaration". China had been a co-sponsor of the UNCHR's resolutions on the RTD, and actively supported the Commission's global consultations on the realization of the RTD. Since the establishment of the UN Human Rights Council(UNHRC) in 2006, China has been elected as a member of the UNHRC five times, contributing Chinese wisdom and strength to the mainstreaming of the RTD. China supports the actions of Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in promoting the RTD around the world. This conference is co-hosted by the Chinese Embassy in Liberia and the UNOHCHR. It is also the first human rights seminar co-hosted by a diplomatic mission of the UN member states in Africa and the UNOHCHR, which is a concrete measure by China to promote the RTD globally.

Ladies and gentlemen,

With a population of more than 1.4 billion, China is the largest developing country in the world. Development is the first priority of the Communist Party of China (CPC) in governing and rejuvenating the country, and it is the key to solving all problems in China. Based on its basic national conditions, China adheres to the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics and to the philosophy that development is of paramount importance, and integrates the principle of universal application of human rights with its own reality. While striving to enhance the people’s well-being through development and materialize their RTD, China strives to achieve higher-level development by safeguarding their RTD and has achieved world-renowned development achievements and created a new path for human rights protection in the history of human civilization.

In terms of economic and social development, China pursues economic development as the central task, lays a solid foundation for safeguarding the RTD, and better promotes economic development by safeguarding the people’s RTD. Since the reform and opening up, China's economy has maintained rapid growth, and its economic aggregate ranks the second in the world. The per capita GDP has grown from a few dozen USDs at the founding of the People's Republic of China to more than USDs 10,000. Among them, poverty alleviation is the most significant symbol of the progress of China's human rights cause. China has achieved the fastest large-scale poverty alleviation in human history so far. Over the past 40 years of reform and opening up, more than 770 million people have been lifted out of poverty, becoming the first in the world to complete the UN Millennium Development Goals. In 2021, China announced that the problem of absolute poverty has been solved historically, and a moderately prosperous society has been built in an all-round way on the land of China, and the first centenary goal has been achieved. China is committed to developing various social undertakings and continuously improving the level of social security. In the face of the sudden outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, China has adhered to the supremacy of the people and life, and took the most comprehensive, strict and powerful prevention and control measures despite of huge economic and social costs, which effectively reversed the pandemic situation and safeguarded people's right to life and health.

In terms of political and cultural development, China has continuously enriched and improved the political system suitable for its own development, and comprehensively promoted the construction of socialist democratic politics and the rule of law with Chinese characteristics. Civil and political rights are effectively guaranteed, and the level of people's participation in, contributing to, and sharing in the political development process is increasing. China has established a socialist legal system with Chinese characteristics centered on the Constitution, and the political rights of all citizens, including ethnic minorities, women, children, the elderly, the disabled and other special vulnerable groups, are equally guaranteed through the system of people's congresses, democratic elections, consultative democracy, regional ethnic autonomy, grass-roots self-governance and other institutional arrangements.

In terms of green development, China is committed to the concept of environment-friendly development, strives to expedite the country’s ecological progress and create sustainable development that benefits all the people. President Xi Jinping has repeatedly emphasized that lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets. China established environmental protection as its basic national policy in 1983, and was the first in the world to formulate and implement its own sustainable development strategy. China actively and constructively participates in international negotiations on climate change, conscientiously implements the “UN Framework Convention on Climate Change”(UNFCCC) and other relevant international conventions, and promotes the conclusion and entry into force of the “Paris Agreement”. President Xi Jinping also solemnly announced that China's carbon dioxide emissions will peak by 2030, strive to achieve carbon neutrality by 2060, and make new contributions to the sustainable development of the world.

In terms of common development, China has always adhered to the principles of mutual respect, equal treatment, win-win cooperation and common development, combined the interests of the Chinese people with the common interests of people of all countries, and supported and helped developing countries, especially the least developed countries, to reduce poverty and improve people's livelihood, make better the development environment, and promote the building of a community with a shared future for mankind. China firmly defends the RTD, firmly supports and implements the MDG, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and other development agendas, helps other countries to broaden their development paths, and promotes the common development of all countries through major bilateral and multilateral mechanisms and regional cooperation platforms, as well as the “Belt and Road” initiative. 

In the pursuit of development and their RTD, the Chinese people have made unremitting efforts and significant achievements. But there is always room for improvement in human rights, and the quest to improve people’s RTD is always underway. As the world’s largest developing country, China faces daunting challenges, characterized by pressing problems such as unbalanced, uncoordinated, and unsustainable development. China needs to maintain its efforts to achieve a higher level of development and better protect the people’s RTD. China is willing to join the international community to share its philosophy and experience in realizing the RTD, and to boost sound development of global human rights.

In the face of changes unseen in a century and world turmoil, China, as a responsible major country, has been striving for world peace and  international security, contributing to global development, and seeking for the future and destiny of mankind. Last year, President Xi Jinping solemnly put forward a Global Development Initiative (GDI) at the General Debate of the 76th UNGA, calling on the international community to pay attention to the urgent issues facing developing countries and jointly promote global development to a new stage of balance, coordination and inclusiveness. Not long ago, President Xi Jinping proposed a Global Security Initiative (GSI) at the Boao Forum for Asia 2022 annual session. Its essence is to forge a new security path of dialogue rather than confrontation, partnership rather than alliance, and win-win rather than zero-sum by taking the new security concept as the guide, mutual respect as the basic principle, the inseparability of security as the important principle, and the building of a security community as the long-term goal. The GSI echoes and reinforces the GDI. It accords with the trend of the times featuring peace, development and win-win cooperation, and represents a coordinated approach to safeguarding traditional and non-traditional security. It aims to seek the biggest common denominator and the widest converging interests in the international community, and to provide new support for countries in boosting livelihoods and development.

Ladies and gentlemen,

At present, the continuous spread of the Covid-19 pandemic and the complex and turbulent international situation have brought enormous challenges to the economic recovery and social security of African countries, including Liberia. Realizing the rights to subsistence and development is of great significance to African countries in maintaining peace and security, promoting prosperity and stability, and achieving sustainable development.

Africa is a rich and promising continent, and it is also the continent with the largest concentration of developing countries. Similar historical encounters and common historical missions have closely linked China and Africa, and China and Africa have always been a community with a shared future. The African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights adopted by the Organization of African Unity in 1981 stipulates: “All peoples have their own right to economic, social and cultural development, their freedom and identity are duly respected, and they equally enjoy the common heritage of mankind”, “States have an individual or collective responsibility to ensure the exercise of the right to development”. Facing the common development needs, both China and Africa advocate the rights to subsistence and development as the primary basic human rights. We attach equal importance to all categories of human rights, respect the right of each country to choose its own development independently, oppose the politicization of human rights and the practice of double standards, and oppose the use of human rights to interfere in the internal affairs of other countries.

China and Africa are good friends, good brothers and good partners. President Xi Jinping, when addressing the opening ceremony of the 8th Ministerial Conference of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation(FOCAC) held in Dakar, Senegal last November, emphasized that the key for an everlasting spirit of China-Africa friendship and cooperation forged between the two sides lies in sincere friendship and equality, win-win for mutual benefit and common development, fairness and justice, and progress with the times and openness and inclusiveness. President Xi made four proposals for building a China-Africa community with a shared future in the new era, which include fighting COVID-19 with solidarity, deepening practical cooperation, promoting green development and upholding equity and justice. He also announced that China will work closely with African countries to implement Nine Programs which include medical and health, poverty reduction and agricultural development, trade promotion, investment promotion, digital innovation, green development, capacity building, cultural and people-to-people exchange, and peace and security.

Liberia is rich in resources with hard-working people and have great potential for development. In particular, as Africa's oldest black republic, Liberia has actively supported the national liberation movement on the African continent and made great contributions to defending the human rights of the African people. It is expected to continue to set an example in defending and implementing the RTD. We are pleased to note that President George Manneh Weah has united and led all walks of life in Liberia to maintain domestic peace and stability, and fully implement the “Pro-poor Agenda for Prosperity and Development(PAPD) ”. Liberia's economy is developing rapidly, people's livelihood has been improving, and development has achieved fruitful results with broad prospects.

In recent years, under the framework of the B&R Initiative advocated by President Xi Jinping and the "PAPD" advocated by President George Manneh Weah, China-Liberia cooperation in such areas as health care, infrastructure construction, food security, and human resource development has achieved fruitful results. The Agricultural Technology Demonstration Center and the Bamboo and Rattan Weaving and Vegetable Planting Technology Project have graduated several hundreds of trainees each. At present, the two sides are actively implementing such development projects as the Capital overpass bridges, clinical diagnosis and treatment laboratory, LBS expansion and upgrade, and Somalia-Sinkor Road and Bridge, and seek to expand cooperation in the fields of agricultural modernization, industrialization development, digital economy, green economy, smart city and telecommunication, electricity, and roads and etc. The Chinese government, in implementing the Nine Programs of FOCAC, has applied a zero-tariff policy on 98% of imported goods from Liberia. We are ready to work with the Liberian side to build China-Liberia win-win cooperation into a demonstration zone for BRI international cooperation in West Africa.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Today, China has built a moderately prosperous society in an all-round way, embarked on a new journey of building a modern socialist country in an all-round way in order to attain its second centenary goal. Africa's solidarity is strong and its influence in international affairs continues to rise. It is moving towards the aspiration depicted in the AU Agenda 2063. China is willing to unite and cooperate with African countries including Liberia, support each other in pursuing development paths that suits our own national conditions, join hands with African countries to build the B&R, promote the GDI, implement the “Nine Programs” of the 8th Ministerial Conference of FOCAC, and build a closer China-Africa community with a shared future, which will better benefit the people of China and Africa, and make new and greater contributions to building a world of lasting peace and common prosperity and building a community with a shared future for mankind.

Finally, I wish this conference a great success!

Thank you all!