Since the 1950s, China has been providing what is known as South-South Cooperation to other developing countries in Asia, Africa, the Caribbean and elsewhere. Such cooperation has been received with open arms by all countries, and has increasingly been delivered in partnership with organizations such as ours, the United Nations Development Programme.
During his recent visit to China, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon emphasized the need to reflect on the past. In 2004, the strongest earthquake the world had seen in 40 years - 9.3 in magnitude - unleashed a tsunami that swept across the coastlines of Asia and Africa, killing more than 290,000 people. China, then evolving into a responsible global power, provided an unprecedented package to support the victims that totaled $62 million. In that same year, Hu Jintao, then Chinese president, visited Brazil, Argentina, Chile and Cuba and signed 39 cooperation agreements with the four countries.
Elsewhere, Facebook was launched as a social networking site for Harvard students, and the European Union underwent its largest extension, accepting countries such as Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic into its fold.
Indeed, 2004 was a year of transition: a starting point for expansion for many around the world, and the first celebration of South-South Cooperation Day on Sept 12 marked it as such. Since then, the Chinese government has increased its South-South support by an average of 12 percent per year. This expansion has been unique and necessary for three reasons.
First, we see China's support for other countries as holistic. It's not simply generous "handouts". China provides trade, investment, low-carbon energy, scholarships, tourism, language and vocational education establishments, technology demonstration centers and more. In addition, it has recently begun to deploy peacekeepers to help other countries end conflicts.
China increasingly recognizes the impact of its own domestic policies on other countries. For example, last year, China and the United States both acknowledged their critical roles in combating climate change, one of the greatest threats facing humanity.
Second, China's support draws from its own experiences. It has shared recent, relevant and replicable solutions to the challenges faced by other developing countries in alleviating widespread poverty and adapting to climate change.
Finally, China's support has been truly "owned" by governments - responding to their country's requests and their development plans, often in areas where others have been unable to respond - for instance, infrastructure. China aims for "win-win" partnerships.
These three reasons are why the UNDP, as the world's largest development organization, has invested a great deal of resources into supporting China to deliver and improve its South-South cooperation. Indeed, this September also marks the 50th anniversary of a unique "Memorandum of Understanding" between the government of China and the UNDP on South-South Cooperation. Over these five years, we have delivered many results together, including support for poverty reduction in countries such as Cambodia and Zambia.
We hope this partnership will keep growing so that we can continue to help other developing countries achieve the new Sustainable Development Goals.
The author, Agi Veres, is country director, UNDP China.
