On the picture 7th PRC President Xi Jinping. Photography by- Erin A. Kirk-Cuomo.
By Baron Henri Estramant.
26 September 2015: In the framework of the UN summit taking place in New York City, PRC’s President Xi Jinping, pledged to donate $2bn in development aid to poor countries around the world as well as to significantly increase Chinese investment in those countries. Xi in fact foresee for the investments to reach ca. $12bn within the next 15 years.
Moreover the PRC has announced cancelling the sovereign debt to the least developed nations, including small island states in the South Pacific. Beijing also would like to partake in at least 600 overseas projects in the next five years, and offer more scholarship for foreign students to travel to China and learn Mandarin.
His concrete pledges of aid gave a huge boost to the launch of the UN’s new “Global Goals for Sustainable Development”; precisely the day after all members states had committed themselves to the ambitious programmes of eradicating poverty and famine by 2030.
Indeed it was the PRC’s extraordinary record shifting so many families out the ranks of the poor which ensured that the overall global record in poverty reduction under the previous Millennium Development Goals was substantial.
This new initiative furthermore suggests that the PRC is willing to take on more of the responsibilities that go along with its status as emerging superpower as this time it is offering more concrete aid to Africa and the South Pacific.
For more information:
Xi Jinping’s profile on Xinhua: http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/china/2013-03/14/c_132233072.htm
