A report released Thursday by the United Nations (UN) in Beijing
at the opening of the three-day High-Level International Conference
on the Millennium Development Goals stated that while China had
made remarkable achievements in many areas, much still needed to be
done to attain its stated goals.
The conference is jointly held by the Chinese Foreign Ministry
and offices of UN organizations in China.
The Millennium Development Goals grew out of a gathering of 189
world leaders at the UN in September 2000, when the Millennium
Declaration was proclaimed.
China was among the first countries to submit their national
agendas to fulfill the goals.
The UN report, named "Millennium Development Goals: China's
Progress," is seen as a "frank and unprecedented" UN assessment of
China's progress toward reaching its eight development goals.
The report concludes that China will probably achieve most of
its Millennium Development Goals by 2015.
Positive aspects include the fact that China has reduced the
proportion of people living below minimum dietary consumption
levels from 17 percent in 1990 to 11 percent in 2000 and that the
percentage of underweight children also fell from 21 percent in
1990 to 10 percent in 1998.
In addition, China is ahead of target in ensuring that all
children will be enrolled in primary school by 2015. It has raised
the net primary school enrollment rate from 96.3 percent in 1990 to
98.6 percent in 2002.
China is also on track to achieving the goals of reducing infant
and under-five mortality rates and improving maternal health care,
the report notes.
But the report also calls for more attention to targets like
equal access to primary and secondary education for boys and girls
by 2005, halting the spread of HIV/AIDS by 2015, halving the
incidence of tuberculosis by 2015 and implementing national
strategies for sustainable development by 2005 to reverse the loss
of environmental resources by 2015.
It suggests targets that are behind schedule be put on track
with more attention to balanced development.
Zhou Hailin, a researcher with the administrative center for
China's millennium agenda under the Ministry of Science
and Technology, said the UN report is basically reasonable.
What is important is the fact that the Chinese government does
not shun the problems and is willing to see the problems raised, he
said.
"I am sure the report will be carefully studied and taken into
consideration when related departments draft their next five-year
plan," he said.
China's target is to build a prosperous society in line with the
UN Millennium Development Goals on poverty reduction and social
development, said Zhu Zhixin, vice-minister of the National
Development and Reform Commission in a keynote speech at the
conference.
Zhu said the goals will help Chinese officials at all levels
implement the concept of inclusive, balanced and sustainable
growth.
(China Daily March 26, 2004)