China endeavors to promote cooperation in combating desertification: envoy

NEW YORK -- China has made important progress in its fight against desertification and will endeavor to promote international cooperation by sharing experiences and technologies, a Chinese envoy to the United Nations said here Tuesday at a meeting on combating desertification.

China will host an international conference on countering desertification in September, Liu Jieyi, China's permanent representative to the Unite Nations, told the meeting of the Group of Friends of A Pollution-Free World on Combating Desertification.

The meeting, the 13th Session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention to Combat Desertification, will be held in the city of Ordos, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China.

"The focus of the conference will be technical exchange, experience sharing and international cooperation on combating desertification," Liu said at the meeting he co-chaired with Macharia Kamau, Kenya's permanent representative to the United Nations.

Desertification threatens one fifth of the world's population in two thirds of the world's countries and regions. In the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda adopted in 2015, the goal to stop land-degradation is also included.

Liu introduced some of China's ideas and practices in the fight against desertification.

"China has introduced innovative, coordinated, green, open and shared development in its macro policy framework, the 13th five-year plan for economic and social development and has been implementing the vision when combating desertification and eradicating poverty," said he.

He added that China has channeled more funds into environmental protection and encouraged all sectors of the society to participate in conservation.

The country has also been spreading the good practices, techniques and models drawn from key projects such as the Beijing-Tianjin Sandstorm Source Control Project and the Three-North Shelter Forest Program.

"China has been actively engaged in South-South cooperation under frameworks such as the Forum of China-Africa Cooperation and China-Arab States Cooperation Forum. We have established demonstration centers in developing countries and held many training courses to promote relevant technologies," Liu said.

Talking about the coming conference to be held in Ordos, Liu said, "I hope that in the spirit of win-win cooperation, our Group of Friends will continue to make joint efforts to build a community of shared future for mankind and eco-friendly and green homeland for everyone."