LocationsWelcome Remarks by Ms Beate Trankmann at the 2025 China and International Development Forum
December 8, 2025
UNDP Resident Representative in China, Beate Trankmann, delivered remarks at the 6th China and International Development Forum held in Beijing, China.
尊敬的王（雪坤） 院长 [President Wang Xuekun]
尊敬的钱（克明）常委 [Mr. Qian Keming]
Excellency Hodan Osman Abdi, Ambassador of Somalia;
尊敬的钱春莺副司长 [Ms. Qian Chunying]
尊敬的汤瑛主任 [Director-General Tang Ying]
Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen, 大家下午好,
欢迎 大家 参加 2025年 中国 与 国际发展 论坛.
非常荣幸能够再次来到这里，与CAITEC共同主办此次重要论坛 [It is a pleasure to be here again, co-hosting this important forum with CAITEC]
We meet today against the backdrop of a rapidly shifting global landscape. The OECD is projecting a drop of up to 17% in Official Development Assistance in 2025 as countries re-prioritize resources amidst rising domestic and geopolitical uncertainties.[i]
The post-COVID-19 recovery has been fragile and uneven, with half of the world’s poorest countries continuing to remain below their pre-pandemic human development levels.[ii] Meanwhile, advanced economies are reaching record-highs.
At the same time, debt servicing is increasingly crowding out the very investments needed to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals - our global blueprint to ensure the future of people and planet by 2030.[iii] A total of 3.4 billion people live in countries that spend more on interest payments than on either health or education.[iv]
Despite the troubling situation, the challenge is not actually one of scarcity, but rather of resource alignment: Global wealth is expected to reach 629 trillion dollars by 2027. Only 1% of this would be sufficient to meet financing needs in developing countries to realize the SDGs.
And that is why today’s forum is so timely and important.
By bringing together stakeholders to forge new partnerships that can effectively facilitate the reallocation of resources towards global sustainable development objectives at scale, including inclusive and green modernization.
Specifically, there is an urgent need to explore innovative financing solutions such as blended finance mechanisms, that can help unlock long-term, affordable lending. By combining technical expertise with more diversified financing flows, international partners can leverage these approaches to better support developing countries in advancing their own structural transformations.
"Charting a path towards sustainable modernization requires countries working together, and taking collective actions to respond to the needs of a rapidly changing global context."
China, as well as other partners, have been exploring these types of solutions through new facilities, including CIDCA’s Global Development Capital Pool, aiming at combining grants and lending by China-based banks. When designed towards impact these platforms can leverage different partners’ expertise and strengths to more effectively advance sustainable development.
With its growing role in international development cooperation, China can also share best practices and lessons learned with partner countries in the application of innovative financing solutions to accelerate and scale SDG progress.
Indeed, charting a path towards sustainable modernization requires countries working together, and taking collective actions to respond to the needs of a rapidly changing global context.
No country can do this alone.
To that end, UNDP remains committed to continue engaging with international cooperation actors in China and partner countries to jointly advance sustainable development. Leveraging our global network across 170 countries around the world, we stand ready to facilitate international exchange and push forward collective efforts to tackle the pressing challenges of our time.
I look forward to today’s discussion as an opportunity to share and reaffirm our shared commitment to international cooperation to realize the SDGs, taking impactful steps towards a sustainable future.
In closing, I want to express my sincere appreciation to the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation of the Ministry of Commerce for serving as co-hosts of this forum. We very much value our long-standing partnership, and I am pleased to renew our Statement of Intent to continue our successful collaboration informing China’s international development cooperation policies and practices and facilitating demand- and evidence-based experience sharing.
Together, let us align resources with needs, match ambition with action, and ensure that all countries have the means to pursue a more inclusive, resilient, and sustainable future.
恭祝本次论坛圆满成功。 I wish the forum a great success! 谢谢！
[iii] https://globalgovernanceforum.org/debt-and-development-a-crisis-for-the-global-south/
Related
content
content
