The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) align strongly with China's Global Development Initiative (GDI), according to Siddharth Chatterjee, the United Nations Resident Coordinator in China.
In an exclusive interview with China Global Television Network (CGTN), Chatterjee said the two initiatives shared similar philosophies and objectives.
He said China's 2025 economic growth target of around 5 percent is the key to sustaining China's growth momentum.
"Therefore the 5 percent target is crucial in order to maintain the velocity and the ambition that China has. Because ultimately we will need that kind of growth, not only to generate the employment that we need, but the desire of China that by 2035, it is a moderately prosperous society having nearly 800 (million) people in the middle class category. So, those investments have to be made now. So, not just the speed that we need in making sure that the 5 percent rate of growth is maintained and perhaps more. At the same time, how do we create a new workforce where we re-skill them, bring them the new skills that we need? Because today there are five things that will define the momentum for the way forward. Artificial intelligence, quantum computing, semiconductors, fintech, biotech will define progress across the world. How do we embrace these technologies and make them a social good? Make sure that people who have been affected by the jobs that it may take over are able to transition onto new jobs," he said.
He said that China's ongoing reform programs and its efforts to advance the modernization of the country will provide valuable experience for economic development in other parts of the world.
"Whether it's in the space of technology, whether it's in the space of green development, whether it's in the space of climate, whether it's in the space of poverty eradication, in all these areas, China has done extremely well. And what it has done very well was it invested in human capital, invested in infrastructure, invested in business. Now this collective, therefore, provides the momentum that is needed. It's a good model for many other countries which have challenges with it, which is why I said that the UN sees itself as a convener, connector and a catalyzer of partnerships, in order to allow more South-South collaboration, more knowledge sharing to happen," he said.
UN SDGs align with China's Global Development Initiative: UN official
International guests who have dedicated their lives to historical truth joined China's 12th national memorial event honoring the hundreds of thousands of victims killed by Japanese troops in the Nanjing Massacre during World War II.
The memorial was held on Saturday at the public square of the Memorial Hall of the Victims in Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders in Nanjing, capital of east China's Jiangsu Province. China's national flag was flown at half-mast in the presence the crowd that included survivors of the massacre, local students, and international guests.
In one of the most barbaric episodes during WWII, the Nanjing Massacre took place when Japanese troops captured the then-Chinese capital Nanjing on Dec 13, 1937. Over the course of six weeks, they proceeded to kill approximately 300,000 Chinese civilians and unarmed soldiers.
Joining the crowd was Christoph Reinhardt, the great-grandson of John Rabe (1882-1950) who was then a representative of German conglomerate Siemens in the war-ravaged Nanjing. During the Nanjing Massacre, Rabe set up an international safety zone with other foreigners, and they together saved the lives of around 250,000 Chinese people between 1937 and 1938 from the Japanese invaders.
Throughout the massacre, Rabe continued to keep a diary. To this day, all his pages remain one of the most comprehensive historical records of the atrocities committed by the Japanese aggressors.
Sayoko Yamauchi, who was also in the crowd of mourners, arrived in Nanjing on Friday from Japan's Osaka to attend Saturday's ceremony, just as she has done almost every year since China designated Dec 13 as the National Memorial Day for the Victims of the Nanjing Massacre in 2014.
Yamauchi's grandfather was one of the Japanese soldiers who invaded Nanjing in January 1938. However, since first setting foot in Nanjing in 1987, she has dedicated herself to uncovering and spreading the truth about Japan's history of aggression and enlightening the Japanese public about their country's wartime atrocities.
In 2014, ahead of China's first National Memorial Day for the Victims of the Nanjing Massacre, Yamauchi, along with 10 other individuals, received an award for her special contribution to the Memorial Hall of the Victims in the Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders.
By attending the grand memorial event, Reinhardt and Yamauchi both said they hope to convey a message of remembering history and cherishing peace.
"This is my fifth visit to China, and Nanjing, and the third times I visited the ceremony. I have a wish that these survivors survive again and again and again. But my other wish is that the families of the survivors, that they transport the information, the right intention like their ancestors, because anyone must hold a hand (during) this remembering," Reinhardt told China Central Television (CCTV) in an interview before the event began on Saturday.
"Our delegation is on its 20th visit to China, coming to Nanjing to express our heartfelt condolences to those who perished 88 years ago, to remember this history, and to reflect on what we can do for a new future. That's why we are here," Yamauchi told CCTV on board the bus that took her to a local hotel in Nanjing on Friday evening.
Int'l guests call for remembering history at China's national event honoring Nanjing Massacre victims
