A senior Chinese official urged on Tuesday the international
community to work together in a bid to eradicate poverty.
Li
Qiyan, China's vice minister of labor and social security, made the
remarks at the ongoing International Labor Conference (ILO) in Geneva.
He
said poverty reduction is a pressing task for the world, especially
for the developing countries. Countries around the world must go
beyond traditional values and strengthen exchange and cooperation
so as to promote economic and social development of all countries,
and work hard to reduce the poverty rate around the globe.
"We must attach strategic importance to poverty reduction, promote
the establishment of a new international economic order that is
fair, rational and in line with the levels of development and
requirements of every country in order to guarantee the right of
all countries, especially the developing ones, to develop," said
Li.
Li
said that the developed countries must shoulder more
responsibilities by honoring their commitments and increasing
development assistance to help the poor countries develop
faster.
The Chinese official also pointed out that as the largest
developing country, China has made unswerving efforts to combat
poverty. The number of people living under the poverty line has
declined from 250 million in 1978 to 30 million today.
Delegates including labor ministers and leaders of workers and
employers' organizations from most of the ILO's 175 members
participated the ongoing conference on June 3-19.
Delegates to the Conference are discussing a wide range of issues,
including fight against poverty worldwide, enhancement of safety
and security in the workplace and elimination of
discrimination.
(People's Daily June 11, 2003)