At a news briefing in Beijing on Thursday, James Morris,
executive director of the UN World Food Program (WFP) said a strong
partnership between it and China could have enormous bearing on the
fight against global hunger.
"The WFP and China know that the problem of global hunger can be
solved because it has been addressed so impressively here. China
has the expertise and resources that we need to address the problem
of hunger worldwide" said Morris.
Morris is on a two-day visit to China that includes meetings
with Vice Premier Hui
Liangyu, Foreign Minister Li
Zhaoxing and Vice Minister of Agriculture Zhang Baowen to
discuss further cooperation after the WFP ends its food aid
assistance at the end of this year.
The last WFP shipment, containing 43,450 tons of wheat worth
nearly US$7.2 million, arrived at Shenzhen's Chigang Port on April
7 before being distributed to poverty reduction programs in Gansu,
Guangxi, Ningxia and Shanxi.
The organization has assisted 30 million Chinese since 1980,
mostly in remote central and western regions, helping to meet their
immediate food needs and facilitating the creation of
community-level assets through food-for-work and food-for-training
programs.
The total food aid it has provided is worth almost US$1 billion,
and its infrastructure programs helped build roads, irrigation
systems and drinking water facilities.
As China's need for aid has reduced, its donations to other
countries through the WFP have increased.
China offered US$1 million in tinned fish to victims of the 2004
Indian Ocean tsunami and more than US$5 million in total to the WFP
over the past four years.
"China has increased its donations and is becoming a stronger
donor in our global fight against hunger," said Morris.
(Xinhua News Agency December 16, 2005)