UN Assistant Secretary-General in the Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Navid Hanith, has praised China for its progress in poverty reduction, education, and industrialization, stating that its knowledge in promoting modernization, global development cooperation, and energy transition is worth sharing with other nations.

During an interview, Hanith emphasized that China’s poverty reduction achievement is commendable and that its development model can be adopted by other countries depending on their specific needs and demands.

He also noted that China has a lot to offer in terms of sharing knowledge and experience and that its expertise and experience can be demonstrated to the world, enabling other countries to choose what is most suitable for their national priorities.

Hanith is a proponent of South-South cooperation, and he believes that China has knowledge to share on promoting global development cooperation. The 10th anniversary of China’s proposed Belt and Road initiative marks a decade of results and impact that can be widely shared at the UN and with development cooperation partners.

Hanith welcomes all initiatives that promote development cooperation, especially amongst south-south partners, and believes that sharing knowledge, resources, and expertise can help other countries get out of their vulnerable situations without getting indebted with private sector borrowing.

The UN has released the 2023 Financing for Sustainable Development Report, which shows that energy transition investments surpassed fossil fuel system investments for the first time in 2022, almost all in China and developed countries.

China is a leader when it comes to energy transition, and Hanith believes that its role is to help other countries undergo these transitions with minimal social disruptions, both in terms of the technologies they need and what they can learn from China.