China's Position Paper on the Implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development

II. Key Areas and Priorities

-Eradicate Poverty and Hunger. Poverty is a primary challenge to the international community and a major threat to sustainable development. Poverty eradication should be at a prominent position of national development strategy, and targeted measures should be taken to alleviate and eliminate poverty. Significant efforts should also be made to enhance agricultural production capacities and food security, laying a solid foundation for poverty eradication.

-Maintain Economic Growth. Economic growth is the fundamental way to eradicate poverty and improve people's livelihood. Countries should formulate economic policies suited to their national conditions, promote economic restructuring and upgrading and change unsustainable consumption and production patterns. It is important to implement innovation-driven development strategies, strengthen technological innovation and upgrading, and generate momentum for sustainable, healthy and stable economic growth.

-Advance Industrialization. It is important to promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization, informatization, urbanization and agricultural modernization, to inject impetus to coordinated development between urban and rural areas and between the three dimensions of sustainable development. Advanced manufacturing and emerging industries should be developed along with upgrading the traditional industries.

-Improve social security and social services. It is important to improve public service system, including employment, education and health care, and ensure equal access to basic public services. Governments should pursue a more proactive employment policy, provide policy assistance for new businesses and encourage job creation by business start-ups. It is also essential to guarantee the right to education for all, including the vulnerable groups, improve the quality of education and ensure that everyone has the opportunity for lifelong learning. Efforts should also be made to provide minimum social protection and expand the coverage of social security. Basic health care system should be established and improved to make basic medical and health services more equitable and accessible, which is vital to everyone's dignity of life.

-Safeguard Equity and Justice. Improving people's well-being and promoting all-round human development should be the starting point and objective of development. Countries should put people first, strive to eradicate inequality in opportunity, distribution sharing and institution building, and ensure that development gains are fairly shared by all. Efforts should also be made to advance gender equality, empower women in all aspects, and earnestly strengthen protection of the rights of vulnerable groups including women, minors and the disabled.

-Protect the Environment. Public awareness should be raised concerning ecological conservation featuring respect for, conformity with and protection of nature. It is imperative to step up environmental protection efforts, promote comprehensive prevention and control of air, water and soil pollution, focus on improving environmental quality, and form a system of integrated environmental governance by governments, enterprises and public sector. Efforts should be made to strengthen the protection and recovery of natural ecological system, preserve biological diversity, promote sustainable management of forests, protect the marine environment and build protective barriers for eco-security.

-Address Climate Change. The international community should address climate change and build a global climate governance system that is fair, equitable and centered on win-win cooperation in accordance with the principles of common but differentiated responsibilities, equity and respective capabilities. Countries should integrate addressing the climate change into their national development strategies, attach equal importance to mitigation and adaptation, increase capabilities of accommodation to the climate change and strengthen multilateral and bilateral dialogue and cooperation on the climate change.

-Efficient Utilization of Resources. It is important to promote energy conservation, develop energy saving technologies and products, establish effective mechanisms to improve resource efficiency. A modernized energy system that is clean, low-carbon, safe and efficient should be established to promote sustainable energy. Efforts should also be made to develop circular economy, cultivate awareness of green consumption and promote the lifestyle of thrift. Countries should promote water conservation through rainwater and flood utilization, water reuse and seawater desalination.

-Improve National Governance. Countries should advance the law-based governance, bring economic and social development in line with the rule of law and advance the modernization of governance system and capability. It is imperative to innovate the concept of governance, strengthen the awareness of rule of law and sense of service, improve the way of governance through taking full advantage of modern technologies. Efforts should be made to build a social governance system by the people and for the people.