A speech by Mr. Hu Deping, Vice President of All-China Federation of Industry & Commerce, Vice President of China Society for the Promotion of GuangCai Program, President of China-Africa Business Council

Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon and friends of global business leaders,

I am privileged to lead China’s private sector delegation to participate in the Global Compact Leaders Summit in Geneva and to share our views and thoughts on South-South Cooperation and economic development in Africa. Private sector has only a history of 29 years of development in China. Please allow me to share with you the ideas and expectations of Chinese private enterprises for the world economy and trade as well as Corporate Social Responsibility.

Economic globalization is never a coincidence. However, it is only until recent that it has acquired unprecedented universality and profound political and cultural implications. The first stage of economic globalization could be counted from the industrial revolution in England in the late 18th century. It marked the arrival of a new era. It is also an era when colonization reached Asia, Africa and Latin America. The second stage could be counted from around 1960s and 1970s. At that time, the multinational corporations of western developed countries have entered late industrialization period and were consolidating market and resources at global level. In the meantime, there was a rapid widening of the gap between the North and the South. The third stage could be counted from the 21st century. It marked the beginning of a new era when developing countries and the transition economies opened up and actively participated in competition and cooperation in international economy and trade. A number of newly-emerged economic entities have appeared on world stage, mainly represented by China, Russia, India and Pakistan, which are referred to “Four Gold Nuggets”, whilst Sub-Sahara of Africa, the birthplace of mankind, is still plagued by poverty, hunger and diseases.

How will the developing countries benefit is a key factor to the success of economic globalization. For example, in terms of climate and environment, how effective should governments provide global public goods. Even though it is not appropriate to view current international economic order as a complete set of self-seeking regulations established by western countries, there is indeed a need to deliberate on, to study and to promote the establishment of a new economic order that is universally inclusive during globalization. The United Nations is the largest and the most prestigious international organization after the Second World War. The peaceful and developing harmonious world advocated by China is in complete alignment of the mandate of the United Nations. Organizations of Chinese private enterprises are committed to operate under the framework of the United Nations. For example, the China Society for the Promotion of Guangcai Program has participated in the “Global Compact” initiated by the former Secretary General of the United Nations.

Mr. Liu Yonghao, Chairman of the New Hope Group, present at this Summit, is the initiator of China Guangcai Program. The mandate of China Guangcai Programme is a social poverty reduction campaign designed to eliminate poverty in China through market means and commercial approaches. The fourteen years of operation of the Program has offered training opportunities to 3.72 million people and has provided job opportunities for 7.7 million people. It has also developed various approaches in addressing the challenge of poverty reduction.

Junyao Group, also present at the Summit, spent a huge amount of money on collateral for bank loans for low-income households while developing its milk business.

The Inner Mongolia Yili Group has combated desertification in Kubuchi for a total area of2, 1 00 square kilometers for the settlement of local herdsmen.

Hongyu Company has been planting tropical economic plantations in Yunan province and has also participated in the drug substitution plantation in the Golden Triangle Area outside China.

Sanquan Food Company manufactures fast-frozen food fond by the Chinese. 80% of the 24,000 employees came from poor rural areas with an average salary ranging from RMB800 to RMB 1 ,000.

The Chairman of the Penshibao Company is an entrepreneur who used to be a peasant. He has been promoting the distribution network for agricultural fund and technology in sixteen provinces, covering more than half of the land in China. The company also distributes free of charge the agricultural scientific and technical information as well as supply and demand information of agricultural products.

Kerui Company has development apple plantation and fruit juice concentration production in the form of “Company Base plus Farmer Households”. The company has made rational utilization of the prairie in Northern China. It raises cattle, yak, sheep as well as prairie chicken on a large scale.

The founders of Chuanhua Group are a father and a son who used to be peasants. After the establishment of their chemical industry, they put their industrial investment benefits to support their agricultural business, establishing 350,000 mu of agricultural base, directly creating employments of 11,000 people.

Together with UNDP China Office, we established China-Africa Business Council last year in Beijing. CABC is to encourage and to provide support for Chinese private enterprises to know about Africa and to enter Africa to establish cooperation with African friends for economic development. The cooperation in this nature falls into the sphere of South-South Cooperation. It is also the extension of China Guangcai Programme abroad. Members of the CABC are composed of more than 200 enterprises from Mainland China, Hong Kong and Macao. Over the past year, we have set up a website in both Chinese and English language. We have created a club for students from Africa. We have set up an advisory committee and established two consulting firms. We have set up provincial and municipal level CABC chapters. We have signed a cooperation agreement with Portugal Commercial Bank and have reached cooperation intentions with China Development Bank and China Import and Export Bank. More importantly, our membership enterprises have identified some development projects and cooperation partners in Africa.

The China Society for the Promotion of Guangcai Program is willing to share the successful experiences of Chinese private enterprises with Africa. At the same time, we should correct the various non-standardized conducts occurred during their early stage of development in China. We should truly live up to the principle of “Having Culture as a Priority, Combination of Righteousness and Interests, Integration of Home and Abroad, Mutual Benefit and Win· Win”. Mr. Hu Jieguo, Mr. Ruan Xiaoming, Mr. Xu Zhiming and Mr. He Jianping, present at the Summit are successful entrepreneurs in Africa who are well received by local society. In today’s world when all the countries in the world have been seeking for peace, development and security of an international order, the responsibilities and contributions of entrepreneurs, creator of wealth for the mankind, are self-evident.

Mao Zedong, a great man in the Chinese history. well known to many friends from African countries, used to make predictions about the 21st century. He mentioned 2001, saying that China would have become a powerful country by then. However, we should remain modest and prudent, and reject chauvinism. He said that the Chinese people should make greater contributions to the world; whereas the fact is that in the past, little contribution was made. Whenever this thought occurred to his mind. Mao felt very sorry. He expected a peaceful world of equality and warmth. In his romantic poetry, he imagined a scene at Kunlun Mountain, a snow-covered mountain with ancient legendary stories in China. He wrote that a sword was drawn and cleaved the Kunlun Mountain into three pieces, one piece for America, not particularly for the United States of America; one piece for Europe, not particularly for one country such as Britain, France, Germany or Italy; one to keep in the East, not exclusively for China, but also for other Eastern Asian countries. The implication of this poem has no national boundaries. He wrote that then there will be a world in peace, sharing together the same warmth and cold throughout the globe. Mao expressed his political ideal and envisioned a rosy future for mankind. through the metaphor of climate and environment in the world.

Today, when the earth has become a global village, our Chinese private entrepreneurs, with a broader horizon and mind, are willing to actively respond to the call of the Global Compact. We are committed to take corporate social responsibilities, to make greater contributions to the South-South Cooperation, and to share with our friends the benefit of globalization.