Press Release-Beijing, October 12^th, 2004

Annan calls on Chinese business leaders to join the Global Compact on shared values and practices

Beijing, China, 11 October 2004 ��United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan met today with Chinese business leaders, appealing them to forge partnerships with the UN and the Government to fulfill their social responsibilities and make the world a better place for all.

��With the active engagement of the Chinese business community, I am confident that the Global Compact can serve as a platform to help China pursue economic growth and global competitiveness, while advancing environmental and social responsibility,�� said Annan.

Annan set forth the ideas of the Global Compact to more than 30 leading Chinese entrepreneurs and exchanged views on role of businesses in forging Public Private Partnerships to effectively alleviating poverty and to achieving the Millennium Development Goals.

Annan recognized Chinese business community��s efforts in helping eliminate poverty, in particular, two key Public Private Partnerships initiatives between UNDP, China Guangcai Programme and the Government of China Africa Business Council and the Social Development Fund.

Hu Deping, Secretary-General of China Guangcai Programme explained how the Guangcai mandate was consistent with the Global Compact.

��This is the time when Chinese and UN concepts of development are closer than ever before. The Global Compact is not something new to China, because being socially responsible has long been the history of Chinese business community. It is a framework to help Chinese businesses to become a global citizen,�� he said.

About ten CEOs shared their experiences in contributing to poverty reduction and social progress. Among them, Lei Jufang talked about her experience in setting up a pharmaceutical factory in Tibet, where half of the employees are disabled local people.

Annan praised the good practices shared and encouraged the Chinese businesses to continue being creative in using their corporation assets for public services.

��I also warmly encourage the suggestion that China might host a major international Global Compact event within the next year, which would serve as a practical demonstration of how the Compact can connect Chinese business leaders with the world economy,�� Annan said.

Initiated by Annan at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, in 1999, the Global Compact is a set of ten principles that businesses committed to uphold to develop creative and sustainable solutions to the global issues such as human rights, labor, environmental and anti-corruption.

For more information, please contact Mr. Guangming Xu, UNDP China Communications Officer. Email: [email protected]; Tel. 6532373 ext. 239