UN Resident Coordinator in China Siddharth Chatterjee loves poetry.

　　In the spring of 2021, when Siddharth Chatterjee arrived in China to take up his new post, he published a signed article in the Chinese media, describing the "Three Friends of Winter" in Chinese culture—pine, plum, and bamboo—as poetic expressions of the commonly used UN terms "resilience," "equality," and "sustainability."

　　In that same spring, China declared a complete victory in the battle against poverty, completing the arduous task of eliminating absolute poverty and achieving the poverty reduction target of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development 10 years ahead of schedule. Some commentators said that this remarkable achievement demonstrated Chinese wisdom in enhancing resilience, reducing inequality, and pursuing sustainable development.

　　"This shows that strong political will, sound public policies, and good partnerships are working together." In a recent exclusive interview with China News Service in Beijing, Siddharth Chatterjee said that China has made major contributions to the global cause of poverty reduction, and that its poverty alleviation achievements and experience have brought important inspiration to partners in the Global South, including Africa.

Recently, UN Resident Coordinator in China Siddharth Chatterjee attended the World Youth Development Forum in Beijing, where he gave an exclusive interview to China News Service on China-Africa cooperation.

　　Siddharth Chatterjee has spent half of his career in Africa. He has served as UN Resident Coordinator in Kenya and other positions, witnessing the process and achievements of the continuous deepening of China-Africa cooperation. "The Belt and Road Initiative has brought tremendous changes to Africa. I have seen remarkable cooperation in various fields such as infrastructure construction, education, energy, agriculture, and healthcare."

　　"If you want to get rich, build roads first." Citing infrastructure construction as an example, Siddharth Chatterjee pointed out that China has helped Africa improve its infrastructure by building roads, bridges, power transmission lines, and communications networks, making important contributions to advancing connectivity across the African continent.

　　Over the years, under cooperation mechanisms such as the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation and the Belt and Road Initiative, China-Africa cooperation has built or upgraded nearly 100,000 kilometers of roads, more than 10,000 kilometers of railways, nearly 1,000 bridges, and nearly 100 ports. "This connectivity has made the flow of resources such as people, goods, and services among African countries more frequent, thereby generating more trade and accelerating economic growth," Siddharth Chatterjee said.

　　"Here, I have seen the broad space and huge potential of South-South cooperation." He further pointed out, "Most importantly, the spirit of multilateralism remains alive."

　　As on many previous occasions, Siddharth Chatterjee wore a badge composed of the UN flag and the Chinese national flag during the exclusive interview. He said it is a badge symbolizing multilateralism and human cooperation, representing friendship, trust, and empathy.

　　"As the UN Country Team, we have always strongly supported and advocated providing necessary capacity-building cooperation to African countries." Siddharth Chatterjee appreciated China's support in various aspects for promoting Africa's development, and said that the UN will maintain close cooperation with China and Africa, help consolidate the bridge of China-Africa cooperation, encourage technology-enabled innovative development, and inject more momentum into Africa's leapfrog economic and social development.

　　In the face of global challenges such as climate change, food security, and the energy crisis, Siddharth Chatterjee called for more dialogue and cooperation to bring the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development back on track. "I particularly welcome the Global Development Initiative," he said. "The Global Development Initiative has brought important opportunities for accelerating the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals."

　　Africa is an important partner for China in implementing the Global Development Initiative. Speaking about his outlook for the future of China-Africa cooperation, Siddharth Chatterjee adapted a poem by James W. Foley to describe it:

　　A stone thrown into calm water splashes once and disappears, but ring after ring of ripples keeps circling, spreading outward from the center, flowing all the way to the sea, with no end in sight... The ripples still spread, eventually forming huge waves. One stone stirs a whole sea.

　　He added: "This is my vision for China-Africa cooperation—surging forward like the waves of the sea, inspiring and unleashing its full potential."