China Focus

China keeps working with int'l community in Haiti

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-01-26 19:41

BEIJING: China will continue to work with the international community in the reconstruction of quake-hit Haiti, a senior Chinese diplomat said Tuesday.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu made the remarks at a regular press briefing in response to a question concerning the international conference on Haiti that concluded Monday in Montreal, Canada, where members of the Group of Friends of Haiti, major donors and regional and multilateral partners reached a common understanding on a road map for Haiti's reconstruction and development.

Founded in the early 1990s, the Group of Friends of Haiti is an informal association of like-minded nations that meets on the margins of the UN Security Council. Members of the Group include Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, France, Mexico, Peru, the United States and Uruguay.

China appreciated the efforts of the international community in Haiti's early reconstruction and welcomed cooperation to promote rebuilding and development based on respect for Haiti's sovereignty and acknowledgement of the United Nations' coordinating role in the process, Ma said.

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China believed that the United Nations, which had rich experience and unique advantages in post-disaster reconstruction, should play a greater role in guiding and coordinating the relief work, he said.

"China is willing to continue to work with the international community to help the quake victims in Haiti rebuild their homes at an early date," he said.

According to the Ministry of Commerce, China has provided humanitarian aid worth 48 million yuan in materials and other supplies to Haiti, in addition to 3.6 million US dollars in cash to the Caribbean country after it was hit by a 7.3-magnitude earthquake on January 12, which had killed more than 110,000 people.