Vice Ministers, Vice Mayors,

I am extremely delighted to be here at the opening of the infoDev Annual Symposium. Holding it in Chongqing, a city over 32 millions people in the western part of China, is an indication of the progress China has made in the last two decades.

Ladies and gentlemen, the investment to take information and communication technologies far and wide in this country, and in making the requisite investment in transport and logistics are major milestones in linking China’s various regions to the each other and to the world.

The development community has recognized the important roles that ICT and knowledge play in poverty reduction and capacity building, and the importance of bridging not only the hardware gaps, but to equip people with the skills and opportunities to create, access, and use technology and knowledge well.

The partnership between the World Bank Group (WBG) and China has been long and fruitful. The WBG has worked with China as it invested in the infrastructure sectors, where lending was critical. Today, the Bank works with China in lending, knowledge, and analytic services, accommodating the shifting development needs of the country. China represents the Bank’s largest portfolio, with over 100 on-going projects, some 50% larger than the next tier of borrowers. Since the beginning of the Bank’s involvement in China, knowledge analytic services have played a critical role in the relationship. Hence it is very appropriate to hold the infoDev symposium in China, one of the countries where the Bank’s partnership in ICT and knowledge is strong.

Two weeks ago, I had the opportunity to communicate with China through the Global Development Learning Network (GDLN), China was talking to Washington, Vietnam, Tanzania, Poland and Barbados, just to name a few. This would not have been possible 5 years ago.

Through a combination of distance learning technologies, including 2-way videoconferencing, broadcast TV, and the Internet, Chinese policy makers and enterprise managers can gain access to the latest global knowledge on issues such as international market conditions, management techniques, transport finance, and production techniques just to name a few. China can also share its knowledge with the rest of the world.

I am pleased to note that the WBI has been working with colleagues in other parts of the Bank and with partners in China to capitalize on this opportunity.

Most notably by connecting China to the Global Development Learning Network (GDLN), as I mentioned earlier, there are now 40 GDLN Distance Learning Centers currently operational, with 32 in developing countries, and they delivered 259 programmes in FY02, most of them content developed and delivered with partners.

There are currently three operational GDLN centers in China – one at the World Bank Office in Beijing, one at Ningxia University in Yinchuan, and one at the Guizhou School of Administration in Guiyang. The Ningxia center was made possible by the support from the Australian government.

We are currently working with the Government of China to further expand coerage to all of China’s Western Region and to selected minority areas. A key partner in this effort is the China Education and Research Network (CERNET), which is providing the connectivity to link the new distance learning centers to the global network.

We are already using these centers for delivery of learning programs that that are specifically related to trade and development, including courses on WTO issues, infrastructure finance, insurance supervision, and credit ratings, to name a few. We are also working with partners in China such a Tsinghua University to adapt our programs to China’s needs, and for delivery through their own distance learning networks.

For example, we have planned a number of trade programmes (For China: two DL courses on globalization and sustainable development for the Western Province; Course on fiscal implications of WTO accession) aimed at local analytical capacity building for developing countries to represent their interest successfully in global arenas such as WTO and in order to design policies and institutions to support trade, and targeted at policy makers, technical advisers and negotiators.

Of course, such infoDev funded initiatives as “New Information Tools for Industrial Pollution Control in China” is an impressive example of how the collaboration between the State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA) in China and infoDev made a difference at the local level in making the information on pollution publicly available, and the lessons being replicated within the country.

These are just small specific examples of what we are doing with China, and we look forward to further strengthening this type of development capacity building partnership made possible by ICT facilitating knowledge acquisition and learning that leads to poverty reduction. The World Bank is keen to work with you, assist you, and learn from you all.

(China.org.cn December 10, 2002)