The China Society for Promotion of the Guangcai Program (CSPGP) will become more involved in a global poverty reduction efforts through investment.

It is acting now in a special consultative status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations as well as a special observer of the UN Conference on Trade and Development.

"We will offer our creative ideas and experiences to the UN on how to eradicate poverty," said Xie Boyang, vice-chairman of the CSPGP. "Each country has its own way in dealing with poverty according to its own situation."

On March 17, the Guangcai Program and the UN Development Program jointly declared the founding of the China-Africa Business Council (CABC), a first-ever public-private partnership initiative, with the aim of promoting Sino-African investment and trade.

The CABC program will officially be launched during January 2005 through the end of 2007 between China and six African nations - Cameroon, Ghana, Mozambique, Nigeria, South Africa and Tanzania, Guangcai officials said.

"The project is a key initiative to help strengthen Chinese-African economic links through promotion of public-private partnerships," said Khalik Malik, UN resident coordinator United Nations Development Program resident representative.

Speaking highly of China's role in south-south cooperation, Malik noted that there are also challenges for China's business sectors to obtain accurate information when they conduct trade and investment in Africa.

"The CABC is created to become a new economic mechanism to help facilitate information sharing and access, thereby deepening Sino-Africa trade and investment in a concentrated way," he said.

Unlike other programs, the CABC will let non-State-owned enterprises play an important role and "no limitation would be set on cooperation between the enterprises," officials said.

(China Daily April 13, 2005)