Sun Lei, the charge d'affaires of China's Permanent Mission to the United Nations, speaks at the General Debate of the High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development at the UN headquarters in New York, July 14, 2026. (Photo: China's Permanent Mission to the United Nations)

The Group of Friends of the Global Development Initiative (GDI) on Tuesday called on the international community to uphold the United Nations' (UN's) central coordinating role in international development cooperation and promote inclusive and balanced development partnerships.

Delivering a joint statement at the General Debate of the High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development on behalf of the group, Sun Lei, the charge d'affaires of China's Permanent Mission to the United Nations, said the international community faces growing challenges, including insufficient development resources and widening development gaps.

The group called for a stronger global consensus, greater resource mobilization, action-oriented implementation and a people-centered approach to advance sustainable development. It also urged reforms to improve the effectiveness of the UN development system and international financial governance, including progress on the World Bank shareholding review and the International Monetary Fund quota realignment.

The statement called for mobilizing resources from all stakeholders, expanding development financing channels, and supporting developing countries in strengthening financial infrastructure, expanding fiscal space and enhancing financing capacity.

The Group of Friends of the GDI remains committed to promoting policy dialogue, sharing development experiences and advancing practical cooperation, while welcoming more countries to join efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030, said the joint statement.