David Nabarro, special adviser to the United Nations (U.N.) for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, praised China's commitment to end poverty.
"China has committed a real and considered effort to tackle a set of global goals for sustainable development to end poverty, inequality and combat climate change," he said.
The U.N.'s sustainable development goals (S.D.G.) was set as an agenda and was formalized in Sept. 2015.
According to the website of the United Nations Development Programme (U.N.D.P.), "The SDGs, otherwise known as the Global Goals, build on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), eight anti-poverty targets that the world committed to achieving by 2015."
The site added, "The MDGs, adopted in 2000, aimed at an array of issues that included slashing poverty, hunger, disease, gender inequality, and access to water and sanitation. Enormous progress has been made on the MDGs, showing the value of a unifying agenda underpinned by goals and targets. Despite this success, the indignity of poverty has not been ended for all."
U.N.D.P.'s Administrator Helen Clark explained, "This agreement marks an important milestone in putting our world on an inclusive and sustainable course. If we all work together, we have a chance of meeting citizens' aspirations for peace, prosperity, and well-being, and to preserve our planet."
In China, Nabarro praised the government for its efforts to conserve the environment through its 13th Five-Year Plan. The plan outlined the steps that the government will take to reduce carbon emissions.
"China has also recognized the importance of the equality dimension," he said.
Nabarro has been working with the Chinese government to seek ways to bring tools for development to the country's poor.
The U.N. adviser explained that in meeting sustainable development goals, China must work with other countries.
He said, "You can't just approach the S.D.G. from a single nation perspective. It's all nations, sometimes we call it working for global public goods."
Nabarro also praised Chinese big companies like Tencent and Alibaba, which used technology to achieve milestones for helping the poor.