The United Nations has 21 agencies in Beijing, involved in almost all aspects of cooperation, from economic reform to human rights issues.

United Nations Development Program (UNDP) China is one of these agencies, aimed at reducing poverty and promoting China's cooperation with other developing nations, especially African countries.

On October 16, Khalid Malik, UN System Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative, sat down with Beijing Review reporter Ni Yanshuo, to share his views on how China and African countries can cooperate for mutual development.

Beijing Review: Are there any cooperative programs to help those in need in Africa out of poverty?

Khalid Malik: You know, the UN has a lot of programs focused on African development. About two years ago, the UNDP helped set up the China-Africa Business Council, which was designed to promote and encourage China's private sector to invest in Africa. As you know, trade between China and Africa was about $2 billion in 1999. By last year, the figure had reached $50 billion. It is also involved in how best China can help African countries in the prevention of malaria and HIV/AIDS. We are cooperating very closely with the Chinese Government in this regard.

Would you comment on China's work in reducing poverty?

China has left a good impression with us over the last few decades, by lifting 300-400 million people out of poverty. This is unprecedented in history.

Depending on what poverty line you use, poverty incidence differs remarkably, since there is a high line and a low line. You can say 40-60 million people are left in poverty, or you can use the dollar-a-day measurement, which the World Bank promotes, making this number 150-200 million people.

Poverty exists mostly in western regions, largely due to inadequate food supply,with characteristics of more women suffering than men.

What lessons can African countries learn from China regarding poverty eradication?

I think China is the most successful country in reducing poverty. It obviously has a lot of experience that may be valuable for other developing countries. For that reason, we helped set up the International Poverty Reduction Center in Beijing. One part of its function is to actually have Chinese lessons documented and packaged, so that they can be introduced to other countries. We have set up a lot of training programs and a lot of African people and people from other developing countries are coming to China to learn.

What achievements has the China-Africa Business Council made?

The Council is in its second year now and it has set up an office in Beijing. It has sent teams of people to East Africa and West Africa. Meanwhile, African people are also coming to China. Many business meetings have been held in the run up to the Sino-Africa Forum. I think things are moving quite well.

The UNDP's core purpose is to provide a platform for Chinese and African business circles to cooperate and to seek opportunities.

What cooperative steps have been put in place to fight malaria and HIV/AID in Africa?

For malaria, there is a Chinese drug that works well in Africa. So, when President Hu Jintao was in New York late last year at a summit meeting, he made a formal commitment of helping Africa fight malaria. That was very welcomed and will be very helpful for African countries.

Equally HIV/AIDS has been a huge challenge for many African countries, especially in southern and eastern Africa. There is a situation where many sectors of society, particularly the health sector and hospitals are losing qualified people. Through China's large population, we can try to find a way to help in a very practical way.

What is your opinion about the criticism that China is recolonizing Africa?

China is rising economically and politically, and is trying very hard to balance its trade with its neighboring countries. In terms of trade between Africa and China, Africa is in a slight surplus. At the same time, clearly, as we move into the future, China is increasing its investments in Africa. We have to then find ways that African labor and resources are more effectively utilized. Traditionally, China tends to handle turnkey projects, meaning that they bring their own resources to complete projects. This is a very effective and efficient method. But I think other ways of operating can also be found to supply more opportunities for African countries.

What are your expectations of Sino-African cooperation?

I think the Sino-African Forum is a very important gathering. As you know, some 40 heads of state have confirmed they will come in early November. This shows the great partnership between China and Africa. What we now have to do is to make certain this partnership becomes more operational and much more practical in helping Africa.

It should be a two-way street. We should not only see Africa as a recipient, Africa is also giving something. The continent has a lot of cultural strength and many resources. Maybe it can be mutually beneficial to both parties.

As far as the UN is concerned, we are very interested in helping China-Africa relations to become more useful in the future.

What will the UN do to promote Sino-African ties in the future?

Currently, we are working on the business links. We hope to work more on the initiatives in cooperating in malaria and HIV/AIDS prevention. As China and Africa getting closer, we need new institutions to allow this closeness to be sustained. The reason why developed countries can cooperate easily is because they have a lot of institutions to support them, such as import and export banks, risk and insurance corporations. I think we should think of creating new institutions to facilitate China's link with African countries.