Beijing, 28 February – The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) today signed two Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) – one between UNDP and the State Information Center, the other between UNDP and the China Institute for Development Planning of Tsinghua University. The two MOUs aim to strengthen research capacity for the China National Human Development Report (NHDR), a special edition that marks the 40th anniversary of China’s opening up and reform as well as the 20th anniversary of Human Development Report localization in China. This report will be launched in December 2018.

In the past two decades, living standards in China have significantly improved; China has achieved full coverage of basic health insurance and compulsory education; the Chinese economy has been transferred from a mix of “market-planned” economy in the 1990s to a full market economy. This NHDR special edition will focus on China’s human development trend at a national level, analyze challenges and reform solutions applied in different development stages, and propose strategies for continued institutional reform for sustaining human development.

 “Since its opening up and reforming in 1978, China has made significant strides in the field of human development. With the introduction of “human-oriented development” in 2003, China has restructured its focal point in developmental practices toward a more sustainable and humanist approach, reaching norm-carrier status in the international community with its commendable achievements “said Nicholas Rosellini, UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative for China.

This is the 9th NHDR since UNDP localized its flagship publication Human Development Report to China in 1997. The human development approach emphasizes that development of a country cannot be assessed by economic growth alone, expanding the richness of human life and advancing human well-being is the ultimate path to a sustained development.

"We hope that through this study, we can systematically analyse the United Nations theory of the relationship between the "big five" development concepts, and summarize the experience and achievements of China's reform and opening up policy over the past 40 years,  alongside identifying the concepts of "innovation, coordination, green, openness, and sharing" to promote the well-being of people's livelihoods, as well as its important role in the course of human development” noted Mr. Cheng Xiaobo, President of State Information Center, during his remarks.

With the aim of supporting China’s continued development and mainstreaming the human development approach in the design of policy and reform, UNDP hopes the 2018 NHDR will support China entering a new stage of socio-economic development and resolve a new set of issues and challenges.

For previous China Human Development Reports please visit: http://www.cn.undp.org/content/china/en/home/publications