Global South-South cooperation urged

South-South cooperation should be promoted to offset the impact of the recent economic downturn, which has adversely affected developing countries, officials said on Saturday.

Edward Clarence-Smith, representative and director at the UN Industrial Development Organization regional office in Beijing, said China has been growing extremely fast in recent years, and the focus is now on how China can assist and support other developing countries in their efforts to develop economically.

His remarks came during the conference on promoting South-South Cooperation Through Multilateral Mechanisms: New Perspectives for Trade, Investment and Technical Exchanges, hosted by UNIDO, the China International Center for Economic and Technical Exchange, and the Fujian provincial department of foreign trade and economic cooperation during the ongoing 16th China International Fair For Investment and Trade.