Beijing lauded at UN event on sustainable transport

From a green and smart inland waterway transport program in Southwest China's Chongqing municipality to a green methanol fuel project in Hong Kong, Chinese practices in sustainable transport were highlighted on Wednesday at a UN side event on advancing the United Nations Decade of Sustainable Transport from 2026 to 2035.

The event, held at UN headquarters in New York on the sidelines of the 2026 UN High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development, was cohosted by the permanent missions of China and Turkmenistan to the United Nations, the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, and the Global Sustainable Transport Innovation and Knowledge Center.

Sun Lei, deputy permanent representative of the People's Republic of China to the United Nations, said 2026 is the inaugural year of the UN Decade of Sustainable Transport, stressing that transport is an important carrier linking development and people's livelihoods.

He put forward a four-point proposal for global cooperation: strengthening planning guidance and deepening global connectivity; accelerating low-carbon upgrading and promoting green transport transformation; focusing on livelihood gaps and developing inclusive and equitable transport; and improving whole-chain management to strengthen transport safety.

"China will continue to share replicable green and smart transport solutions with the world and work with all parties to promote global sustainable development," Sun said.

Key link

Bjorg Sandkjaer, the assistant secretary-general for policy coordination in the UN's Department of Economic and Social Affairs, attended the meeting and said that transport serves as a key link connecting economic growth, inclusive development and climate action, and is directly related to the overall implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

"Turkmenistan stands ready to further deepen practical cooperation with China in connectivity, transport energy and cross-border logistics, make full use of the Group of Friends of Sustainable Transport mechanism, and hold regular multilateral exchanges to jointly provide useful transport development models for developing countries," said Vepa Hajiyev, permanent representative of Turkmenistan to the United Nations.

At the event, the Chinese delegation presented Chongqing's "Qianli Qingzhou" initiative, a green and smart transformation program for inland waterway transport, as well as a green methanol transport fuel project by Hong Kong and China Gas Company Limited, or Towngas, which explores the transition of traditional coal chemical production toward cleaner transport fuels.