CHINA'S GROWING ROLE AT ROME-BASED UN FOOD AND AGRICULTURE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 UN ROME 000028 SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ECON EAGR EAID UN CH SUBJECT: CHINA'S GROWING ROLE AT ROME-BASED UN FOOD AND AGRICULTURE AGENCIES REF: A. STATE 01052 ¶B. USUN ROME 11 ¶1. (U) This message is sensitive but unclassified. Not for dissemination outside the U.S. Government. ¶2. (SBU) Summary: In response to Ref A request for information on China's emerging role in Africa, USUN Rome notes that in recent years China has increased its contribution to, and influence at, the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) as it works to ensure its own food security and shore up relationships within its region and among developing states. Beyond assuming a larger assessed financial role at FAO, China has partnered with the agency to deliver technical agricultural assistance programs, training, and small equipment primarily to Africa. China is also assuming a growing stature at the World Food Program and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (Rome's other two UN agencies) as well as with Bioversity International (Rome representative of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research). Reflecting its emerging role at FAO, China will again represent Asia in FAO's Finance Committee, and, a Chinese national - formerly Assistant Director General for FAO's regional office in Bangkok - was recently chosen to fill a newly-created Deputy Director General for Operations position. Looking forward, at the Rome-based UN agencies, China will likely continue to quietly increase its stature and influence within the organizations while attempting to maintain its "developing country" status. End summary. China's Involvement with Rome's UN Agencies -------------- -------------- ¶3. (U) China's assessed contributions to the FAO have risen as its economy has expanded, increasing from 1.5 percent of the total budget in 2003 to 2.7 percent in 2009, with future increases projected in the 2012-2013 biennium. China is now the ninth largest contributor to the regular program, behind Canada and Spain. For comparison, the U.S. and Japan combined contribute 38.7 percent of the regular budget. Similarly, China's voluntary contributions to the WFP have more than tripled during the same six-year time period. In 2003, China contributed USD 1.25 million; in 2009, USD 3.06 million, making China the 36th largest donor to WFP. ¶4. (U) Long before the increase in contributions, China was engaging in well-publicized multilateral programs with FAO and WFP. For example, in 1996 FAO created the South-South Cooperation (SSCI) Initiative through which developing nations provide technical assistance to each other as part of the Special Program for Food Security (SPFS). China, whose representatives regularly point to its success in economic development and poverty reduction, is one of the largest donors to this initiative. We understand that Chinese experts sent to Nigeria from 2003 to 2007 through the SSCI were highly influential in the development and implementation of that country's National Program for Food Security. ¶5. (U) China is also heavily involved in the work of Bioversity International (BI),the research center in Rome representing the CGIAR. Bioversity's website prominently features its involvement in China, particularly in research on biological diversity and nutrition. At present, though small, China's contribution to BI's annual budget is one half that of the United States. BI also has several resident staff in Beijing and in provincial governments in the south, looking to enhance China's ability to mitigate risks associated with plant diseases, crop failures, and nutrition. ¶6. (U) At IFAD (International Fund for Agricultural Research) - a hybrid UN agency and development bank - during the most recent UN ROME 00000028 002 OF 003 (8th) replenishment totaling USD 1.2 billion, China contributed USD 22 million dollars, as compared to the USG's commitment of USD 90 million. Japan provided USD 60 million, while India provided USD 25 million, Switzerland provided USD 20 million, and Nigeria USD 15 million. China sits on IFAD's 36-member Executive Board as well as the Executive Board's Audit Committee. At the Board, China is reasonably active, mainly speaking about its own experience as an IFAD borrower. China is one of IFAD's biggest borrowers, with IFAD providing project assistance mainly in China's remote and mountainous regions. China in Africa -------------- ¶7. (SBU) Not surprisingly, China's aid delivered via the Rome-based UN Food Agencies is principally targeted at Africa. In 2008, China sent over 500 of its experts in irrigation, agronomy, livestock, fisheries, and post-harvest handling to specific countries in Africa. China also transferred agricultural technology to African farmers as part of "South-South" cooperative programs, including formal partnerships with Gabon, Sierra Leone, Nigeria, Ghana, Mauritania, Ethiopia, and Mali. In one of its most visible actions in Rome, in March 2009 China announced a USD 30 million trust fund in partnership with FAO to foster agricultural advancement in Africa (although other regions will not be excluded). According to the agreement, China will provide USD 10 million per year over a three-year period to deliver technical agricultural assistance programs, training, and small equipment primarily, although not exclusively, to Africa. FAO Taps Chinese Talent for Top Post -------------- ¶8. (SBU) At FAO's Conference in November 2009, Mr. He Changchui, a Chinese national, was appointed to the newly created position of Deputy Director-General for Operations. Previously FAO Assistant Director General and Regional Representative for Asia and the Pacific for six years, Mr. He holds a PhD degree in Physical Geography and has published papers and reports in the areas of environment and natural resources management, land use and land cover studies, remote sensing and GIS applications, and regional and national capacity building. He is considered a capable manager, and someone the Director General believes can help deliver on approved plans to decentralize additional responsibilities for projects and administration to regional offices. While China is technically under-represented among professional staff based on assessed contributions to FAO, He's selection will no doubt strengthen ties between FAO and Beijing (see also ref B). China's Development Role: Help or Hindrance? -------------- -------------- ¶9. (SBU) It remains to be seen whether China's development priorities in Africa and elsewhere will be complementary or competitive vis-a-vis U.S. work on agricultural development and food security. It is encouraging that in our multilateral work at FAO China wishes to avoid overlap and conflict with the U.S. It stands to reason that their development agenda can be synchronized with the G-20 and others who are working to increase agricultural sustainability in the developing world. We will continue to work with Chinese colleagues to find areas of mutual cooperation on food security issues. There may also be further areas for cooperation with China in WFP and IFAD UN ROME 00000028 003 OF 003 project development, co-financing, and governance. GloverMP