In 2008, China International Center for Economic and Technical Exchanges (CICETE) and UNOSSC jointly launched the China South-South Development Center Project (China SSDC). The China SSDC aimed to facilitate systematic sharing of Chinese expertise and knowledge on SSC with other developing countries and consolidate resources and mobilize partnerships within China in a coordinated manner. The China SSDC project (2008-2018) concluded with a comprehensive independent evaluation indicating that the project was well aligned with the principles of SSC; represented good value for money/resource allocation; comprehended strong management arrangements; positively impacted beneficiaries; had high prospects for sustainability; and addressed cross-cutting issues such as gender equality and the environment.
Building on the success of China SSDC, the Government of China has committed its continued institutional and financial support to UNOSSC on a second phase (2019-2023) entitled Global South-South Development Center Project (Global SSDC). CICETE will continue to serve as the national implementing partner in China and host of the Project Office for Global SSDC.
The Global SSDC will:
1) place greater emphasis on two-way sharing of knowledge and expertise for mutual learning between China and other countries;
2) expand the existing network beyond China and reposition itself as a true global network of centers of excellence for SSC and leverage partnerships with various stakeholders from multilateral agencies, civil society, private sector, and think tanks;
3) align Global SSDC’s support with the UN SDGs, and other global development frameworks; and
4) provide advocacy and advisory support, and conduct sector-specific research and analysis to inform global policy discourse for SSC, etc.