Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are of strategic importance to China's economic and social progress, said Huang Haoming, secretary-general of the Chinese Association for NGO Cooperation (CANGO) said here Friday at a forum.

The forum, attended by more than 200 delegates from NGOs across the world, is designed to echo the "Global Call against Poverty" and help China solve the social problems created in part by its rapid economic progress.

Statistics showed China has 3 million full-time or part-time working staffs in 2003. "The potential of Chinese NGOs should not be underestimated," Huang said.

Research by John Hopkins University showed that in 1995, the industrial value of non-profit organizations in 22 countries, including the United States, Germany, Britain, France, Japan, Sweden and Italy, totaled 1.1 trillion US dollars, hiring nearly 19 million full-time workers. The expenditure of the non-profit organizations in the 22 countries accounted for 4.6 percent of the GDP in their respective countries.

The Chinese NGOs have made great and effective efforts in the protection of women's interests, the prevention of AIDS and the education of migrant workers' children, all pinpointing prominent social problems under China's domestic situation. Liao Hongtao, representative of the Hong Kong division of Oxfam International, said.

He also pointed out that Chinese NGOs have been active not only in humanitarian aid, but also in human rights and environmental protection. Their efforts are also helping China to achieve the United Nations Millennium Development Goals.

An evaluation report by the United Nations' representative office in China said, despite rapid economic progress, China's reforms are creating social problems and environmental degradation.

An effective cooperative mechanism should be established among government, the private sector and civil society in China, to ensure social justice and sustainable development, the report stressed.

Huang Haoming said that Chinese NGOs are still at a relatively early stage in terms of quality and experience, and some of them still heavily depend upon government.

Huang also gave specific advice on promoting Chinese NGOs, such as establishing interactive dialogues between government and NGOs, and encouraging NGOs to organize public hearings to enhance supervision over government.

Source: Xinhua