Stressing the importance of multilateralism and the central role of the United Nations, China's top diplomat on Tuesday voiced the country's support for global cooperation in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).

"Development is mankind's eternal pursuit. … Leaving no one behind is our shared responsibility," Wang Yi, special representative of President Xi Jinping, said at the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development at the United Nations in New York.

The forum is a part of the two-day Sustainable Development Goals Summit held during the UN General Assembly.

Wang, state councilor and foreign minister, urged world leaders at the summit to take to heart the concerns of developing countries and ensure coordinated economic, ecological and social development to realize the SDGs.

The 17 SDGs, adopted by all UN member states in 2015 as the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, laid out a blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet.

"The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development has opened a new chapter in development cooperation around the world," said Wang, adding that effective measures are needed to deepen global partnership for development.

China has made its mark in facilitating global cooperation, and Wang said the country aims at promoting development for all through greater openness and collaboration and building a community with a shared future for humankind.

The country will continue to pursue cooperation for its Belt and Road Initiative and scale up South-South Cooperation, said Wang.

China also has made achievements in its development. It has been identifying sustainable development as a fundamental state policy and is taking comprehensive measures to implement the 2030 Agenda, Wang said.

The country is now at a new starting point for development as it celebrates its 70th birthday, according to Wang, and it is committed to complete the building of a moderately prosperous society in all respects next year.

Wang highlighted the progress China has made in attaining the SDGs, notably fighting against poverty, developing education, elevating health conditions and promoting afforestation.

While UN Secretary-General António Guterres recognized during a Tuesday interview with UN News that the world is not on track to hit targets related to sustainable development, China has met several SDGs ahead of schedule.

China is about to eradicate absolute poverty next year. In 2017, almost all primary and middle school students finished their studies in China, beating the global average, according to Wang.

The country is extending medical insurance to the whole population, and its maternal mortality ratio — 1.83 deaths per 10,000 live births in 2018 — has surpassed the SDG a decade in advance.

The new afforestation in China accounted for 25 percent of the global total in the 2000-2017 period, said Wang.

Despite all China's achievements, it is still a developing country that "faces a big challenge of uneven and inadequate development and lags far behind developed countries", he said.

China remains focused on running its own affairs, as a better life for 1.4 billion Chinese will be "China's biggest contribution to global development", he said.

The country is placing its people's well-being front and center and embracing a new development philosophy featuring high-quality development that is innovative, coordinated, green and open for the benefit of all, he added.

Wang said a parallel to the 2030 Agenda, which represents a dream for a better future for the world, is the Chinese dream of national rejuvenation.

"China will work tirelessly with the rest of the international community to realize the Sustainable Development Goals for 2030 and bring a better future to all," he said.

The summit, scheduled to conclude on Wednesday, is expected to yield a Political Declaration of Heads of State and Government that provides guidance on how to step up the pace of implementation of the 2030 Agenda and SDGs and a series of SDG acceleration actions.