A United Nations (UN) official said in Shenyang, Liaoning Province, on Monday that China has made significant progress in achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDG).

"China's progress to date in MDG achievement is extremely impressive overall," said Khalid Malik, UN system coordinator and their Development Program resident representative in China.

Addressing the 14th World Productivity Congress (WPC), held in Shenyang, capital city of northeast China's Liaoning Province, Malik said by international standards China's performance in achieving MDG had been excellent. "One key target of having the proportion of people living in extreme poverty reduced has nearly been achieved," said Malik.

"The target reduction in hunger and malnutrition has almost been achieved already and a strong start has been made toward reaching key education, reproductive health and several other health and sanitation MDGs," added the UN official.

China is a signatory to the UN's Millennium Declaration of 2000.

Malik said China's participation in the MDG program was contributing significantly to the achievement of global targets particularly where the country’s record in reducing income poverty had been astonishingly strong.

"Nearly half of the global progress in reducing income poverty between 1990 and 2001 occurred in China alone -- of the 24.4 percent drop in the share of the developing world's population living in poverty 10.6 percent occurred in China," said Malik.

However, the UN official said there were "new challenges" facing China "particularly in areas of gender equality, environment sustainability and reversing the spread of HIV/AIDS."

"These challenges have direct implications for productivity and overcoming them should be part of a broad and extended national agenda to enhance productivity," he added.

With the theme of Pursuing Scientific and Sustainable Growth in Productivity and Performance the ongoing 14th WPC, October 8-10, has brought together some 1,000 participants from all sectors of industry, commerce and public services from around the world.

This is the second time China has hosted the WPC having successfully been home to the event in 2001.

(Xinhua News Agency October 10, 2006)