SHU Wenjing (UNDP China, 2026)

Name: SHU Wenjing

Degree: Master of Arts in Sociology

University: The Chinese University of Hong Kong

Position: South-South Cooperation Fellow

UN Host Agency: United Nations Development Programme China Office (UNDP China)

Duration: April 2025 – March 2026 (12 months)

Sponsorship: Peace and Development Foundation (PDF)

Supervisor: Teng Yue

Job Description:

GDF Projects Management (60%)

• Review the proposal and annexes for the GDF (the Global Development and South-South Cooperation Fund) Projects in order to facilitate approval by the relevant Chinese authorities.

• Draft the Project Financial Agreement, the Implementation Agreement, and the Delegation of Agreement, etc.

• Manage project implementation progress, including communicating with the Country Offices and submitting quarterly reports, annual reports, and the final report, etc.

Policy Research Engagement (30%)

• Provide data support in relevant policy development areas, including sustainable finance, environmental justice, and China’s economic development and reform, etc.

• Review relevant reports, including AI and The Next Great Divergence, and A Measurement Study on Multidimensional Vulnerabilities of the Elderly Population in China.

Other Support (10%)

• Participate in the planning and organization of relevant meetings, including events for the South-South Cooperation Workshop and UNDP’s 60th anniversary, etc.

My Reflection:

Time flies, I have now come to the end of my one-year fellowship. Looking back, this experience has offered me a chance to reflect: what have I truly gained? I would sum it up in three points.

A. Broadened my understanding for development:

In the past, when I read books and literature, I often came across the idea that “development is an upward movement of the entire social system.” To be honest, this may sound somewhat abstract. However, as a fellow of south-south cooperation at UNDP in China over the course of a year, I seem to have found the answer through concrete actions and active engagement.

In terms of project management, over the past year I contributed to 18 GDF projects spanning 15 developing countries. The GDF was initiated by China at the UN 70th Anniversary Development High-Level Meeting in 2015, with the aim of advancing the 2030 SDGs through foreign aid. My core responsibilities included reviewing project proposals and annexes submitted by country offices, coordinating among stakeholders, and ensuring that projects progressed efficiently and accurately through multiple rounds of review by the Chinese side, so that funding could be delivered where it was most needed.

Due to the need to manage projects across different countries, I often found myself confusing one country with another when I first joined UNDP. To address this, I started drawing world maps, each time I drew a country, I would also take the time to learn about its basic national conditions, gradually building a clearer understanding of each country.

In this process, I observed shifts in China's approach to foreign aid during the decade from 2015 to 2025, the period in which the GDF has been operating. Specifically, by comparing earlier and more recent projects, I noticed that China's foreign aid has moved from a stronger focus on humanitarian support and COVID-19 recovery toward a greater emphasis on livelihoods alongside sustainable development—particularly in areas such as disaster prevention, inclusive development, and building greener societies. This shift reflects the broader movement of developing countries toward more sustainable pathways. At the same time, I gained a deeper understanding of how "small but high-impact" projects can deepen and extend partnerships. The GDF has been gradually exploring a more refined strategy: when a project demonstrates strong results, cooperation can be scaled up. Meanwhile, the Fund also focuses on specific themes and supports cross-country collaboration to share experiences and learning.

I participated in organizing relevant workshop sessions for the 2025 South-South Cooperation Day.

In terms of policy research engagement, over the past year, I have actively participated in policy research-related work, including data collection and report review. These reports focused on inequalities arising in the process of development, such as the impact of AI development on different countries in the Asia-Pacific region, and the vulnerabilities of the elderly in China against the backdrop of an aging population. In the process of assisting with these tasks, I noticed that policy research within the UN system tends to combine macro-level issues with local contexts and international methodologies, in order to formulate actionable policy recommendations. Furthermore, through organizing roundtables and other forms of discussion, the UN brings together experts and stakeholders from various fields to share perspectives from the international community and gain an in-depth understanding of local realities, thereby jointly addressing challenges in development.

Based on my participation in project management and policy research, I summarized my reflection on the development framework and gave the presentation at a peer-sharing session.

Overall, in project management, I have witnessed the endogenous drive unleashed by development, from the pursuit of livelihoods, to an emphasis on green growth, and further to a focus on proactive prevention and sustainability. Policy research, on the other hand, functions more as an exogenous power that helps us overcome obstacles encountered in the development process, such as AI-related inequalities and the hindrance caused by conflict and war. Precisely because human development knows no bounds, development itself is an endless journey…

B. Strengthened my key competitive skills:

At the UNDP in China, I had the privilege of working with many colleagues and engaging in extensive interaction and collaboration with my supervisors. In them, I saw many admirable qualities worth learning from. Among these qualities, some were strengthened during my time at UNDP in China, while others remain aspirations that I will continue to pursue in my future growth.

These are our team members. In addition to our regular meetings, we also have group lunches or dinners to improve team solidarity, Cheers!

• Collaboration. Working at UNDP in China has made me deeply realize that, whether in project management or policy research, collaboration is the key to improving efficiency. Under the guidance of my supervisors, I have completed multiple tasks together with other fellows and interns. At the same time, monthly team meetings have provided me with a platform to share my work progress. Overall, the collaborative atmosphere has encouraged me, to take on tasks more actively, make good use of each person's strengths, divide work reasonably, and jointly move tasks forward to completion.

In the late summer of 2025, as the new Country Programme Document for China (2026-2030) was officially approved by the Executive Board, we held a celebration party, to celebrate the end of that summer and to welcome the start of this new five-year development chapter.

• Leadership. I remember that Beate (Former UNDP Resident Representative in China), as a female leader, would give more opportunities to girls during meetings, so that their voices could be better heard; and James (UNDP Resident Representative a.i. in China) said the “concrete ceiling" young people face on Youth Day, along with his willingness to offer young people more chances for dialogue and exchange. Their sincere care for the growth of young people has made me feel warm and deeply motivated. My team leader, Viola, combines global experience, particularly from Europe, with a profound understanding of China's development context, advancing development issues with a professionalism that I truly admire and inspires me to continuously improve my own capabilities. My supervisor, Yue, is highly experienced in project coordination and partnership building. Whenever I encounter challenges in my work and study, I can always count on her timely and effective guidance. At the same time, she is also very willing to create space for young people to grow. Their unique leadership styles are all worthy of my sincere study and deep respect.

At the China and International Development Forum in 2025, I asked a question to a professor I had long been interested in and had a conversation with her.

• Inclusive. Working at UNDP in China has made me deeply realize that mastering multiple languages is essential. Language is the cornerstone for understanding different cultures and also helps us work better with people from various countries and regions, thereby gradually cultivating an inclusive mindset. In this process, I have fully leveraged the platform provided by UNDP in China—by engaging with people from diverse cultural backgrounds and actively seeking opportunities to speak at various forums—to continuously strengthen and enhance my language expression skills.

C. Shaped my future direction and choices.

In 2026, Beijing welcomed a spring snowfall. I felt the quietly stirring vitality beneath the snow. Also, I completed my map, just as my fellowship was also approaching its end.

I was born in an inland city in southern China, and later went to Hong Kong, a coastal city to pursue my university education. Although both belong to the southern region of China, the developmental heterogeneity between my hometown and Hong Kong has always fascinated me, driving me to explore their respective historical trajectories and development paths. Through my studies and research, I gradually became inspired to connect the development experiences of southern China with the Global South, seeking to understand the interactive dynamics between them.

March 31, 2026 — Happy graduation! I received the best wishes from my supervisors and colleagues. Carrying this warmth with me, I have already moved forward with a smile.

I am sincerely grateful for the funding provided by the PDF, which enabled me, as a South-South Cooperation Fellow, to directly engage with and deepen my understanding of the interactions between China and the Global South. This experience laid the foundation for my transition from a local perspective to global research. It is thanks to this opportunity that I successfully received a PhD offer from a university specializing in development studies, marking the beginning of a new chapter in my academic journey.

Ever since I moved from mainland China to Hong Kong for higher education, I have received invaluable guidance from many professors and mentors, as well as academic exchange opportunities and scholarship support from universities and institutions. To be honest, without the platform and support that Hong Kong has provided me, I would not have been able to persevere in pursuing my ideals or continue walking along this path. Therefore, I hope that if I achieve anything in the future, I will be able to offer the next generations the same opportunities for growth, just as the PDF and other benefactors have done for me.