China

I wish to begin by congratulating you, Madam President, on your election as President of the General Assembly at its sixty-first session. I am confident that, under your guidance, this session will achieve full success. I also wish to pay tribute to Mr. Jan Eliasson, President of the last session, and to Secretary-General Kofi Annan. I would also like to take this opportunity to congratulate the Republic of Montenegro on becoming a Member of the United Nations. The world is experiencing profound and complex changes. Peace, development and cooperation have become trends of our times and represent the common aspirations of all countries and peoples in the world. However, the world is not tranquil and the issue of development remains prominent. There is still a long way to go in the pursuit of durable peace and common development. Recently, the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula, the Iranian nuclear issue and the Lebanese- Israeli conflict have flared up, adversely affecting regional and global stability and testing the wisdom, unity and patience of the international community. 06-53317 22 To maintain peace is the shared mission of the entire international community. Consultations based on equality and peaceful negotiations are the only effective means to resolve disputes. China, as a permanent member of the Security Council and a member of the international community, will continue to make every effort to achieve a peaceful resolution of hotspot issues. As regards the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula, China is committed to maintaining peace and stability on the Peninsula, making it free of nuclear weapons and promoting the six-party talks. During the Security Council’s deliberations in July regarding the missile tests by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and the related resolution, China made strenuous efforts to engage the parties concerned, in an effort to maintain peace on the Peninsula and in North-East Asia and preserve the unity and authority of the Security Council and safeguard the progress already made in the six-party talks. Long-standing antagonism and mistrust between the parties concerned is the main cause of the current difficulty. All parties should be patient and pragmatic and act with vision to reduce differences and remove obstacles through dialogue. The six-party talks remain an effective mechanism to enhance understanding and trust and resolve the Korean nuclear issue. We hope that the parties involved will be cool-headed and more flexible, expand common ground, meet each other halfway and work together for the early resumption of the six-party talks and progressive implementation of the joint statement. That is the only viable solution to the Korean nuclear issue. With respect to the Iranian nuclear issue, China calls for upholding the integrity of the international nuclear non-proliferation regime, and is opposed to the proliferation of nuclear weapons. It has worked for a peaceful resolution of the issue in order to promote peace and stability in the Middle East. At the same time, the legitimate right of countries to the peaceful use of nuclear energy should be fully respected, provided they fulfil their relevant international obligations. Diplomatic negotiation represents the best chance to resolve the Iranian nuclear issue and serve the interests of all parties. China hopes that the parties involved will exercise patience and restraint, continue to take a flexible approach and remain committed to the right course of pursuing a peaceful resolution. China will continue to play a constructive role in working for an appropriate settlement of the Iranian nuclear issue. As regards the Lebanese-Israeli conflict, China opposes any move that will undermine peace and stability in the region, and calls for a comprehensive cessation of hostilities. China welcomes Security Council resolution 1701 (2006) and hopes that it will be strictly observed. China hopes that the parties concerned will reach an early agreement on a framework of political settlement that is both just and durable. The question of Palestine is at the core of the Middle East issue. The peace process should be re- started in keeping with the relevant resolutions of the United Nations and the principle of land for peace, in the interest of reaching an early and comprehensive settlement of the Middle East issue, including the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, so that the countries involved can live in harmony and the region can enjoy durable peace. The United Nations has played an instrumental role in resolving regional flashpoints this year. But the Organization also faces major challenges. In the new international environment, to enhance its role through reform is in the common interest of humankind. The United Nations needs to take resolute steps in carrying out reform. The United Nations should develop in a way that promotes the purposes and principles of its Charter, upholds the unity and cooperation of the Organization and serves the collective interests of its Members. The reform of the United Nations should be comprehensive in coverage, and progress should be made in security, development, human rights and other fields. More should be done to promote development and facilitate the realization of the Millennium Development Goals. The reform of the Organization should, as far as possible, satisfy the needs of its Member States, particularly those from the developing world. The reform should be a democratic process and full consultations should be conducted to reach widespread consensus. Major controversial issues should be handled with caution and dealt with through in-depth consultations. China welcomes the progress made in reforming the United Nations, in particular the progress in implementing the World Summit Outcome. We will 23 06-53317 pledge $3 million to the United Nations Peacebuilding Fund. We will continue to work with other countries to make progress in the reform of the United Nations, strengthen the unity and authority of the Organization and increase its efficiency and capacity to respond to challenges. As the chief administrator of the United Nations, the Secretary-General has an important role to play. In the election of the next Secretary-General, China will firmly support an Asian candidate. We are convinced that Asia can produce a competent and well-respected Secretary-General acceptable to all Member States. The scale of assessments for the apportionment of the expenses of the United Nations involves the interests of all Member States and constitutes the financial foundation of the Organization. All Member States have an obligation to pay their assessments on time and in full. The ability to pay is the basic principle governing the scale of assessments. It should be adhered to, as it has proved effective and represents the general consensus of Member States. Over the years, China has honoured its financial obligations in good faith and has made appropriate contributions to the budget of the United Nations. As China’s economy grows, we are prepared to increase our contributions to the Organization’s budget in accordance with the principle of ability to pay. We are ready to take part in relevant discussions in a constructive way, and hope that a fair and equitable formula will be reached on the basis of extensive consultations. Without overall development, global peace and progress cannot be sustained. In addition to developing the concept of partnership and improving its modalities, all countries should honour our commitment to the global partnership for development set out in the Millennium Declaration, the Monterrey Consensus, the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation and last year’s World Summit Outcome. Countries should shoulder the primary responsibility for their own development and implement comprehensive development strategies in keeping with the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The international community — and developed countries in particular — should increase development assistance, promote international trade, technology transfers and investment, offer more extensive debt relief, provide more support to developing countries and respect their ownership of national development strategies. The United Nations should play a bigger role in the field of development. It should create a fair and equitable framework to assess progress in meeting the MDGs and ensure that the United Nations Foundation and the various United Nations programmes and specialized agencies provide greater support for capacity-building programmes in developing countries. It should enhance coordination between international development policy and monetary, financial and trading regimes and create an enabling international environment for developing countries. The suspension of the Doha round serves nobody’s interests. Members of the World Trade Organization should demonstrate political will, speedily resume the Doha development round and work towards a comprehensive and balanced outcome. Non-governmental organizations should be encouraged to be more extensively and deeply involved in development cooperation. Their efforts and those of Governments should complement each other. The establishment of the Human Rights Council echoes the calling of our times. Member States have a common responsibility to make the Council a dynamic and effective body. The Council should give greater attention to massive and gross violations of human rights caused by armed conflicts and should support the international community in its efforts to prevent conflicts, restore peace and combat terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. The Council should attach equal importance to economic, social and cultural rights and encourage the international community and United Nations agencies to take effective measures to support countries in their efforts to realize their right to development. The Council should continue to give special attention to the rights of women, children, persons with disabilities, migrant workers, ethnic minorities and other vulnerable groups to ensure that they enjoy the same level of respect as others. The Council should promote dialogue and cooperation on an equal footing between countries of different social systems and levels of development, address human rights issues properly and reject double standards and politicization. 06-53317 24 For decades, relations between China and African countries have been characterized by sincerity and mutual support. We have conducted our cooperation on the basis of equality and mutual benefit, while safeguarding sovereignty and independence and promoting social and economic development in our respective countries. All that has served to bring about significant benefits for the Chinese and African peoples alike. China and Africa will hold a summit and the third ministerial meeting of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in Beijing from 3 to 5 November. Focusing on the theme of friendship, peace, cooperation and development, Chinese and African leaders will discuss ways to establish and foster a new type of strategic partnership featuring political equality and mutual trust, win-win economic cooperation and cultural exchanges. They will also draft a blueprint to enhance China-Africa cooperation. China is committed to peaceful development. Africa, which is home to the largest number of developing countries, is committed to achieving stability and renewal. Stronger ties between China and Africa will contribute to South- South cooperation and international peace and development. The conduct of China’s diplomacy aims to safeguard world peace and promote common development. China is committed to developing itself through safeguarding and promoting world peace through its own development. We are pursuing development that is peaceful, inclusive, cooperative and harmonious in nature. We will endeavour to promote the fundamental interests of our own people in harmony with the common interests of other peoples and to pursue peace, promote development and resolve disputes through cooperation. China is dedicated to building a harmonious world. It hopes to increase mutual respect and understanding with other countries and to live in harmony with them. China respects the right of a country to choose its own path to development. It supports equal participation by different countries in international affairs and democracy in international relations. It works to enhance mutual benefits, win-win outcomes and global prosperity through sharing the benefits of economic globalization and technological progress. China seeks to promote a diversified world and advance human civilization by furthering dialogue, understanding and mutual enrichment between different cultures. China is committed to advancing human progress by enhancing dialogue, building mutual trust with other countries and working with them to address global issues. China will continue to demonstrate to the world that it is an important force for global peace and development and that the Chinese people will remain trustworthy friends and cooperation partners to the world’s peoples.