People's Republic of China, 2006

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.

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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.