People's Republic of China, 2005

May I begin by extending my congratulations on your

election as the President of the General Assembly at its

sixtieth session. I am confident that under your

guidance this session will achieve fruitful results. I also

wish to take this opportunity to express my sincere

respects to Mr. Jean Ping, President at the previous

session, and to the Secretary-General.

This year marks the sixtieth anniversary of the

end of the world war against fascism and the founding

of the United Nations. Just a few days ago in this Hall,

world leaders solemnly adopted the outcome document

of the High-level Plenary Meeting (resolution 60/1).

Now, it falls to us to fulfil the important and pressing

task of working towards a harmonious world of lasting

peace and common prosperity by translating that

document into action and turning fine words into

reality. This session should serve to promote peace,

harmony and common development.

We want peaceful development. Progress of

mankind needs a peaceful environment. Stability and

security of one country cannot be built on the

turbulence or crisis of another. Only a new security

concept featuring mutual trust, mutual benefit, equality

and coordination will enable us to develop in peace and

safeguard peace through development.

We want harmonious development. To build a

better future is the long-cherished dream of mankind.

Any development strategy should be guided by a long-

term and holistic perspective instead of immediate and

sectoral benefits. Therefore, we should work together

for more democratic and law-based international

relations and a harmonious environment in which

countries respect one another, treat one another as

equals, and in which different cultures can emulate and

interchange with each other.

18

We want common development. No model of

development that benefits only a few countries or a

small group of people is acceptable or sustainable.

Countries should cooperate with each other more

closely so that economic globalization may yield

successful results, benefit-sharing and common

prosperity.

This session should serve to push forward

reforms of the United Nations and strengthen its role.

Having weathered 60 years of vicissitudes, the United

Nations needs multifaceted and multidimensional

reforms so as to be able to make a greater contribution

to mankind’s noble cause of peace and development.

The position of the United Nations as the core of

the world collective security mechanism must be

strengthened so that it can perform its duty of

safeguarding peace in a more effective way. China

supports the efforts to enhance the Organization’s

capacity on conflict prevention, mediation and good

offices. We also favour a greater role by the Secretary-

General in this respect and the fostering of a preventive

culture.

We support the efforts to strengthen United

Nations peacekeeping operations, particularly with

regard to rapid deployment capacity and strategic

preparedness, as well as the capacity to fully mobilize

regional organizations and their resources under the

leadership of the Security Council.

China supports the establishment of a

Peacebuilding Commission to more effectively

coordinate United Nations efforts in the areas of

peacekeeping, post-conflict rehabilitation and

development. In that respect, the Economic and Social

Council and other development assistance agencies

should have an important role to play in the

Commission.

It has been our consistent position to oppose the

use or threat of force in international relations. We do

not support the reinterpretation or revision of the

provisions in the Charter of the United Nations related

to the right of self-defence. Should an occasion arise

that calls for the use of force, it is the Security Council

that should make sound judgements and take prudent

decisions as to the merits of the situation.

The international community should continue to

press ahead with the international process on arms

control, disarmament and non-proliferation; safeguard

and enhance the authority and effectiveness of existing

multilateral treaties; give full scope to the role of the

United Nations and other international organizations in

the area of non-proliferation; and seek solutions to

related issues by political and diplomatic means.

The United Nations should be able to cope more

effectively with non-traditional security threats. We

welcome the comprehensive strategy on counter-

terrorism proposed by the Secretary-General, and we

hope to see the early conclusion of a comprehensive

convention on international terrorism, taking full

account of the concerns of various parties, particularly

developing countries.

In the effort to reduce and prevent large-scale

humanitarian crises, the international community

should strictly observe the United Nations Charter,

respect the opinions of the countries or organizations

concerned and, with the Security Council’s

authorization, explore, to the greatest extent possible,

peaceful settlement within the United Nations

framework. We oppose any rash intervention carried

out on the basis of the claim that a nation is unable or

unwilling to protect its own citizens.

Development should be a main focus of United

Nations reform. Although China is a low-income

developing country, it is prepared to contribute as

much as it can to international cooperation for

development. As President Hu Jintao announced at the

summit, China will take substantive steps in five areas.

We will join hands with all Members to advance

reforms in the area of development so as to facilitate

the resolution of development issues. The United

Nations should put in place a fair and rational

Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) review

framework to assess progress made in various

countries and to monitor follow-up of international

cooperation and aid commitments. We support the

coordinating role of the Economic and Social Council

in development-related areas.

The Doha Round should embody development in

its focus, paying more attention and taking actions to

address the concerns of developing countries,

particularly with regard to agricultural produce and

special and differential treatment. China has decided to

grant zero-tariff treatment to some commodities from

39 least developed countries, which will cover the

majority of China’s imports from those countries.

19

China is in favour of incorporating the prevention

and treatment of HIV/AIDS and the building of the

public health sector into the development programmes

and activities of various countries and of the United

Nations. We will be submitting at the current session a

draft resolution on strengthening global capacity-

building in the area of public health. In the next three

years, we plan to provide more aid and medicine to

developing countries for preventing and treating

malaria and other communicable diseases and to help

them establish and reform their public health systems

and train medical personnel.

The international community — particularly

developed countries — should take substantive steps to

help developing countries break the vicious circle of

debt. Such steps include substantial debt reduction and

the streamlining of debt relief procedures and

requirements. In the next two years, China will write

off or otherwise cancel the overdue portions, as of the

end of 2004, of interest-free or low-interest

Government loans owed by all heavily indebted poor

countries having diplomatic relations with China.

We call on the United Nations to give priority to

helping developing countries to strengthen their

capacity-building. China will help developing

countries train 30,000 people for various professions in

the next three years.

My country also favours setting a timetable for

developed countries to allocate 0.7 per cent of their

gross national income to official development

assistance. New fund-raising methods should be

explored so as to put more funds into development.

China pledges $10 billion in concessional loans

to developing countries in the next three years within

the framework of South-South cooperation.

The Charter of the United Nations grants the

Security Council the primary responsibility for the

maintenance of international peace and security. A

highly efficient, responsible and representative Council

serves the long-term interests of the United Nations

and the common interests of all its Member States.

China supports reform of the Security Council

aimed at strengthening its authority and efficiency and

improving its working methods. The representation of

developing countries, particularly African countries,

should be increased so that small and medium-sized

countries would have more say in the Council’s

decision-making. No reform proposal can work that

addresses only the concerns of a few countries,

disregarding the interests of the majority of countries,

and treats developing countries in Africa and in other

parts of the world unfairly.

China supports the principle of cooperation based

on democratic consultation. As reform will affect the

future of the United Nations and the interests of

various parties, there should be no artificial timeframes

or attempts to force decisions through a vote. Instead,

Member States should seek consensus through dialogue

and consultation and in accordance with the principle

of democratic international relations.

China embraces the spirit of unity and

cooperation. The United Nations family has 191

Members. Unity is the source of strength. We want

unity, not division. As long as Member States respect

one another’s interests, accommodate one another’s

concerns and show pragmatism and flexibility, we will

be able to find a reform path that is acceptable to all.

The current session should focus on Africa.

African countries make up a quarter of the United

Nations membership, and their populations account for

13 per cent of the world’s total population. If there is

no stability in Africa, the world will have no peace. If

Africa remains poor, there will be no development for

the world. The outcome document of the summit calls

for efforts to meet the special needs of Africa. I believe

that that is correct and necessary.

Despite the gratifying progress made in Africa in

recent years, conflicts in some of its regions have

persisted. The Security Council should pay special

attention to African problems and give them priority on

its agenda. That means not only devoting more Council

meetings to African issues, but also, and more

important, taking concrete actions to heed Africa’s

voice, respect its views and accommodate its concerns.

China applauds the mediation and good offices of

the African Union and other regional organizations

aimed at conflict settlement in Africa. We support

close cooperation between the Security Council and

those organizations by providing them with funds,

logistics and technical assistance to strengthen their

peacekeeping and post-conflict reconstruction

capacities.

African countries face difficulties in the area of

development, particularly in attaining the MDGs. More

20

than 300 million people are still living under the

poverty line. One third of all children are

malnourished. More than 30 million people are

suffering from HIV/AIDS. With less than 2 per cent of

the world’s economic aggregate, Africa is weighed

down by debts amounting to $300 billion. All of that

poses a challenge to the conscience of mankind.

The international community should reach a

global consensus on African development and help the

continent to achieve the MDGs on schedule by

implementing the New Partnership for Africa’s

Development. Those who provide assistance must do

so in all sincerity and respect the right of African

countries to make their own decisions. Assistance must

also have a clear aim: to meet the basic and long-term

needs of the African people. Assistance is by no means

charity or a gift; it is a response to the call for mutual

benefit and common development. Furthermore, it is

our moral duty to help the needy and redress injustices.

In the twentieth century, Africa shook off

colonial rule and achieved national liberation. That was

an epoch-making event. The twenty-first century will

bring peace and development to Africa — it is

historically inevitable. The Chinese people will

continue to stand beside their African brothers and

sisters on that journey of historic significance.

The recently concluded Six-Party Talks in Beijing

on the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue have reached an

important consensus and issued a joint declaration,

marking an important step forward in the Talks and a

crystallization of the political will and diligence of the

parties concerned. It also reflects the common

aspiration of the international community. Because it

was so hard-won, this result needs to be especially

prized. We hope that the parties will continue to work

together to promote further progress in the Six-Party

Talks, resolve the nuclear issue on the Peninsula

through dialogue and by peaceful means, ensure lasting

peace and stability in the region and realize its

common goals for development and prosperity. The

Chinese Government will continue to make a positive

contribution in that regard.