China issues position paper on China and the UN

Beijing: China’s cooperation with the United Nations (UN) is growing stronger and deeper and is entering a new era, according to a position paper posted at the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The document, titled “China and the United Nations,” was released for the 74th Session of the United Nations General Assembly.

China has in recent years taken a more proactive part in international affairs and made greater contributions to world peace and development, according to the document.

“China has lived up to its responsibilities as a permanent member of the UN Security Council and a major economy of the world,” said the document.

Some of the principles that China holds dear include the path of peaceful development, an opening-up strategy of mutual benefit, the greater good and shared interests of people around the world and a new vision of security that promotes common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security for all.

China also adheres to global development that is open, innovation-driven, inclusive and beneficial to all nations, harmony in diversity and cross-cultural interactions, and an ecoculture based on respect for nature and green development.

“In short, China will stay a promoter of world peace, contributor to global development and upholder of the international order,” said the position paper.

China, which firmly supports and pursues multilateralism, stands for the international system built around the UN, the international order underpinned by international law, and the multilateral trading system centered on the World Trade Organization, and is firmly against unilateralism, protectionism and acts of bullying, it said.

As a founding member of the UN and the first country to sign on the Charter, China always supports the UN in playing an active role, and upholds its authority and stature, according to the document.

The vision of a community with a shared future for humanity, in keeping with the trend of history and the call of the times, reflects the common values of humanity and represents the greatest shared aspiration of people around the world for a better life.

As a creative foreign policy initiative and a significant intellectual contribution to the world, this vision has become a centerpiece of China’s major-country diplomacy with its distinctive features, said the document.

It also plays an active role in safeguarding regional and international peace and security, participating in UN peacekeeping operations, advancing the international arms control and non-proliferation process, and spearheading international development cooperation.

China plays an essential role in addressing climate change, promoting high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, and promoting social and people-to-people exchanges and cooperation.

“China always attaches great importance to human rights and integrates the universal principles of human rights with its specific conditions,” the position paper said, noting that China has put forward the proposition that the rights to survival and development are the primary, basic human rights.

As a supporter of a stronger UN, China stands firm in defending its sovereignty, security and development interests and the one-China principle at the United Nations. No interference in China’s internal affairs will ever be allowed. No one should expect China to tolerate actions that undermine its interests.

China will continue to play an active and constructive role in UN affairs and China’s firm adherence to multilateralism and longstanding aspiration for world peace and development will not change, said the document.