By GT staff reporters
Chinese President Xi Jinping reiterated China’s peaceful development pattern and its role in defending the authority of the United Nations and multilateralism and international order during a speech at the commemorative meeting marking the 50th anniversary of the restoration of the People’s Republic of China’s lawful seat in the United Nations on Monday.
“Fifty years ago today, the 26th Session of the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted, with an overwhelming majority, Resolution 2758, and the decision was made to restore all rights of the People’s Republic of China in the United Nations and to recognize the representatives of the Government of the People’s Republic of China as the only legitimate representatives of China to the United Nations. It was a victory for the Chinese people and a victory for people of the world,” President Xi said.
“The restoration of New China’s lawful seat in the United Nations was a momentous event for the world and the United Nations. It came as the result of joint efforts of all peace-loving countries that stood up for justice in the world,” said Xi.
President Xi recalled China’s contribution and its cooperation with the UN for the past 50 years. For the past 50 years, China has always worked with the people of the world in defending world peace and justice and the Chinese people have always defended the UN’s authority and statues and practiced multilateralism to deepen cooperation with the UN.
China has fulfilled its responsibilities as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, stayed true to the purposes and principles of the UN Chapter and upheld the central role of the UN in international affairs. China has stood actively for political settlement of disputes through peaceful means. It has sent over 50,000 peacekeepers to UN peacekeeping operations, and is now the second-largest financial contributor to both the United Nations and UN peacekeeping operations.
“In the world today, changes unseen in a century are accelerating, and the force for peace, development and progress has continued to grow. It falls upon us to follow the prevailing trend of history, and choose cooperation over confrontation, openness over seclusion, and mutual benefit over zero-sum games. We shall be firm in opposing all forms of hegemony and power politics, as well as all forms of unilateralism and protectionism,” said Xi.
President Xi put forward five factors that the international community could work together on to provide the right guiding philosophy for building a better world; to build an open, inclusive, clean and beautiful world that enjoys lasting peace, universal security and common prosperity; to promote economic and social development and to practice true multilateralism.
“We should resolutely uphold the authority and standing of the United Nations, and work together to practice true multilateralism,” Xi said, noting that international rules can only be made by the 193 UN member states together, and not decided by individual countries or blocs of countries. International rules should be observed by the 193 UN member states, and there is and should be no exception, said Xi.
“A review of the past can light the way forward. Standing at a new historical starting point, China will stay committed to the path of peaceful development and always be a builder of world peace,” President Xi said, vowing that China will stay committed to the path of reform and opening-up and always be a contributor to global development. China will stay committed to the path of multilateralism and always be a defender of the international order.
As a permanent member of the UN Security Council (UNSC), apart from contributing to the UN Peacekeeping Mission, China also uses its veto power to protect the UN members from the threat of interventionism and unilateralism of the West, and to uphold and safeguard justice for the international community, said analysts.
On Monday, President Xi also talked with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres via video link. Guterres congratulated China on the 50th anniversary of the restoration of PRC’s lawful seat at the UN and both sides expressed willingness to deepen cooperation on a wide range of topics including vaccine distribution, poverty alleviation, coping with climate change and the protection of biodiversity.
Siddharth Chatterjee, UN Resident Coordinator in China, told the GT on Monday that President Xi was inspiring on all counts, as he reaffirmed the importance of the United Nations and the centrality of multilateralism. “As the UN Resident Coordinator, I can confirm that China’s achievements provide valuable lessons in poverty alleviation that we will continue to share with other developing countries through South-South Cooperation,” Chatterjee said.
Global Times