Senior UN official deems China as important defender of multilateralism

As the world's second-largest economy, the second-largest contributor to the UN budget and a permanent member of the UN Security Council, China is an important contributor and defender of multilateralism, a senior UN official has said.

In a recent interview with Xinhua, Liu Zhenmin, under-secretary-general for economic and social affairs of the United Nations, said the world is looking forward to greater support from the Chinese government to the United Nations.

Over the past 50 years since the restoration of its lawful seat at the United Nations, China is not only a beneficiary, but also an important contributor to the global system, Liu said.

He said the decision by the UN General Assembly to restore all legitimate rights of the People's Republic of China in the UN system is historical. "I think that has benefited not only China, but the world," he added.

On Oct. 25, 1971, the UN General Assembly at its 26th session adopted Resolution 2758 with an overwhelming majority. It decided to restore all lawful rights of the People's Republic of China at the United Nations and recognize the representatives of its government as the only legitimate UN representatives of China.  

The decision brought China into the already established UN-centered international system and laid a good foundation for China's opening up to the outside world in 1978, said Liu, adding that the resumption of the lawful seat helped China "have a wider relationship with all countries."

Meanwhile, the decision also helped the United Nations achieve universality, and endowed the world with a more balanced international system as well as a unified global market which facilitated its globalization process, he pointed out.  

Speaking of changes the world is experiencing due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Liu said "the most important lesson human beings have learned from the current pandemic would be that any response in the future for a global crisis requires a global collaboration and coordination."

"No country would be able to live in isolation," said Liu, adding that the world would continue to be integrated, connected and globalized whatever foreign policy of an individual country would be.

"For all countries, they need to be prepared for how they are going to cooperate in the post-pandemic world," he stressed. "The world needs to be prepared for future crises. We should do our best to advance the achievements of the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda in the coming decade."

Liu also noted that due to China's remarkable achievements in all areas, it will become an increasingly influential country. "China needs the world and the world needs China. That's a simple logic," he added.

"I think for the world, for the United Nations, they all expect that China will continue to be an important supporter for international cooperation, for the United Nations and for multilateralism," he said.