(New York, 22 September 2011)

President Michel Sleiman,
Mr. Secretary-General,
Dear Colleagues,

It gives me great pleasure to attend the High-level Meeting of the Security Council on Preventive Diplomacy. I wish to thank Lebanon for its initiative and the efforts it has made for making the meeting possible．

Over sixty years ago,world leaders jointly established the United Nations with a view to "saving succeeding generations from the scourge of war"．They made the solemn commitment in the UN Charter to "take effective collective measures for the prevention and removal of threats to the peace．"This has given us the theoretical guidance and basis for action in conducting preventive diplomacy and preventing the outbreak of conflicts．In the past sixty years and more,the United Nations has actively promoted the concept of preventive diplomacy and put it into practice,making important contribution to defusing tension, resolving hotspot issues,and restoring regional peace and stability.

Our world today is undergoing profound and complex changes．The international situation on the whole is stable,yet regional hotspot issues keep emerging, and traditional and non-traditional security threats are intertwined．The new situation requires us to have a keener appreciation of the importance of preventive diplomacy and employ diverse means to add new impetus to the UN's preventive diplomacy and enable it to contribute more to maintaining international peace and security. Here I wish to make a four-point proposal on UN preventive diplomacy under the new circumstances:

First, we should fully recognize the importance of prevention andpay high attention to early warning. Past success of the UN has shown that it would be doubly rewarding to forestall the outbreak and spread ofconflicts with prompt and appropriate actions at the early stage of crisis．The United Nations should truly change the mindset of prioritizingtreatment over prevention and the practice of prioritizing peacekeeping over mediation．It should increase input in early warning, conflict prevention and peace mediation．This will help save resources,improve efficiency and protect people from the scourge of war. The Secretary-General and regional offices of the UN have a bigger role to play in preventive diplomacy.

Second, we should take an integrated strategy and aim at addressing the root causes．Conflicts in today's world differ from one another in nature,and causes for disputes are getting more complicated．The United Nations should formulate a comprehensive,scientific and effective strategy on preventive diplomacy. We may use such measures as good offices,mediation and negotiation to ease crisis．At the same time,we should increase input in development, particularly the development in Africa．Only by helping the countries concerned realize economic growth,social progress and sustainable development and eliminate the economic and social causes for conflicts,can we fundamentally prevent the conflicts from happening．The United Nations,the PeacebuildingCommission in particular, have made some positive efforts in recent years．They should continue to explore new ideas and new ways in this regard．

Third,we should enhance communication and coordination and bring into full play the strengths of all parties．Preventive diplomacy is a multi-dimensional task and cannot be achieved without the support and coordination of all sides．In recent years, the African Union and sub-regional organizations in Africa have played an important role in mediating hotspot issues in Africa. Their success shows that regional and sub-regional organizations have unique political,moral and geographic advantages in preventing and resolving local conflicts．The United Nations,particularly the Security Council,should strengthen cooperation with these organizations,and fully bring out the initiative of these organizations in using their unique strengths to actively engage in preventive diplomacy. Other countries that can influence the parties to conflict should also play their due role．

Fourth,we should make use of all available resources to form a strong synergy. Work of the UN covers a wide range of areas,and the organizations and agencies within the UN system all have their clearly defined missions．The United Nations as a whole is blessed with rich resources and unique overall strength．We hope the United Nations will coordinate its resources and work in various areas,fully harness the expertise of the General Assembly, the Security Council,the Economicand Social Council and other organs,and make good use of the resources of the World Bank, the UNDP, the WFP and other specialized agencies as well as programs and funds．We hope the United Nations will encourage all sides to enhance exchange and coordination so as to form a synergy and conduct preventive diplomacy more effectively. We support the Secretary-General in playing a more active role in coordinating the efforts of all agencies．

Dear Colleagues,

As early as two thousand years ago,the Chinese people put forward the concept of "guarding against potential dangers" and the idea of "Peace is of supreme value"．As a permanent member of the Security Council, China has always advocated peace, development and cooperation in the UN and the Security Council．We work for peaceful settlement of disputes and support conflict prevention．Practice over the years has made us more convinced that peaceful settlement of disputes,as one of the basic principles in the UN Charter, still has a strong vitality under the new circumstances．It is a principle that should continue to be respected and upheld, and preventive diplomacy deserves more attention and input. Let us join hands to reaffirm the solemn commitments made by the older generation of leaders in the UN Charter, enable the UN and the Security Council to better meet threats and challenges and work towards a world of common security and enduring peace．

Thank you．