Q: The UN Secretary-general Annan has recently submitted to the UN General Assembly a UN working programm for the 21st century. What do you think of the programm and the part concerning the reform of the Security Council?


A: The Chinese side has taken note of the relevant report submitted by Secretary-general Annan, and is studying it now. We always stand for strengthening the role of the United Nations, and are looking forward to discussing the issue with the mass of UN member states sufficiently at the UN millenium summit to be held in fall this year. We wish the discussion yield positive results. We are of the view that necessary reform must be carried out so as to strengthen the role of the UN. The reform must conform to the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, reflect the common interests of the majority of member states, instead of serving only a handful of them. The reform includes that of the Security Council. China maintains persistently that the priority of the Security Council reform is to correct the imbalance of its composition and increase the representation of the developing countries. Any proposal to the exclusion of the developing countries won't be widely supported.