UN envoy: 'Revitalize multilateralism'

China's ambassador to the United Nations called on Wednesday for a revitalization of multilateralism and support of the UN Charter.

"Today, we are living in a changing and turbulent world, where hot spot issues continue unabated, various challenges keep emerging, and multilateralism faces mounting pressure," said Fu Cong, China's permanent representative to the UN.?

"China aligns itself with the statement by Venezuela on behalf of the Group of Friends in Defense of the UN Charter," he said. "We?commend?the efforts of the secretary-general and the Secretariat to implement the pact."

Referencing the 80th anniversary of the UN's founding, Fu said that "at this critical juncture, we must revitalize multilateralism and strengthen solidarity and collaboration".

"We must turn the Pact for the Future from a road map into a construction plan, translate our political commitment into substantive actions, and together strive for world peace and development," he said.

"To this end, we must first and foremost support the authority and role of the UN. We must safeguard the UN-centered international system and uphold the purposes and principles of the UN Charter," Fu continued. "We must revisit the founding mission of this organization, and stay committed to peaceful settlement of disputes and the vision of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security."

Fu called for accelerating the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and bringing development back to the center of the international agenda, "so that all countries can share the dividends of development and achieve common prosperity".?

"We must also further reform and improve global governance to make it more just and equitable. To do so, we must increase the representation and voice of the Global South," he said. "And as humanity continues to push the frontiers, we must support the UN's role as the main channel of governance in those emerging fields such as artificial intelligence."

The envoy noted that China has always been a builder of world peace, a contributor to global development and a defender of the international order.?

He said that President Xi Jinping has put forward the vision of building a community with a shared future for mankind and the Global Development Initiative, Global Security Initiative and Global Civilization Initiative.

"All these represent China's proposals to further reform and improve global governance," Fu said.?

Last month, during China's Security Council presidency, China's UN mission hosted a high-level meeting on practicing multilateralism, reforming and improving global governance.

This week in Beijing, China held an international symposium themed "Strengthen the Role of the United Nations and Promote Multilateralism".

"All these are aimed to facilitate the implementation of the Pact for the Future and contribute to the improvement of global governance," Fu said.?"China stands ready to work with all parties to build a community with a shared future and embrace an even brighter future for all."