On March 7, 2024, Member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Foreign Minister Wang Yi elaborated on China’s propositions on the U.N. reform and development when he met the press during the NPC and CPPCC sessions.

Wang Yi said that China always believes that there is only one system in the world, i.e. the international system with the U.N. at its core; there is only one order, i.e. the international order underpinned by international law; and there is only one set of rules, i.e. the basic norms of international relations based on the purposes and principles of the U.N. Charter. No country should do whatever suits it or reinvent the wheel. The crises and challenges seen in recent years serve as repeated warnings that the role of the U.N. should be strengthened, not weakened, and the status of the U.N. must be upheld, not replaced.

Wang Yi said that over the last 70 years and more since its founding, the U.N. has weathered wind and rain and withstood the impact of power politics. It remains the most universal, representative and authoritative intergovernmental organization, the core mechanism for achieving world peace and development, and an important platform for the many small- and medium-sized countries to participate in international affairs as equals.

Wang Yi said that China is the first country to have signed on the U.N. Charter, the biggest contributor of peacekeepers among the permanent members of the Security Council, and the second largest contributor to the U.N.’s regular budget and peacekeeping assessment. In response to the development deficit, we advance the Global Development Initiative as a boost to the implementation of the U.N. 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. In response to the climate threat, we support U.N.-led international cooperation on climate change and will make the world’s biggest cut in carbon emission intensity in the shortest time frame ever seen in history.

Wang Yi said that at the same time, the U.N. also needs to reform and improve in keeping with the times, to adapt to the new realities of international political and economic development and to increase the representation and say of developing countries. Major countries in particular need to assume their responsibilities and help the U.N., including its Security Council, to better fulfill its mandate, build global consensus more effectively, mobilize global resources, and coordinate global actions. China supports the U.N. in holding the Summit of the Future and reaching a Pact for the Future that benefits all parties. China will work with the international community to support the continuous development and improvement of the U.N. Taking international rule of law as the basis, fairness and justice as a principle, win-win cooperation as the goal and effective action as an orientation, China will practice true multilateralism and promote greater democracy and rule of law in international relations.