UN Chief for stronger partnership between China and UN

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is on a four-day official visit to China. The visit has been the first since the new Chinese leadership assumed office this March. The UN chief says that he hopes to see "an even bigger and stronger partnership" between the United Nations and China.

China and the United Nations have a historically strong partnership.

Ban Ki-moon said ahead of his visit that the two could be even closer partners on various issues, such as the promotion of sustainable development.

Ban also said that China is one of the crucially important member states of the UN, with increasing economic growth, and global leadership.

He hopes that China will do more to contribute to the international community, starting from peacekeeping operations and the ongoing efforts to define a sustainable development agenda.

During his trip to China, the UN chief is scheduled to have in-depth discussions with President Xi Jinping and other leaders on many issues, including the situation on the Korean Peninsula, the situation in Syria, Mali and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Ban said he expects that China will continue to play a very constructive role in maintaining peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and in facilitating dialogue between South Korea and the DPRK.

He highly commended the recent efforts by China to defuse tension on the peninsula, especially President Xi's receiving of a special envoy from the DPRK.

Chinese scholars say the UN chief's visit is significant for China's diplomacy and will prompt China to play a bigger role in the United Nations.