Chinese FM, UN chief exchange views on UN affairs

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (L) meets with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon at the UN headquarters in New York, on Sept 27, 2014. (Xinhua/Yin Bogu)

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Saturday met with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and they had an in-depth exchange of views on UN affairs and reached broad consensus.

The meeting took place at UN Headquarters in New York on the sidelines of the current annual high-level debate of the United Nations General Assembly, which opened here Wednesday.

Wang said that counter-terrorism is the pressing task of the international community.

China supports what the secretary-general has stressed, that is, the United Nations is ready to lead the international campaign against terrorism and military actions should have the authorization of the UN Security Council, the minister said.

China has offered instant assistance to relevant African countries that are fighting against the Ebola epidemic, and welcomes the coordinating role played by the UN in the world-wide operation against the epidemic.

To date, the Ebola outbreak in West Africa has killed more than 2,900 people.

Meanwhile, Wang said that China has made important contribution to the UN peacekeeping operations, and will carry on as a responsible major country.

The reform of the United Nations should be an all-round process, instead of limited in certain areas, he said, adding that the major target of reform should be safeguarding the justified and legitimate rights and interests of developing countries.

"Development holds the key to problem faced by today's world," Wang said, adding that the formulation of the post-2015 development agenda should be put on top of UN tasks in the new year.

Next year marks the victories of the 70th anniversary of the world anti-Facist war and the victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, the Chinese foreign minister said.

"The United Nations should take the opportunity to hold commemorating activities to draw lessons from history, uphold the victory of WWII and the post-war international order, and express opinions to all the actions that distort history and reverse the verdict on aggression," said Wang.

For his part, Ban said that China has given energetic support to UN affairs and made important contributions to the UN peacekeeping operations.

China has played a leading role in dealing with the emergency situation of the Ebola epidemic and providing humanitarian assistance, the secretary-general said.

"The partnership between the UN and China has become closer and closer," Ban said, speaking highly of such partnership.

Today, issues concerning international development remain acute, he said, adding that the world body hopes that China will continue to support the formulation and implementation of the post-2015 development agenda.

Such a development agenda is about how to promote global advancement in the years after 2015, the deadline of the Millennium Development Goals, which is a set of eight anti-poverty targets.

Commemorating the 70th anniversary of the victory of the world anti-Facist war is "a priority on the agenda of the UN next year," Ban said, adding that the UN will stay in close communication with its member states.