Wang Yi urges UN Security Council permanent members to do duty and tackle challenges

Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Thursday called on the permanent members of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to enhance cooperation and shoulder their responsibility in tackling challenges including the recent situation in Afghanistan.

Wang made the remarks when addressing a UNSC ministerial meeting attended by foreign ministers from China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States, along with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, via video link.

The five permanent members should become a positive factor for peace rather than a negative one and a problem-solver rather than a problem-maker, Wang said.

To resolve hotspot issues, we should adhere to the UN Charter, resort to mediation and peacekeeping operations, use coercive measures with caution, and not use force at every turn, Wang continued.

He also called on the five parties to uphold multilateralism, saying that real multilateralism means that global affairs should be jointly addressed through everyone working together, and everyone should jointly formulate the international rules.

All parties attach importance to the U.S. president's remarks that the U.S. was not seeking a "new Cold War," Wang said.

"The key is to put this statement into action. That is to shake off their Cold-War mentality and ideological prejudice, refrain from forming closed and exclusive small circles, give up the group confrontation impulse, and not to engage in geopolitical rivalry."

Speaking about the COVID-19 pandemic, Wang called on the five parties to assist developing countries in fighting against the virus and make vaccines a global public product.

He also called on them to live up to their words in implementing the Paris Agreement on climate change.