China welcomes UN human rights chief nomination

China on Tuesday congratulated Jordan's UN ambassador on winning nomination as the new United Nations (UN) high commissioner for human rights.

The UN General Assembly on Monday unanimously approved the nomination of Prince Zeid Ra'ad Zeid al-Hussein for the role.

The Chinese government has always attached importance to the role of the UN human rights chief in promoting and protecting human rights and will support him to actively fulfill his mandate, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told a regular news briefing.

China believes Zeid al-Hussein will perform his duties in a fair and objective way and attach importance to all kinds of human rights, Hua said.

She said China, as the largest developing country, is ready to work with the ambassador to bring their cooperation to a new level and strengthen international human rights.

Prince Zeid al-Hussein was nominated by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon earlier this month to replace Navi Pillay, who took up the post on Sept. 1, 2008. Pillay's mandate was renewed for two years from Sept.1, 2012 and she is due to step down on Aug. 31, 2014.