China supports EU's role in maintaining Int'l peace, security

China encourages and supports the European Union (EU) in continuing to play a constructive role in maintaining regional and international peace and security, said a Chinese envoy here on Monday.

Wang Min, China's deputy permanent representative to the UN, made the remarks at a Security Council meeting on the cooperation between the UN and the EU in maintaining international peace and security.

Wang said in recent years, in cooperation with the UN and the Security Council, the EU has taken an active part in efforts to address regional hotspot issues, such as the Iranian nuclear issue, the Middle East, Mali, Central African Republic, and Burundi, to which China expresses its welcome.

"We hope that in carrying out cooperation with the UN and the Security Council, the EU would first of all uphold the basic principles of the UN charter, such as sovereign equality and peaceful settlement of disputes and commit itself to addressing hotspot issues through mediation and good offices," said Wang.

He also said China hopes that the EU would respect the sovereignty and conditions of countries when it comes to human rights and engage in dialogue and exchange on the basis of mutual respect and equality, thus playing a constructive role.

In addition, Wang noted that the EU should leverage its resource advantage to provide economic and social assistance according to the needs of countries concerned on the basis of respect for national ownership so as to enhance their self- development capacity in order to address the root causes of the conflict.

"China will continue to support EU in further strengthening cooperation with the UN in maintaining regional peace and stability and promoting economic development so as to effectively complement the work of the UN," he added.