Voice of China
UN chief hails China's role in peacekeeping
By Zhang Yuwei (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-09-18 08:08
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UNITED NATIONS - China is playing an important role in the preservation of peace and security around the globe, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told journalists on Thursday evening.
"The whole world is looking to the UN and also to China for its contribution," said Ban before the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) Summit and the UN General Assembly. Both gatherings will take place next week in New York and be attended by Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao.
"I am looking forward to having a good meeting with Premier Wen Jiabao when he comes to New York. And I appreciate the strong support of the Chinese government," Ban said.
The UN will host the MDGs Review Summit from Sept 20-22, which will bring together as many as 140 world leaders to review the achievements in the MDGs and boost progress in the next five years before its 2015 deadline.
Ban said the MDGs are a blueprint for world leaders, to lift billions of people out of poverty, provide quality education, promote gender empowerment and provide many sick people with care, support and protection from HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis.
"I count on the Chinese government and its people's full support and participation," he said.
With only five years left, and despite some skepticism on whether the MDGs can be met, Ban is still confident that "with strong leadership, good policies and the right mix of adequate funding, we will achieve these goals".
He said he appreciates the strong commitment and leadership China have been demonstrating on the international stage.
"China has been participating in many peacekeeping operations, most recently in Haiti. Many Chinese young men and women preserve peace and security around the world," he noted.
Ban also praised the economic assistance China has been providing to many developing countries.
"Such economic assistance is a good example of South-South Cooperation," he said, adding that he is going to discuss with Premier Wen how to strengthen the Chinese role and how the UN and China can work better.
Recognizing the challenge of the country's population size, he said, with China's leadership and good governance as well as its resources, technology and capacity, achieving the MDGs will still be successful.
"And these successful stories should be emulated by many developing countries," he said, adding that he has seen the good economic assistance China has been providing to developing countries, particularly in Africa.
According to the Regional Bureau for Asia and Pacific of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), China has achieved the MDG targets of halving the impoverished population and providing universal primary education. And it has made fast progress in other areas, such as health and gender equality, and will very likely achieve all MDGs by 2015.
At a time of multiple crises, including climate change and natural disasters in Haiti and Pakistan, strengthened multilateralism will be the most important force for addressing all these issues, Ban said.
With its 192 member states, he stressed, the UN needs global solidarity more than ever when addressing all these global challenges.
"China can play a crucially important role in this era of globalization, and this era of renewed and strengthened multilateralism," he said.
Looking at the imbalanced picture regarding achievement of the MDGs, he stressed the urgency of Goal 7 (ensuring environmental sustainability).
Ban told China Daily: "Environmental issues are very important."
"We have to be very smart to use the limited resources. We have to invest in the green economy and green technologies and address climate change, which has been causing many disasters which we have experienced."
