President，
I welcome the presence of EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas, and thank her for her briefing. Every year, the Security Council holds a dialogue on cooperation between the UN and the EU, in which China has always actively participated. At a time when the international security landscape is undergoing profound changes and facing many daunting challenges, the convening of today’s open session is of particular relevance.
China always believes that the EU is an important pole in a multipolar world. To maintain the stability of the international system and to resolve major global issues, the EU’s participation and leadership are indispensable. China is pleased to see the cooperation between the UN and the EU, and to see the EU playing an important role in UN affairs.
First, we welcome the EU’s efforts to uphold and defend the purposes and principles of the UN Charter. This means that the spirit of the Charter should be interpreted and implemented in a complete and accurate manner without selective application or double standards. It means strict compliance with international law and the universally recognized basic norms of international relations, rather than the ambiguous, so-called rules-based international order.
Second, we hope that the EU will leverage the UN platform to actively engage in international cooperation and find solutions to global challenges. We hope the EU will be committed to working with all parties, in particular, countries of the Global South, to promote reform and improvement in global governance, thereby making shared progress under the banner of multilateralism. The principles of sovereign equality and non-interference in internal affairs should be upheld. The social systems and development paths independently chosen by all countries should be respected. Any attempt to provoke bloc confrontations should be guarded against. And unilateralism and power politics should be jointly resisted.
Third, we expect the EU to support the financial basis of the UN with concrete actions. As the most economically developed group of countries with the highest per capita income, the EU should make a commensurate financial contribution to the UN. At a time when the UN is facing a liquidity crisis, we welcome the commitment that Ms. Kallas has just made to the UN finance. We hope the EU will continue to increase its humanitarian and development assistance to support the work of the UN and its subsidiary bodies, and meanwhile, utilize its own resources to help developing countries accelerate the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
President,
After over three years of delay, the Ukraine crisis has finally come to the moment of a negotiated settlement. There can be no winners in conflict and no losers in peace. Negotiation is the end of conflict and the beginning of peace. Despite the differences in positions, all parties share the desire to reach a fair, lasting, and binding peace agreement that is acceptable to all parties. This is a commendable consensus and a goal that should be jointly pursued. China welcomes and supports all efforts dedicated to peace. At the same time, we expect all parties and stakeholders to participate in the peace talks. As the war takes place on its soil, Europe should play its role to promote peace, jointly tackle the root causes of the crisis, and build a balanced, effective, and sustainable European security framework.
Without peace in the Middle East, the world will not be stable. The question of Palestine has always been at the heart of the Middle East issue. The crux of the repeated Palestinian-Israeli conflicts lies in the fact that the two-State solution is only half realized, with Israel having established a state long ago, while a Palestinian state remains elusive. China commends the efforts of the EU and others to promote the implementation of the two-State solution, and welcomes the EU’s positive response to the Gaza reconstruction plan adopted at the emergency summit of the Arab League. We expect the EU to continue its constructive role in supporting the reconstruction of Gaza and in alleviating the humanitarian disaster.
President,
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the EU. China highly values its relationship with the EU and supports European integration and the EU’s strategic autonomy. We have confidence in the EU and hope that it will become a reliable partner for China. China is ready to work with the EU and its member states to deepen cooperation in the UN and other multilateral fora, to practice true multilateralism, and to jointly contribute to the maintenance of world peace, stability, and prosperity.
Thank you, President.