The United Nations is needed more than ever to face numerous world challenges, said Zhang Yishan, deputy Chinese representative to the UN.
Addressing the UN General Assembly as it concluded Friday its consideration of UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan's report on the work of the organization, Zhang said the report put forward some enlightening ideas that needed consideration.
"The United Nations had been through a challenging year in the area of peace and security, having played an important role in, among others, Iraq, Sudan and Haiti," he told the assembly.
Noting that the prospect of peace in the Middle East remains weak, Zhang urged Israeli forces to withdraw from the Gaza Strip as soon as possible, and create the conditions for the implementation of the Road Map.
He was also concerned with the humanitarian and security situation in Darfur, and supported the role of the African Union and the Sudanese Government, saying sanctions would only complicate the problems there.
"The increase in peacekeeping operations around the world required an increase in the resources to carry them out," he noted, hoping that developed nations would respond to Annan's appeal for additional assistance.
"Terrorism and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction remained challenges," he said, adding that it was necessary to strengthen cooperation in both those areas.
Zhang noted that development was the basis for peace and stability worldwide. "There was a need to close the widening gap between North and South, and the establishment of a new economic order was necessary so that globalization could benefit the whole world," he said.
He called for the establishment of a true multilateral trade system and effective global partnerships with developing countries.
"There was a need to strengthen multilateralism and the role of the organization. International developments in the past year showed that multilateral mechanisms, centered around the organization, were vital to peace and security," he added.
He said China is in favor of the expansion of the Security Council and looked forward to seeing new ideas on reform.
He agreed with the UN chief on the need to restore respect for the rule of law in international relations, and said that nations that respected the rule of law domestically should also respect it in the international arena.