Report of the Work of the Thirty-third Session of UNCITRAL

October 9, 2000

Mr. Chairman:

In the past year UNCITRAL continued to make progress in its work. In many items breakthroughs were achieved on the basis of work already done. The Chinese government would like to express its appreciation of this. It in particular noted the increase in the number of countries that had adhered to the conventions drafted by UNCITRAL and the wide application of UNCITRAL's conventions and model laws in many countries. This means that UNCITRAL is playing a more important role in harmonizing and unifying international trade law, thereby vigorously promoting the development of international trade. This is a fact acknowledged by countries around the world. The Chinese government hopes that UNCITRAL will persevere in its work, step up its study and achieve one result after another. The Chinese government has always supported UNCITRAL's work and will continue this positive course.

Now we would like to express our hope and make a few suggestions regarding UNCITRAL's work.

First, we hope that UNCITRAL's work program is better organized. Take the current session as an example. There are over a dozen items on the agenda, but the convention on the assignment of receivables is taking up most of the session. Very little time is left for the remaining items, which means that we will not be able to fully discuss them. The draft convention on receivables has been discussed many times in the working group and in principle adopted. However, it is still taking up an inordinate amount of time in the Committee, going over articles, at the expense of other items. The Chinese government hopes that in the future the work program will be more rational and better-paced.

Second, conditions differ greatly in UNCITRAL's member states. There are both developed and developing countries. Wide gaps exist in their legislative capacities. We suggest that in the future UNCITRAL increase its assistance to member states, especially the developing countries, and provide more training to their personnel, thereby narrowing the gap and enabling it to work more effectively.

Mr. Chairman,

As stated above, UNCITRAL's conventions and model laws have played an important role in international trade. But compared with the results they should have, there is room for improvement. One important task is to make these conventions and model laws recognized and accepted by ever more countries. This requires on the one hand efforts on the part of governments and on the other hand, UNCITRAL trying even harder to heed the views of all parties, taking into account the specific conditions of various countries, and launch a vigorous campaign to disseminate its legal instruments.

The Chinese government calls on the General Assembly to provide UNCITRAL's work with greater support so that it can continue to advance effectively.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman