Madam President,

Today is International Women's Day. To all women colleagues present and to all women peacekeepers serving in missions around the world, I would like to offer my holiday greeting and pay my high tribute.

China thanks Mr. Shearer, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for South Sudan, for his briefing. China also acknowledges the briefing by Ms. Jial.

The Government of South Sudan and major opposition groups signed the Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan in September 2018, bringing the light of peace to the South Sudanese people. China is pleased to note that, over the past few months, the situation in South Sudan has continued to improve. Signatories to the peace agreement have been making efforts to implement it. The ceasefire has been maintained in large parts of South Sudan. The Government of South Sudan has engaged in in-depth and extensive consultations with the opposition on political and security arrangements for their transitional period and has adopted a multitude of measures to increase mutual trust. The South Sudanese parties held a national dialogue in Wau from 25 February to 2 March. Displaced persons and refugees in some parts of the country have begun to return home.

At the same time, the implementation of the peace agreement still faces many difficulties. There have been delays in some of the work stipulated in it. The international community, in particular the Security Council, should provide more assistance and continue to help maintain the momentum of the peace process in South Sudan and push all parties to work for the further implementation of the agreement. China would like to stress the following three points.

First, the South Sudanese parties bear the primary responsibility for implementing the peace agreement. The international community should, in the light of the needs of the South Sudanese parties, actively provide the necessary funding and technical support and respect the leadership role of South Sudan. At the same time, in monitoring the implementation of the agreement, efforts should be made to bring into active play the role of ceasefire and transitional security arrangements, the monitoring and verification mechanisms and the Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission.

Secondly, efforts should be made to actively support regional and subregional organizations, such as the African Union and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, as well as the countries of the region, and to continue to strengthen their good offices. The priority should be on pushing the South Sudanese parties to reach consensus quickly on such key issues as implementing the political and security arrangements, as provided for in the peace agreement, and urging all the relevant parties to sign the agreement at an early date and take part in the political process.

Thirdly, efforts should be made to continue to provide humanitarian assistance and economic support to South Sudan and assist it in addressing its food security, while placing priority on strengthening imports, agriculture, energy facilities, infrastructure, education and medical care, with a view to helping the South Sudanese people to rebuild their homes and resume their capacity for development.

China highly commends the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) for its important contribution to maintaining peace and stability in South Sudan. China supports the mandate renewal of UNMISS as well as its focus on the priority work to assist the South Sudanese parties in implementing the peace agreement.

China has always supported peace and development in South Sudan and has contributed more than 1,000 Chinese peacekeepers, including 25 women peacekeepers, to UNMISS. Last month, China provided South Sudan with 1,000 tons of rice in food assistance and a batch of anti-malaria drugs. China will, as always, support actively and participate constructively in the peace process in South Sudan and will make our contribution to South Sudan's realization of a durable peace and sustainable development.

Thank you, Madam President.