Madam President,

At the outset, I would like to congratulate Indonesia on assuming the Presidency of the Security Council for the month of August and welcome H.E. Ms. Retno Marsudi, Foreign Minister of Indonesia, to preside over the meeting.

China supports the initiative of convening this open debate and thanks Executive Director Ms. Waly of UNODC and USG Mr. Voronkov for their briefings. We thank the UN SG for his report.

At present, terrorism and organized crime have been mutually colluding and infiltrating, posing serious threats to international peace and security and should be addressed seriously.

The international community must strengthen cooperation at all levels, exchange intelligence and information, share best practices and take concerted actions, so as to effectively combat terrorism and organized crime and jointly maintain international peace and security. China wishes to stress the following points:

First, counter-terrorism must be carried out by upholding the purposes and principles of the UN Charter while respecting the central coordinating role of the United Nations and adhering to unified standards.

Member States have the primary responsibility in countering terrorist acts. The sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of the countries concerned should be fully respected.

Countries must strictly implement the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy and the resolutions of the Security Council and the General Assembly in this regard, including Security Council resolution 2482, while abiding by and implementing international laws on combating organized crime.

Tangible and comprehensive measures must be taken to counter the linkages between terrorist organizations and organized crime in areas such as trafficking in arms, persons, drugs, artefacts, cultural property, the illicit trade in natural resources and wildlife, the abuse of legitimate commercial enterprise, non-profit organizations, among others.

Second, it is imperative to enhance actions and synergy at international and regional levels to more effectively fight terrorism and organized crime.

As international terrorism, transnational organized crime and other global security issues grow increasingly connected and diversified, no country can stay immune from the scourge of these common threats.

It is of utmost importance to further promote multilateralism and international cooperation to tackle the new and evolving challenges of terrorism, during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.

The international community must actively support regional and sub-regional organizations in playing their important roles and conducting effective regional cooperation, in the field of counter-terrorism and fight against organized crime.

China supports closer coordination between UN agencies such as UNOCT, CTED, UNODC and Interpol, among others, in accordance with their respective mandates, and regional organizations, to bring forward their respective strengths and expertise.

Third, it is important to support domestic efforts of Member States and build up their capacities to address the most prominent challenges.

The international community must provide tangible assistance to Member States, especially developing countries and African countries, considering the different security situations and their distinctive culture and history, in their capacity-building efforts in areas such as border control, customs, drug enforcement and judiciary matters.

We should effectively combat terrorism financing, stop internet-based terrorism and illegal activities by terrorist and organized crime groups, so as to sever the linkages between terrorism and organized crime.

We must follow international law and relevant UN resolutions, support Member States to take measures of de-radicalization, enhance prevention and keep organized crime groups from resorting to extremist and terrorist means.

Madam President,

Facing the threat of terrorism, we must stand united with solidarity. Terrorism is our common enemy, and there is no such a difference between so-called good or bad terrorists. Double standard and politicization must be avoided.

China will always side with multilateralism and international justice. China has been rigorously implementing all UN counter-terrorism resolutions and actively engaging in counter-terrorism cooperation at the global and regional levels.

As a state party to the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, China has been actively fulfilling its obligations under the Convention with an all-fronts approach across legislation, law enforcement and judiciary sectors.

We will continue to conduct bilateral and multilateral exchanges and cooperation of capacity building with all Member States, developing countries in particular, including African countries, on issues related to counter-terrorism and combating organized crime.

We will also continue to support the UN efforts of counter-terrorism, politically and financially, in a joint endeavor to maintain international peace and stability.

Thank you, Madam President.