Mr. Secretary-General,

China welcomes you to preside over this session with Member States and consulting extensively on UN internal reform issues.

China supports Mr. Secretary-General's efforts to achieve through reform the self-improvement and self-development of the UN, the better fulfillment of its duties enshrined in the UN Charter, and the realization of its goals of maintaining peace and promoting development. In this connection, I would like to make four proposals.

First, the reform should serve the general purpose of strengthening multilateralism, building a new type of international relations featuring win-win cooperation, and advancing global governance based on extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits. The reform should help the UN to play a core role in global governance and better reflect the collective will of its Member States. The work of the UN Secretariat should form synergy with, instead of being disconnected from the Member States. To that end, the UN Secretariat need to enhance its capability and efficiency in implementing the decisions made by Member States, and establish effective responsibility transfer,

Secondly, based on the defining features of our time, we need to focus our work on the two major themes of peace and development. In the area of peace, China supports preventive diplomacy and sustaining peace. The UN Secretariat should improve resource integration, stay focused on the outstanding issues, and avoid covering everything superficially but dealing with nothing in depth. It needs to prioritize the most pressing issues and work on the key links that have a direct bearing on preventing, easing and resolving conflicts. More support should be provided for the Member States to enhance capacity-building. That being said, relevant efforts must not affect the funding in the area of development, where the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is a top priority. The UN Secretariat should empower the Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) as a pivotal department, one that makes overall plans on the SDGs, gathers the implementation status of all agencies, and provides advice for the implementation of the 2030 Agenda through targeted guidance such as the Global Sustainable Development Reports. Based on the priority areas and objectives set forth by the Member States, the UN Secretariat should support developing countries in pursuing their development path suited to their respective national conditions and independently chosen by themselves. UN agencies in a host country should meet the need of the host country, respect its will and enhance cooperation.

Thirdly, we need to adopt a practical and results-oriented principle to guide the work. Supporting measures should also be taken in such areas as resources allocation, organizational structure, decision making, work procedures and staff composition. China supports the UN Secretariat in increasing staff mobility and addressing regional under-representation, especially increasing the representation of developing countries. The reform to the UN Secretariat should be aimed at avoiding overlapping functions, defining clear responsibilities and increasing efficiency. We need to make good use of the financial resources, improve financial discipline and performance management, and prioritize major outstanding issues in the areas of peace and development.

Fourthly, we support the Secretary-General in adhering to the principle of openness, transparency and inclusiveness in the reform process, consulting fully with the Member States and pooling their wisdom, and jointly pushing for positive outcomes of UN internal reform that serve the common interests of all Member States and the UN's long-term development.

Thank you Mr. Secretary-General.