With China assuming Presidency of the UN Security Council for the month of May, Ambassador Zhang Jun, Permanent Representative of China to the United Nations, briefed UN Member States and held a press conference on China's Presidency on May 3. He had close interactions with various parties and listened to their views.

Ambassador Zhang said, the world today is full of challenges. As the core of the international collective security mechanism, the Security Council has the primary responsibility of maintaining peace and security. Facing myriads of global challenges, the international community looks to the Security Council to strengthen unity and cooperation and play a bigger role in maintaining international peace and stability.

Ambassador Zhang emphasized, China attaches great importance to the Security Council Presidency. China will act responsibly and constructively to maintain the continuity, inclusiveness and effectiveness of the Council's work, strengthen communication and consultation with Council members and other parties, and earnestly fulfill its duties to make sure that the Council plays its role. The Council will have a very busy program in May. Based on the Council's agenda, China will take the following as the priorities:

Firmly upholding and practicing multilateralism to support the United Nations in playing a central role. It's becoming more evident that the only way to rise above all the challenges is to uphold and practice multilateralism. In the Declaration on the Commemoration of the 75th Anniversary of the United Nations, heads of state and government emphasized that multilateralism is not an option but a necessity and the United Nations must be at the center of our efforts. This represents the common voice and aspiration of the international community and points out the direction for the future work of the Security Council.

As President of the Council for the month of May, China would like to convene a high-level briefing on May 7, with the theme of "Maintenance of international peace and security: Upholding multilateralism and the UN-centered international system". Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi will chair the meeting. President of the General Assembly Volkan Bozkir will give a briefing. The meeting is aimed at galvanizing efforts of all parties to maintain and practice true multilateralism so as to resolve the pressing issues the world is facing and ensure the central role of the United Nations in international affairs and the effective implementation of the leaders' declaration.

Promoting solidarity and cooperation to fight the pandemic and restore development in conflict areas. The COVID-19 pandemic is an unprecedented global crisis. It is having profound impacts on international peace and security. Countries and regions in conflict will suffer a greater impact over the mid and long term, and the root causes to conflicts will be more entrenched.

Conflicts in Africa account for more than half of the situations on the Security Council agenda and 70% of the peace and security situations under Chapter VII of the UN Charter. It is a shared responsibility of the international community to help African countries in conflict tackle the challenge of the pandemic and promote post-conflict reconstruction, peacebuilding and post-pandemic recovery. The Security Council should step up input in this area. China will convene a high-level open debate on May 19, with the theme of "Peace and security in Africa: Addressing root causes of conflict while promoting post-pandemic recovery in Africa". It will be chaired by State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi and briefed by Secretary-General António Guterres, UNDP Administrator Achim Steiner and a representative of the African Union Commission. We hope that the meeting will provide an opportunity for the Council to better understand the difficulties and challenges facing Africa in the context of the pandemic, and explore how we can best help African countries with reconstruction and recovery, strengthen capacity building in health, education, poverty reduction and security, and commit ourselves to addressing the root causes of problems.

Abiding by the purposes and principles of the UN Charter and promoting political settlement of regional hotspot issues. In this busy month, more than 20 meetings will be held, covering Bosnia and Herzegovina, Syria, the Middle East, Yemen, Iraq, Somalia, Sudan, and protection of civilians in armed conflict, etc. Also on the agenda is the extension of mandates of UNISFA, sanction measures on South Sudan, and UNAMI. Many hotspot issues are at a critical juncture. For some, the hard-won progress needs to be consolidated; some require greater efforts for the peace and reconciliation process; some call for more diplomatic efforts to prevent escalation of tensions.

As the Council's President, China will continue to work closely with other members, abide by the purposes and principles of the UN Charter and basic norms of international relations, and keep to the right direction of political settlement. Regarding the hotspot issues on the agenda, China will work hard to see that the Council plays an active role, increases mediation efforts in light of the specific circumstances of the issues and countries concerned, and makes utmost efforts to facilitate positive progress in political settlement through dialogue and consultation.

Pushing for enhanced capacity and institution building of the United Nations to better tackle complex challenges. To meet the growing challenges of the world, the United Nations needs to strengthen its capacity and institution building and further improve its working methods and the efficiency and effectiveness of its work.

Taking peacekeeping as an example, over the past 20 years, there have been major changes in the scale and intensity of conflicts. Traditional and non-traditional security factors constitute severe threats to the safety of peacekeepers. Since this year, in mission areas such as Mali and the Central African Republic, terrorism, malicious attack, and armed conflicts have taken lives of about 50 peacekeepers. The Secretary-General's Action for Peace (A4P) initiative has entered a crucial stage of implementation, with safety and security of peacekeepers being one of its priorities. To take stock of the implementation of the Security Council resolution 2518, China will call for an open debate on "United Nations peacekeeping operations: Improving safety and security of peacekeepers" on May 24. With this meeting, we will encourage the international community to increase input and seek appropriate solutions to major risks and challenges facing peacekeepers. Meanwhile, the Group of Friends on the Safety and Security of UN Peacekeepers has just been launched under China's initiative together with Brazil, Indonesia and Rwanda, which is committed to providing support and assistance for the protection of peacekeepers.

Emerging technologies, while benefiting humankind, are having deep impacts on international peace and security. The Secretary-General has made "to seize the opportunities of digital technologies while protecting against their growing dangers" as one of the ten priorities of the UN's work in 2021. It is important for the Security Council to follow the development of emerging technologies and effectively tackle challenges they have brought to international security. On May 17, China will convene an Arria-formula meeting on the impact of emerging technologies on international peace and security. The meeting will provide an opportunity for the international community to gain a deeper understanding of emerging technologies, pay more attention to their impacts on international peace and security, and prevent and mitigate potential risks and challenges. This will be the first time for the Council to discuss this topic. We hope it will be a good start and look forward to the contribution of all member states.

Ambassador Zhang said, to ensure a productive month, China will continue to push for improvement of the Council's working methods to raise efficiency, transparency and inclusiveness. China will step up communication with all sides. In preparation for the month, my colleagues and I myself have had intensive meetings with the Secretary-General, President of the GA, President of ECOSOC, Chair of Peacebuilding Commission, Security Council members, and representatives of relevant countries and international and regional organizations to listen to their views. During the whole month, the President's Office will be open to all parties. China will continue to invite representatives from the civil society to attend and brief the relevant meetings and play their unique roles. We will also consult with the members to consider holding in-person meetings in the UN building to meet the desire of members on the basis of respecting science and ensuring health.

Ambassador Zhang said, in Chinese culture, the month of May is a time to work. An old Chinese saying goes, farmers have little time for idleness, and the month of May is a busiest time. Only by working hard can we expect a good harvest. China looks forward to the support from all other members of the Council, the wider UN membership, civil society and the media, so as to finish all the agenda items, ensure more results from the Council's work, and make new contributions to international peace and security.

When talking about the 50th anniversary of the restoration of China's lawful seat at the UN, Ambassador Zhang said, in 1971, the 26th session of the UN General Assembly adopted resolution 2758, restoring all lawful rights of the People's Republic of China at the UN and reaffirming the one-China principle.

Over the past 50 years, abiding by the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, China has been a builder of world peace, a contributor to global development and a defender of international order. As a permanent member of the Security Council, China has made great efforts to seek political settlement of hotspot issues. China has been actively engaged in peacekeeping operations and become the largest troop contributor among the permanent members. As the second largest financial contributor to the UN, China has been fulfilling its financial obligations on time and in full, giving full support to the UN's work with concrete actions. As the world's second largest economy, for more than 10 consecutive years, China has contributed around 30% to global growth. China has been committed to opening up, providing opportunities to the development of other countries. China attaches great importance to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. China has achieved the SDG on poverty reduction 10 years ahead of schedule, and accounted for more than 70% of the global population lifted out of poverty. China is committed to the promotion and protection of human rights. China has made tremendous efforts and achieved major progress in protecting rights and interests of vulnerable groups, including women, children, persons with disabilities and ethnic minorities, making tangible contributions to the global human rights cause. China sets store by promoting ecological conservation and green development. It has taken concrete actions to contribute to global climate cooperation. China has made solemn commitment on carbon peaking and carbon neutrality. The list can go on and on. To put it simply, in supporting multilateralism and the United Nations, China is always there.

This year also marks the 100th anniversary of the Communist Party of China. Under the leadership of the CPC, the Chinese people of all ethnic groups have forged ahead in unity and made tremendous achievements. We are fully confident about our future. China is now entering a new stage of high-quality development and has embarked on a new journey towards a modern socialist country. China's cooperation with the United Nations has also come to a new historical starting point. Looking forward, China will continue to firmly uphold multilateralism, support a bigger role of the United Nations and contribute China's unique efforts and wisdom to world peace, common development and global governance.

On Myanmar, Ambassador Zhang said, the Security Council has been following the situation in Myanmar very closely and taking actions accordingly. In the past three months, the Council has had several meetings and unanimously adopted outcome documents. Last Friday, Second Foreign Minister of Brunei Mr. Erywan Yusof gave a briefing to the Security Council on the ASEAN Leaders' Meeting held on April 24 and the consensus reached at the meeting. The Council members welcomed the outcomes of the ASEAN Leaders' Meeting and reaffirmed their support for ASEAN in playing a positive and constructive role to facilitate a peaceful solution for Myanmar and their support for the mediation efforts by the Special Envoy of the UN Secretary-General on Myanmar, looking forward to good results from all the efforts. As Myanmar's close neighbor, China has been following the situation in Myanmar closely, working on all parties in Myanmar through its own channels and taking a constructive part in relevant discussions and consensus of the Security Council. China supports all political parties and factions of Myanmar in seeking a political solution to their differences through dialogue within the constitutional and legal framework and continuing to advance democratic transition. One-sided pressuring and pushing for sanctions and other coercive measures will only aggravate tensions and confrontation, cause more casualties and create a vicious cycle, which is by no means constructive. The Security Council has had lessons in its handling of hotspot issues before. As Security Council President, China will maintain communication with other members and make appropriate work arrangements for the Council.

Ambassador Zhang also shared his views with the media on relevant regional hotspot issues.

More than 100 representatives of member states and media organizations in the UN attended the briefings. The parties congratulated China on its Presidency in May and fully recognized China's considerations for the Council's work for this month. They spoke highly of China's excellent preparation and the openness, inclusiveness and transparency of its working methods. They expressed their readiness to maintain close communication with China and wished China's presidency a complete success. Ambassadors of Ethiopia, Fiji, Mali, Morocco, Mozambique, Pakistan, Singapore, South Africa, among others, said that they will pay close attention to and participate in the signature events initiated by China and support China in playing a bigger role in maintaining international peace and security as President of the Security Council.