Mr. President,

The Chinese delegation would like to welcome Your Excellency the Foreign Minister to the Council to personally preside over today's important open debate. We would also like to welcome His Excellency the president-elect of Haiti, Mr. Rene Garcia Preval, who has traveled here specifically to attend this meeting and make the important statement.

Mr. President,

Since the 1990s, the situation of Haiti has been a focus of attention of the international community. Having lived through untold sufferings brought about by the turmoil in Haiti, the Haitian people yearn for peace and stability. That was why they participated in the elections with tremendous enthusiasm and used their ballots to express their strong political aspirations. The presidential election was successfully concluded after just one round of balloting and the date for the second round of voting for parliamentary elections has been rescheduled. We can say that Haiti once again finds itself at a critical threshold of another new stage in its history. The dawn of opportunity and hope is already in sight.

We all know clearly that the successful holding of the elections and the completion of the political transitional process represent only the first step in Haiti's endeavor for peace and reconstruction. History has taught us that sticking to the track of peace and reconstruction is far more difficult, complicated and challenging than preparing and holding elections. This is the historical mission of the new government of Haiti and also an issue to which the international community should give serious consideration.

In order to realize this goal, China believes that:

First, genuine national reconciliation is the precondition for the restoration of Haiti's stability and development. All parties concerned in Haiti should carefully sum up experiences and lessons drawn from the first round of parliamentary elections; ensure the fairness and transparency of the second round as well as municipal and local elections so as to establish the trust and confidence of the population and all participating parties. Once elections are concluded, all parties should respect the outcome of the elections, keep in mind the overall interest of the country, put aside their previous differences and engage in sincere political dialogue in an effort to achieve consensus and create a healthy political atmosphere for peace and reconstruction of their country.

Second, the maintenance and improvement of the security situation form the basis of peace and reconstruction of Haiti. In spite of recent improvement in the security situation, it seems that for a considerable period of time, it would be difficult to totally eradicate factors affecting the stability and security of Haiti. The Haitian authorities should, on the one hand, work closely with MINUSTAH to forcefully combat and deter illegal armed elements and criminals, and on the other hand, reform and restructure the police and judiciary with the help of the international community and effectively carry out DDR program.

Third, economic and social development is the key to the eradication of the root causes of the turmoil in Haiti. As a least developed country, Haiti has long suffered from a paucity of infrastructure and substandard living conditions. The new government of Haiti should mobilize all forces, concentrate its limited resources on "quick impact" projects in order to improve the daily life of the people and help generate employment opportunities. Only when the people enjoy the real benefit can they build up confidence in the future of their country. In this area, the role of the international financial agencies and donor countries is essential. The relevant assistance commitment should be honored as soon as possible and emphasis be put on "quick impact" projects so as to guarantee a good beginning of the reconstruction of Haiti.

Mr. President,

Haiti is a country with extremely limited resources but faced with multitudinous tasks. Whether Haiti could successfully avoid relapse and proceed towards lasting peace and sustainable development depends on the hard work of the Haitian government and people as well as the sustained attention and assistance of the international community. Latin American countries have always actively participated and played an important role in international assistance activities in Haiti and CARICOM has recently decided to resume Haiti's membership. This kind of support is extremely precious for Haiti's stability, development and return to the international community.

China has an ancient saying that goes: "Rather than giving a man a fish, it's better to teach him how to fish". I think that the international community, in providing help to Haiti, should heed its concerns and ideas, continuously enhance Haiti's sense of ownership in the reconstruction process, and improve its "blood generating" capability. In view of the fact the Peace Building Commission has been established and will start functioning soon, we can consider listing Haiti as one of the candidates for consideration by the Commission in due time.

Mr. President,

Although China does not have diplomatic relations with Haiti for now, the Chinese people have always felt friendly and close to the Haitian people. China supports that the Security Council continue to watch closely the situation in Haiti and looks forward to an early submission by the Secretary-General, after consultations with Haitian leaders, of recommendations regarding the structure and mandate of MINUSTAH in the next stage. China also hopes that the political conditions for MINUSTAH to stay on will always be present.

We trust that as an experienced statesman, Mr. Preval will live up to the high expectations of the Haitian people and the international community, address appropriately various complicated and sensitive questions and lead Haiti towards stability, development and prosperity.

Finally, the Chinese delegation supports the presidential statement to be issued at the end of this meeting and thanks the mission of Argentina for its diligent work in this regard.

Thank you, Mr. President