I thank Secretary-General Guterres for his briefing.

At present, the international situation is complex and constantly changing. Traditional and non-traditional security risks are interwoven, while global challenges are increasing by the day. Meanwhile, all countries are interdependent even while their interests are linked. Therefore, seeking peace, development and cooperation remains the general desire of the Member States. The international community urgently needs to work together in order to make new contributions to addressing global challenges properly and promoting international peace and development.

First, we must uphold the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations. The United Nations has existed for more than 70 years, and the cause of peace and the development of humankind has seen significant progress. However, the beautiful blueprint traced by the Charter has yet to be realized, while new challenges keep emerging. In the face of old problems and emerging challenges, the purposes and principles of the Charter are not obsolete and remain immensely significant and realistic in guiding our work. To promote the spirit of the Charter, to face history with honesty and to draw lessons from history has always been our source of strength in maintaining peace and building the future. We hope that Member States will join hands, honor their firm commitment to the purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter, promote a new type of international relations based on mutual respect, fairness, justice and win-win cooperation, build a community of common human destiny and make new contributions to advancing the noble cause of human peace and development.

Secondly, we must settle disputes peacefully through dialogue and negotiations. With the world today far from being secure, and with regional conflicts expanding, maintaining peace and security is the primary responsibility of the Security Council — a task entrusted by Member States. All countries should actively defend the authority of the Security Council in international security affairs and support the efforts by the countries concerned and regional organizations in peacefully settling disputes through dialogue, negotiation, mediation and good offices. The United Nations and the Security Council should adhere to the principles of objectivity and impartiality, respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of States and their right to choose their social systems and development goals on their own, and establish a concept of comprehensive, mutual, common, cooperative and sustainable security so as to play a constructive role in addressing regional conflicts appropriately and promoting peace through negotiation.

Thirdly, we must take comprehensive measures to address complex global challenges. The root causes of conflict, such as poverty and underdevelopment, are far from being solved, while non-traditional security threats, such as terrorism, climate change, refugees, migrants and epidemics, are constantly expanding — setting a higher bar for global governance. We hope that the international community will adhere to multilateralism, increase their development contributions, fully implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, reach an early consensus on the global compact for safe, orderly and regular migration, follow the principle of mutual consultations, joint efforts and benefit-sharing, push for open, inclusive, universal and win-win globalization and create favorable conditions for addressing global challenges.

Fourthly, major organs of the United Nations should fulfill their mandates and generate synergy. The United Nations is a core platform for addressing global challenges. The main organs, such as the Security Council, the General Assembly and the Economic and Social Council, should abide by the United Nations Charter and its responsibilities, adhere to their mandates, coordinate their work in preventing conflicts, maintaining peace, building peace and combating traditional and non-traditional security threats, bring into full play regional initiatives and organizations and actively support the countries concerned in capacity-building for sustainable development and building capabilities so as to develop synergies for combating traditional and non-traditional security threats.

China is ready to work together with the international community to properly address the increasingly complex global challenges and make greater contributions to building a world that enjoys lasting peace, universal security and common prosperity and that is open, inclusive, clean and beautiful.