President, 

I thank Special Representative Hanna Tetteh and Chair of the Libya sanctions committee Ambassador Mohamed Rabi Yusuf for the briefings. I welcome the presence of the Permanent Representative of Libya at today's meeting. 

Recently, under the leadership of Special Representative Tetteh, UNSMIL has overcome difficulties and achieved positive progress in facilitating the political process in Libya. At the same time, the deep-seated political crisis in Libya remains unresolved, and disunity of state institutions is constraining national governance. It is important for the international community to support Libya's political actors in swiftly addressing their differences and building consensus to complete the political unification and bring about the long-awaited stability and prosperity to the Libyan people. I will make three points.

First, it is important to break Libya's political impasse. China welcomes Special Representative Tetteh's recent efforts to facilitate the political roadmap, while noting that the roadmap process has stalled and little progress has been made in reconstituting the High National Election Commission and amending the electoral framework. It is imperative to call on the relevant parties in both western and eastern Libya to demonstrate political will and expeditiously complete outstanding matters to pave the way for holding national elections. Special Representative Tetteh needs to continue to engage in extensive consultations and make every effort to strengthen trust among the parties to facilitate political consensus-building, while placing Libyan ownership and leadership at the center throughout the process. China welcomes the structured dialogue process recently launched by UNSMIL, and hopes that the Libyan political leadership will heed the call of the people, place the fundamental interests of the country and its people above everything else, and demonstrate genuine commitment to national unity. 

Second, it is important to safeguard Libya's national security and stability. At present, tensions in Tripoli have eased, but the underlying situation remains fragile. China calls on the relevant parties to fully implement the agreement on security arrangements in Tripoli and avoid unilateral actions that could trigger the escalation of tensions. It is important for the international community to support Libya in accelerating security sector reform and addressing the fragmentation of security, and to urge the parties in both the east and west to implement the ceasefire agreement and enhance trust-building measures to create a conducive environment for the political process. The parties must strictly implement the Security Council resolutions, close ranks in curbing the illicit trafficking and diversion of arms, and push for the early withdrawals of mercenaries, foreign fighters, and foreign forces from the Libyan territory.

Third, it is important to improve Libya's economic and humanitarian situation. The recent agreement reached by the Libyan parties on the unified development program marks a positive progress that deserves to be welcomed. The international community needs to build on this momentum to urge the parties to swiftly establish a unified budget and address structural problems such as fiscal fragmentation, illegal currency printing, and exchange rate imbalances. China is deeply worried about the recent influx of Sudanese refugees into Libya, and calls for international solidarity with Libya and Sudan to help the two countries properly resettle and repatriate refugees, so as not to overburden Libya. The frozen overseas assets of Libya are the common wealth of Libyan people. Any abuse or erosion of the frozen asset is unacceptable. China calls on the Security Council to guarantee the right of Libya to reinvest the frozen cash reserves and promptly issue the implementation assistance notices to ensure the effective implementation of Council Resolution 2769 and preserve the authority of the Resolution.

President, 

Not long ago, the Security Council has unanimously adopted the resolution on extending the mandate to the UNSMIL and endorsing the recommendation of the Secretary-General on the strategic review of UNSMIL's mandate. China calls on UNSMIL to effectively implement the relevant recommendations, make sure that the facilitation of a political settlement of the Libyan conflict remains the Mission's core mandate, and keep seeking further improvements and greater efficiency and effectiveness in facilitating the political process. China stands ready to work with all countries to make greater efforts in helping Libya on its path towards lasting stability and peace and prosperous development. 

Thank you, President.