Chair,

I would like to start by congratulating you on assuming the chairmanship of the Fifth Committee of the 81st Session of the General Assembly. You can count on China's full support for your work. I commend the work by members of the Bureau, the ACABQ, and the Secretariat for the preparation for this meeting. China aligns itself with the statement by Uruguay on behalf of the G77 and China, and wishes to emphasize the following three points.

First, amid a complex and turbulent international landscape, upholding and practising multilateralism and reforming and improving the global governance system have become a common expectation of the international community. China firmly upholds the UN-centered international system, and makes unremitting efforts to build a community with a shared future for mankind. We stand ready to work closely with Member States to advance the Global Development Initiative, Global Security Initiative, Global Civilization Initiative and Global Governance Initiative, so as to make further contributions to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Second, finance serves as the foundation of and an important element underpinning the UN governance. All Member States should demonstrate their support for the UN through concrete actions, fully meet their financial obligations, and ensure the fulfillment of the organization's mandates.

In June this year, the Fifth Committee achieved positive results in revising the mechanism for the return of credits, but it's important to emphasize that the prolonged arrears of the largest assessed contributor are the main cause of the liquidity crisis. We urge the country concerned to faithfully fulfill its financial obligations and pay its assessed contributions and peacekeeping assessments in full and without conditions.

All parties should work together to ensure that the gains of the UN80 initiative continue to be strengthened. We should continue to exercise strict economy, reduce formalism and bureaucracy, foster a culture of efficiency throughout all processes, strengthen performance management, optimize resource allocation, enforce fiscal discipline, ensure oversight and accountability, and take concrete steps to implement the recommendations of the Board of Auditors and other relevant oversight bodies.

Third, program planning and budget preparation must always remain Member State-driven. All parties should support the role of the Committee for Programme and Coordination in reviewing program plans, and relevant Main Committees should focus on improving the effectiveness and transparency of program planning.

Program budget should be maintained at a reasonable level and strike a balance in resource allocation among the UN's three pillars of peace and security, development, and human rights. More practical measures should be taken in human resources management to ensure adequate representation of developing countries in the Secretariat.

Chair,

We have a heavy workload during this main session, including the Peacebuilding Fund and the Resident Coordinator System as well as many important agenda items. The Chinese delegation stands ready to work constructively with all parties in the deliberations on all agenda items and to jointly advance their completion as scheduled.

I thank you.