The founding of the United Nations on Oct 24, 1945 was a milestone in humanity's pursuit of peace and development, and China was the first country to put its signature on the UN Charter. On Oct 25, 1971, the UN General Assembly at its 26th Session adopted Resolution 2758 with an overwhelming majority, and restored all the rights to the People's Republic of China as the only legitimate representative of China to the UN.
The restoration was a victory for New China, for justice and fairness in the world, and for the purposes and principles of the UN Charter. Over the past 50 years, China has always stayed true to its original aspiration. As the world's largest developing country and a permanent member of the UN Security Council, China honors the UN Charter, vigorously promotes the spirit and approach of multilateralism, and has made tireless efforts and important contributions to peace, development and progress of mankind.
As put by late Chinese leader Mao Zedong, it was fellow developing countries that "carried" the PRC into the UN. The meaningful word "carry" aptly captures the profound friendship between China and other developing countries.
In the five decades since, China has firmly upheld the legitimate rights and interests of fellow developing countries and spoken up for the developing world. China has been standing together with developing countries all these years, and will continue to do so in the future. Its vote at the UN has been for the well-being of developing countries and for justice in the world. It is expected that the friendship will “carry” on, which will lead to a collective rise of developing countries and make it a defining trend of the 21st century.
China has set a good example in upholding the international order, by being strongly committed to democracy, rule of law and equity in international relations. China put forth the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence as early as in the 1950s, and has since faithfully observed them, contributing significantly to the formulation and development of the basic norms governing international relations.
China is upholding the spirit of extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits and the banner of true multilateralism, and, together with the rest of the world, forging ahead for greater peace and development of mankind
Over the past five decades, China has joined almost all universal inter-governmental organizations, signed more than 600 international conventions, earnestly fulfilled its international obligations, and honored its international commitments. From the Three Worlds Theory to the proposal for a new international political and economic order, from building a harmonious world to a community with a shared future for mankind, China has shared its wisdom and solution for world peace and development at every historical moment.
President Xi Jinping’s vision for building a community with a shared future for mankind rises above differences in social system and development stage, and rejects the zero-sum mentality and geopolitical calculations. It sets the common goal for different countries, different nations and different civilizations.
“To build a community with a shared future for mankind is not to replace one system or civilization with another,” Xi said at the conference marking the 50th anniversary of the restoration of the lawful seat of the PRC in the UN on Oct 25. “Instead, it is about countries with different social systems, ideologies, histories, cultures and levels of development coming together for shared interests, shared rights and shared responsibilities in global affairs, and creating the greatest synergy for building a better world.”
The initiative is the banner of major-country diplomacy with Chinese characteristics in the new era and is conducive to improvement of global governance.
China has honored its responsibilities for upholding world peace by having participated in around 30 UN peacekeeping operations and sending a total of more than 50,000 peacekeepers. China has become the largest contributor of peacekeepers among the permanent members of the Security Council and the second largest funding contributor to the UN and UN peacekeeping operations.
To date, about 20 Chinese military and police officers have given their lives in the line of peacekeeping duty. Their sacrifice will always be remembered. Even now, more than 2,400 Chinese peacekeepers are on duty across the globe. China has also set up a standby force of 8,000 troops and a police squad of 300 for UN peacekeeping missions, who are ready to go anytime in need to safeguard world peace. These showcase China’s commitment to the UN Charter.
As a permanent member of the Security Council, China has been actively exploring solutions for hotspot issues in line with the spirit of the UN Charter. It upholds sovereign equality and opposes power politics, hegemonies, exclusive blocs and interference in other countries' internal affairs. It has taken the side of peace, stood for political settlement and opposed the use of force and unilateral sanctions.
China was among the first to reach the UN Millennium Development Goals. The nation has met 10 years in advance the poverty eradication goal set out in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. As a responsible member of UN Security Council it has made active contribution to addressing global challenges seriously.
In the global fight against COVID-19, China launched as promptly as possible an emergency humanitarian operation, and has provided medical supplies to over 150 countries and 13 international organizations. President Xi has solemnly announced that Chinese vaccines will be made a global public good, and that China will be committed to ensuring accessibility and affordability of vaccines in developing countries, which are receiving incoming Chinese-branded vaccines all along.
Now, as China marks the 50th anniversary of the resumption of its membership of the UN, the nation is dedicated to making all-out efforts in participating in the affairs of the global body, meeting its duties, and promoting the purposes and principles of the UN Charter. China is upholding the spirit of extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits and the banner of true multilateralism, and, together with the rest of the world, forging ahead for greater peace and development of mankind.
*The author is secretary-general of the Pakistan-China Friendship Association in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Pakistan. The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.