On October 25, 1971, the UN General Assembly at its 26th Session adopted Resolution 2758 with an overwhelming majority to restore all the rights of the People’s Republic of China and to recognise the representatives of the Government of the People’s Republic of China as the only legitimate representatives of China to the UN.
That is the victory of diplomacy of the New China, the victory of world fairness and justice, and the victory of the purposes and principles of the UN Charter. On October 25, 2021, China commemorated the 50th anniversary of this historic event grandly.
At the ceremony, President Xi Jinping delivered an important speech, which expounded on the far-reaching significance of the restoration of the legitimate seat of the People’s Republic of China in the UN for both China and the world, summarised the positive contributions of China to the UN causes and world peace and development in the past 50 years, and put forward China’s proposition and initiative on deepening co-operation with the UN, promoting human peace and development, and advancing the building of a community with a shared future for mankind.
President Xi emphasised that we should vigorously advocate peace, development, equity, justice, democracy and freedom, which are the common values of humanity, and work together to provide the right guiding philosophy for building a better world.
We should jointly promote the building of a community with a shared future for mankind, and work together to build an open, inclusive, clean and beautiful world that enjoys lasting peace, universal security and common prosperity. We should stay committed to mutual benefit and win-win results, and work together to promote economic and social development for the greater benefit of our people.
We should step up co-operation, and work together to address the various challenges and global issues facing humanity. We should resolutely uphold the authority and standing of the UN, and work together to practise true multilateralism.
As the largest developing country in the world and a permanent member of the UN Security Council, China has always upheld the purposes and principles of the UN Charter and made unremitting efforts and great contributions to human progress.
China stays committed to the path of peaceful development and is always a builder of world peace. President Xi stressed that “peace and development are our common cause, equity and justice our common aspiration, and democracy and freedom our common pursuit”.
“ The Chinese people are a peace-loving people and know well the value of peace and stability. We have unswervingly followed an independent foreign policy of peace, stood firm for fairness and justice, and resolutely opposed hegemony and power politics.”
The Chinese people have always celebrated and strived to pursue the vision of peace, amity and harmony. We have codified our commitment to peaceful development into China’s Constitution. We have never engaged in any invasion, territorial expansion or sought any sphere of influence.
“China takes pride and has full confidence in its own development path, but we also respect the development paths of other countries and have no interest in ideological confrontation or exporting our system to others. We want to develop friendship and co-operation with all countries on the basis of the Five Principles of Peaceful Co-existence. China does not provoke trouble, but we will not flinch in the face of provocations. We will defend China’s sovereignty and dignity, uphold China’s legitimate rights and interests, and safeguard international fairness and justice.”
China stays committed to the path of reform and opening-up and is always a contributor to global development. Thanks to more than 40 years of reform and opening-up, China has met the basic needs of the 1.4 billion Chinese people.
We have attained the goal of fully building a moderately prosperous society, and secured historic success in eradicating absolute poverty. China has met the poverty eradication target of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development 10 years ahead of schedule, lifting more than 70% of the world population out of poverty.
China has tied its own development with that of the world, and its Belt and Road Initiative has received positive responses from 140 countries and 32 international organisations.
We have actively carried out international cooperation in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, fulfilled our pledge to make vaccines a global public good, and vigorously contributed to building a global immunity defence. China has earnestly implemented the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Paris Agreement, worked for harmony between man and nature, and set forth targets on carbon emission peak, carbon neutrality and new measures for Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).
All these efforts have actively contributed to global cooperation on addressing climate change and protecting the eco-environment. President Xi Jinping solemnly proposed the Global Development Initiative at the General Debate of the 76th Session of the UN General Assembly.
He called on the international community to work together to overcome the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on global development, accelerate implementation of the 2030 SDGs, and foster a global community of development with a shared future.
China stays committed to the path of multilateralism and is always a defender of the international order. Over the past 50 years, China has always held high the banner of multilateralism, resolutely defended the UN-centred international system, the international order underpinned by international law, and upheld the central role of the UN in international affairs.
Over the past 50 years, China has joined nearly all universal intergovernmental organisations and signed more than 600 international conventions. We have sent over 50 000 peacekeepers to UN peacekeeping operations, and are now the second-largest financial contributor to both the UN and UN peacekeeping operations.
China has always faithfully performed its international obligations and earnestly fulfilled its international commitments. In his speech, President Xi stressed that “International rules can only be made by the 193 UN Member States together, and not decided by individual countries or blocs of countries.
International rules should be observed by the 193 UN Member States, and there is and should be no exception.” The international community should practise true multilateralism, maintain international order, enhance the representation and voice of developing countries in international affairs, and fulfil all parties’ commitments to multilateralism.
As the only developing country among the permanent members of the Security Council, China will continue to unswervingly promote reforms to ensure that the global governance system better serves the common interests of developing countries.
The speech of President Xi was highly praised by UN Secretary-General Guterres, who also attended the commemorative meeting. He said that 50 years ago, the People’s Republic of China restored its lawful seat in the UN.
He extended his warm congratulations to such a day of justice. China’s development has brought opportunities to the whole world. He thanked China for upholding multilateralism, supporting the UN's work, and playing a major part and making significant contributions to promoting world peace and development.
He stressed that the international community needed to enhance solidarity and cooperation, uphold multilateralism, improve global governance and bring about more fairness and justice. Unilateralism was by no means unacceptable.
The UN highly appreciates the vital role played by China in eradicating poverty, tackling global climate change, protecting biodiversity, and making Covid-19 vaccines global public goods.
The Global Development Initiative proposed by President Xi Jinping is of significant and positive importance to promoting global equality and balancing sustainable development. The UN fully supports it and is willing to enhance cooperation with China in this regard.
Fifty years ago, it was our fellow developing countries, including African countries, that “carried” the People’s Republic of China into the UN, which testifies to the profound friendship between China and other developing countries.
We will never forget all countries that co-sponsored and supported UN General Assembly Resolution 2758, nor the African brothers who applauded China’s entry into the UN as a member state 50 years ago. China and Africa are good friends, partners and brothers.
We are also important strong forces for promoting world peace and development. For 50 years, China and Africa have worked together to defend multilateralism, reject unilateralism and protectionism, firmly maintain the international order and international system with the UN as the core, uphold the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence and other basic norms governing international relations, and effectively safeguard the common interests of developing countries and the overall interests of the international community.
The past 50 years were full of ups and downs. But China always stays true to its original aspiration. As a founding member of the UN and the first signatory of the UN Charter, China was, is and will continue to be a firm supporter, promoter and contributor to the UN.
Looking ahead, China will continue to go hand in hand with the UN over the next 50 years to create a bright future for all. China and Africa will continue to forge ahead together to play an exemplary role in practising true multilateralism and building a community with a shared future for mankind, so as to make greater contributions to world peace, development and justice.
* Chen is the Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to South Africa
** The views expressed here are not necessarily those of Independent Media.