Chinese Vice-President Han Zheng (left) meets with Dennis Francis, president of the 78th session of the UN General Assembly at the UN headquarters in New York, Sept 21, 2023. (PHOTO / XINHUA)

UNITED NATIONS - China will continue to support the United Nations in playing a central role and continue to advance the reform of the global governance system, Chinese Vice-President Han Zheng said Thursday.

Han made the remarks when meeting with Dennis Francis, president of the 78th session of the UN General Assembly at the UN headquarters in New York.

The UN General Assembly is the most universal and representative charter body of the United Nations, Han said, adding that China will continue to support the work of the UN General Assembly and its president

China has always been a firm supporter and active contributor to the cause of the United Nations, and firmly supports genuine multilateralism, Han said.

The UN General Assembly is the most universal and representative charter body of the United Nations, Han said, adding that China will continue to support the work of the UN General Assembly and its president.

The vision of building a community with a shared future for mankind, put forward by Chinese President Xi Jinping, has gained the support of more and more countries and become the consensus of the international community, Han said, noting that China is committed to safeguarding world peace and stability, and promoting global economic recovery and sustainable development.

Chinese Vice-President Han Zheng meets with Dennis Francis, president of the 78th session of the UN General Assembly at the UN headquarters in New York, Sept 21, 2023. (PHOTO / XINHUA)

For his part, Francis said China is an important partner of the United Nations, and an advocate and leader of multilateralism. He thanked China for its long-term valuable support to the work of the UN General Assembly.

The UN General Assembly is ready to strengthen cooperation with China in areas such as sustainable development to jointly address global challenges, Francis said. 

Also on Friday, UN General Assembly President Dennis Francis commended the Group of 77 and China for supporting multilateralism.

"At a time when multilateralism is being tested at every turn, the countries of the G77 and China continue to be resolute in their support of the multilateral system," he told the annual ministerial meeting of the G77 and China, held during the high-level week of the General Assembly.

"And we have seen evidence of that this week, with record engagement by (UN) member states, particularly from this group, and the approval of four significant political declarations," he said.

ALSO READ: Chinese vice-president seeks better global governance at UN

The world faces immense challenges, yet maintains the capacity to act. What is in short supply is the will to act and the humility to listen and engage, he said, expressing the hope that the group will continue to be flagbearers for multilateralism.

The G77 and China has been instrumental in elevating the discussion around the reform of international financial institutions and has always been the leading voice on the need for the full implementation of the sustainable development agenda, Francis said

The voice of the group is needed for the pressing implementation of the 2030 Agenda and for the reform of the international financial architecture. The fact that the world is off course on the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals affects developing countries more than any other group of nations. The members of the G77 and China, therefore, have the most to lose, said Francis.

Losing that battle to implement the SDGs would have immense socio-economic repercussions cutting across every sector from health and education, to ocean systems and the rule of law. The G77 and China thus has a responsibility to keep the commitments and ambitions high on the implementation of the SDGs, he said.

READ MORE: G77+China Summit calls for cooperation, multilateralism

Francis called for efforts to push for reform of the international financial architecture.

"As a matter of principle, we can no longer tolerate the unjust financial systems that are impairing progress and keeping developing countries trapped in a vicious cycle of debt and deprivation," he said.

The G77 and China has been instrumental in elevating the discussion around the reform of international financial institutions and has always been the leading voice on the need for the full implementation of the sustainable development agenda, he said.

The G77 is a coalition of developing countries at the United Nations. Its name derived from 77 founding members, but its membership has grown significantly to more than 130.