Members of the 20th Chinese peacekeeping multifunctional engineering contingent to Lebanon take part in an assessment by the United Nations Mine Action Service on Sept 15. All 64 members passed the exercise and obtained mine clearance qualifications. (KONG KANGYI / XINHUA)

Foreign envoys spoke highly on Oct 25 of China’s tremendous contributions as a member of the United Nations, saying that the presence of the People’s Republic of China in the UN since 1971 has made it the most universal and representative international organization with the greatest authority.

They made the remarks as they gathered in Beijing for a conference marking the 50th anniversary of the restoration of the People’s Republic of China’s lawful seat in the UN.

“This is an important milestone that we are celebrating, because the return of China meant justice being done,” said Mbelwa Kairuki, Tanzanian ambassador to China. “One billion people who were not represented at the global institution were given their rightful seat at the UN.”

On Oct 25, 1971, the UN General Assembly adopted Resolution 2758 with 76 votes in favor, restoring the lawful seat of the People’s Republic of China in the world body and all its rights as a member of the UN.

Representatives of many countries, including Tanzania’s then permanent representative to the UN Salim Ahmed Salim, had stood up and applauded at that great moment.

“Ambassador Salim told me that they were so happy because they have gone through a long process. There were a lot of consultations, a lot of back and forth, and a lot of push and pull among different groups,” Kairuki said.

Calling the restoration of the People’s Republic of China’s lawful seat at the UN “a major event of historic significance”, Russian Ambassador to China Andrey Denisov said the enormous contributions made by China to world peace and development over the past half-century have been recognized worldwide.

“China firmly upholds the UN-centered international system underpinned by the international law, and advocates that all countries need to be pragmatic and carry out equal cooperation on the basis of transcending ideology and abandoning all forms of politicization,” he said.

Denisov noted that amid continued global geopolitical turbulence, Russia and China, as stabilizers of world affairs, have been deepening their international cooperation and coordination and playing irreplaceable roles on a number of pressing issues.

Ahcene Boukhelfa, Algerian ambassador to China, said that China has made vigorous efforts to promote South-South cooperation, advanced cooperation within the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative, shared with many developing countries the opportunities and fruits of development, and worked to build a community with a shared future for humanity through concrete actions.

After COVID-19 broke out, China also helped developing countries to address their challenges and delivered on its promise to make vaccines a global public good, Boukhelfa said.

Ahmed Farooq, deputy head of mission at the Pakistan embassy in Beijing, said that China has consistently promoted multilateralism over the years and proposed initiatives in such areas as climate change, biodiversity and sustainable development.

“These initiatives are very helpful and have a bearing on how multilateralism is going to move forward,” he said.

China’s achievements and contributions to global peace and development since the restoration of its lawful seat at the UN five decades ago have been applauded by current and former UN officials and scholars.

“China has played a most constructive role as a member of the Security Council and beyond,” said Erik Solheim, former UN under-secretary-general and former executive director of the UN Environment Programme. “China has voiced opinions of the developing world, been a force for restraint and dialogue and made sure the UN focused on economic development and the environment.”

He said that the role of China in the UN is inseparable from China’s unprecedented economic and social rise.

“China’s huge achievements during these 50 years, bringing all Chinese out of poverty and putting China on the path to becoming the world’s largest economy, inspire numerous developing nations in the UN,” Solheim told China Daily on Oct 23, adding that China is now a key economic contributor to the UN and critical to UN peacekeeping missions.

A Norwegian politician, Solheim said he expects China in the coming years to be a force for peace, a multipolar world order, a rules-based system and the idea of a common destiny for humankind.

“China will resist all temptations toward increased global tensions, a new Cold War or global decoupling. China will inspire the world on its path toward an ecological civilization,” he said.

Siddharth Chatterjee, the UN resident coordinator in China, said that China, having lifted more than 750 million people out of poverty, serves as an inspiration to all developing countries hoping to improve the lives and livelihoods of their most vulnerable citizens. “The achievements of China over the past 50 years are an important reminder of China’s development trajectory and must not be underestimated,” he said.

Chatterjee, who assumed the post in January, said the UN has been in China since 1979 and remains a trusted partner.

“As the UN resident coordinator to China, I hope China will continue to play a global leadership role in tackling challenges like the climate emergency, reducing inequalities, advancing global public health and bridging the digital divide,” he said.

“China’s role in advancing South-South cooperation is crucial.”

Ted Carpenter, a senior fellow for defense and foreign policy studies at the Washington-based Cato Institute, said that 50 years ago, the United States finally abandoned its foolish effort to prevent the PRC from representing China at the UN.

“Since then, China has played a cooperative and constructive role throughout the organization, especially in the Security Council,” he said.

Carpenter noted that Beijing has exercised its veto power in a restrained manner, but it has been willing to use the veto to block some of Washington’s more egregious efforts to gain international backing for its regime-change wars.

He said a prominent example was China’s veto of a US resolution to deepen involvement in Syria’s civil war behind the fig leaf of a UN “humanitarian” mission — as Washington had done earlier in Libya.

“The veto was a prudent restraining role that a major power should exercise,” Carpenter said.

“I expect that China’s future UN role will be similar to its conduct over the past 50 years, with a probable modest increase in both the range and depth of Beijing’s activities. Such an increase would reflect the impressive growth in China’s economic, diplomatic, and military capabilities.”

At a recent forum hosted by China’s Permanent Mission to the UN in Vienna to mark the 50th anniversary, Rafael Grossi, director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said, “The IAEA is part of the UN family, and here China is playing a thoughtful and important role, supporting the agency in its mandate to make the many benefits of the peaceful uses of nuclear available to everyone.”

He said that through the agency’s programs, China is sharing its expertise in a variety of areas, from training regional experts in security and safety techniques to the provision of scholarships that support PhD candidates from Africa, Asia and Latin America.

“I congratulate China on this meaningful anniversary and look forward to working together closely in the future,” said the chief of the Vienna-based agency, which is an autonomous international organization within the UN system.

Contact the writers at mojingxi@chinadaily.com.cn