Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (center) meets with Tareq M. A. M. Albanai (right) and Alexander Marschik, co-chairs of the Intergovernmental Negotiations (IGN) on the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) Reform of the 78th Session of the UN General Assembly, in Beijing, China, Feb 28, 2024. (PHOTO / XINHUA)

BEIJING - Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with Tareq M. A. M. Albanai and Alexander Marschik, co-chairs of the Intergovernmental Negotiations (IGN) on the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) Reform of the 78th Session of the UN General Assembly, in Beijing on Wednesday.

Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, said that as the first founding member to have signed the UN Charter and a permanent member of the UNSC, China has always firmly upheld the authority of the UN and supported the central role of the UN in international affairs.

Wang Yi said it is necessary to put the solidarity and cooperation of the international community in an important position and seek the broadest consensus of the international community

In a world that is undergoing both transformation and upheaval, countries expect the UN to effectively play a leading role in addressing global challenges and the Security Council to shoulder the important responsibility of maintaining international peace and security entrusted to it by the UN Charter, said Wang.

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Wang added that China supports the steady progress of Security Council reform in the right direction, increasing the representation and voice of developing countries, giving more small and medium-sized countries the opportunity to participate in decision-making, and enabling all member states to benefit from the reform.

It is necessary to put the solidarity and cooperation of the international community in an important position and seek the broadest consensus of the international community, Wang said.

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Albanai and Marschik, who are permanent representatives to the UN of Kuwait and Austria, expressed their appreciation for China in strengthening the role of the UN and upholding multilateralism and safeguarding the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, adding that they are willing to maintain communication and consultation with China and other member states regarding the reform of the Security Council.