China's deputy permanent representative to the UN Liu Zhenmin
said that China is against a proposal that deviates from the
principle of capacity to pay UN expenses and is ready to make an
even greater contribution to the body on the basis of this
principle.
Liu made the remarks on Monday when the Administrative and
Budgetary Committee (the 5th Committee) of the 61st session of the
UN General Assembly met to consider the assessment scale for the
apportionment of UN expenses.
He said that the "capacity to pay" principle had been the
cornerstone of the scale methodology since the inception of the
UN.
It is a principle that reflects the general consensus of member
states and has been reaffirmed by relevant General Assembly
resolutions many times, he added.
"This principle therefore brooks no change or distortion. China
is against any proposal that deviates from this principle, be it
the concept of 'responsibility to pay' or the setting up of a
minimum assessment rate for permanent members of the Security
Council, as suggested by a certain state."
He said that China, as a member of the UN and a permanent member
of the Security Council, fully understood its responsibility toward
the organization and toward world peace and security.
The Chinese government stands ready to make an even greater
contribution to the UN on the basis of the "capacity to pay"
principle as its domestic economy continues to grow, he added.
In their statements, South Africa, on behalf of the Group of 77,
China, Pakistan, India and Egypt, along with Finland, on behalf of
the EU and several other countries, all supported this principle as
the scale of assessment for the period 2007-2009.
Many developing countries also voiced their opposition to any
proposals advocating a large-scale increase?in their
contributions.
(Xinhua News Agency October 11, 2006)