United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's ongoing visit to China, which began on Tuesday, marks an important event in the interaction between China and the world body. Ban's visit, the fifth in his capacity as the UN chief, presents a good opportunity for the two sides to better communicate and coordinate their stances on issues of regional and global significance.
China has remained an unyielding defender of the UN Charter and a staunch supporter of the UN's leading role in maintaining world peace and development. For example, China has dispatched about 21,000 personnel on 30 UN peacekeeping missions, which is the highest number of missions among the permanent members of the Security Council.
China's contribution to the world body has been recognized. Ban said before his China visit that the UN enjoys "strong support" from China in most of the world body's important agendas, which include peacekeeping, development, human rights and humanitarian assistance.
Major changes have taken place in the world's economic and political landscape and presented an array of global challenges, such as regional crisis, terrorism, financial crisis and climate change. Under such circumstances, the UN should respond more timely and act more effectively to lead international efforts to address these challenges, as well as major regional issues, such as Syria.
Chinese citizens' high expectations of the UN were evident during Ban's live interactive chat with Chinese micro blog users on Tuesday night, held shortly after his arrival.
Given that the Syria issue is now at a critical juncture, the Chinese people expressed their hopes that the UN can play a bigger role in solving the Syria crisis.
Violence and armed clashes continue to wreck havoc in the Middle East country. The mediation of Kofi Annan, the UN and Arab League joint special envoy, has hit snags. Related UN resolutions could not be implemented in full. One crucial reason is that some Western countries remain keen on maneuvering another regime change through outside intervention.
Sovereignty, equality and noninterference are basic norms enshrined in the UN Charter. Political settlement is the only way to defuse the Syria crisis. Both China and the UN should continue to support the international community's efforts in this direction within the framework of the UN Charter.
