China makes full payment to UN budget

China's Permanent Mission to the United Nations on Tuesday announced that the country has paid in full its annual contributions and various assessments to the UN, demonstrating a commitment to multilateralism and its responsibility as a major country.

China has paid all assessed contributions to the UN regular budget and the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals (IRMCT) for 2021, said a statement released by the mission.

China previously had paid the remaining assessments for seven peacekeeping operations during the authorized period of 2020-21 (as of Feb 28, 2021).

As the largest developing country, a permanent member of the UN Security Council, the second-largest contributor to UN regular budget and peacekeeping assessments, China has always actively supported the work of the UN, firmly safeguarded the international system and upheld multilateralism with concrete actions, the diplomatic mission said.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the restoration of China's legitimate rights in the UN. Over the past 50 years, China has always been a builder of world peace, a contributor to global development and a defender of the international order, the statement said.

China has greatly advanced multilateralism. Facing the challenges brought by unilateralism, protectionism and bullying practices in the past few years, China has given firm support to multilateralism and the UN, it added.

China became the second-largest contributor to the assessments of UN peacekeeping operations in 2016 and the second-largest contributor to the UN regular budget in 2019. China has fulfilled its financial obligations in full, on time, and without conditions in accordance with the UN Charter.

Noting that the global economy has been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Chinese mission said the liquidity crisis and worrisome financial situation that the UN faces have seriously affected its work and the implementation of its mandates.

Finance serves as a foundation of and an important element underpinning UN governance. A sound financial situation is the guarantee for the UN to implement its mandates, the statement said.

Member states should fulfill their legal obligations, actively respond to the secretary-general's appeal and pay all assessments as soon as possible to improve the financial liquidity of the UN, the mission said.

Meanwhile, the Secretariat should continue to strengthen budget performance management, improve internal controls and ensure that resources are invested in areas such as implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, improving people's livelihoods and economic recovery, and that every penny of the taxpayers of the member states is put to good use, it added.