UNITED NATIONS, Oct. 29 -- Poverty reduction and promotion of development should be placed at the center of the UN development system's work, a Chinese envoy to the world body said Wednesday.

"There are still over 1.2 billion people living in absolute poverty around the world, one third of whom are children," Wang Min, China's deputy permanent representative to the UN said at a UN General Assembly committee meeting.

"Poverty reduction remains one of the biggest global challenges," he said, stressing that the UN development system should continue to put poverty reduction and promotion of development at the center of its activities, strengthen management and coordination, improve efficiency, and effectively help developing countries and countries in special situation, among them least developed countries in particular, achieve sustainable development.

Wang added that the priority of development financing should continue to focus on honoring Official Development Assistance (ODA) commitments.

"At present, North-South Cooperation still serves as the main channel of international development cooperation, and ODA is still the main source of development financing that cannot be substituted," he said.

The Chinese envoy also called for more support for South-South cooperation.

"The United Nations development system and agencies should provide South-South cooperation with necessary policy and financial support while respecting the special features and principles of South-South cooperation," Wang said.