Peacekeeping should respect countries' sovereignty, territorial integrity: Chinese FM

Chinese President Xi Jinping's special representative Wang Yi, also Chinese state councilor and foreign minister, attends a United Nations (UN) Security Council high-level open debate on enhancing cooperation between the UN and regional and sub-regional organizations via video link in Beijing, capital of China, April 19, 2021. (Xinhua/Liu Bin)

BEIJING, April 19 (Xinhua) -- Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Monday said at a UN Security Council high-level open debate that regional organizations' peacekeeping operations should follow the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, and in particular, respect countries' sovereignty, territorial integrity.

"We should prevent from interfering in other countries' internal affairs, and oppose the use of or threat to use military forces, engaging in geopolitics or bloc politics, or provoking ideological confrontation," Wang said at the open debate on enhancing cooperation between the UN and regional and sub-regional organizations.

Wang reiterated China's support to multilateralism.

"In face of mounting challenges in the field of international peace and security, the United Nations should work jointly with regional organizations towards safeguarding multilateralism and contributing to world peace and development," he said.

He called for adopting a preventative approach, expanding the ways to achieve peace, drawing on each other's strength, and adhering to common development.

"We should implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, improve people's livelihood and employment, and narrow regional development gap," he said, calling for advancing regional cooperation and interconnectivity and helping post-conflict countries to integrate into regional development.

China always supports enhancing cooperation between the UN and regional and sub-regional organizations, Wang said, pledging to further strengthen cooperation with regional organizations to advance the building of a community with a shared future for humanity.