China urges UN members to pay fair share

China said on Monday that it firmly upholds multilateralism, respects its financial responsibilities to the United Nations, and will become the second-largest contributor to the UN's regular budget starting next year.

This is the result of China's growth in terms of its overall gross domestic product and its per capita gross national income in recent years, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said at a regular news briefing. It also shows the country's increasing global influence, she added.

China's contribution to the UN's regular budget will rise to 12.01 percent in the next three years from 7.92 percent in the 2016-18 period, according a resolution adopted by the UN General Assembly on Saturday.

Meanwhile, China will continue to be the second-largest contributor to the UN peacekeeping budget for 2019-21. Its share will rise from about 10.24 percent to 15.22 percent.

The United States will remain the top contributor to the UN's regular and peacekeeping budgets over the next three years.

Assessments for member countries' contributions are made based on several elements and criteria, including estimates of gross national income.

While contributing to world peace and development, China also safeguards its lawful rights, Hua said, urging other countries to pay their assessed contributions in full and on time.

At the assembly on Saturday, Washington confirmed that it will pay no more than 25 percent of the peacekeeping budget, Agence France-Presse reported, down from 28 percent currently.

Hua said that the UN agreeing to maintain the current budget assessments sent a core message that it insists on the principle of capacity to pay as well as multilateralism, which is also China's stance.

"We hope relevant parties will seriously implement the resolution to ensure a stable and predictable financial foundation for the UN," she said.

Xinhua contributed to this story.