UN Security Council passes resolution on Syria

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi speaks to media before the United Nations Security Council meeting at the United Nations Headquarters in Manhattan, New York, December 18, 2015. [Photo/Xinhua]

Members of the discussion group convened early Friday morning at the Lotte New York Palace Hotel, but it was reported that the five permanent members of the Security Council - the US, Britain, France, Russia, and China - were struggling to agree on a draft resolution.

Prior to the morning meeting, Wang told media that the international community needs to make sure that the political process is "irreversible."

"We fully recognize the outcome of the first two Vienna meetings. At the same time, we must realize that the political process is going to go backward if we are not making progress further, so we need to further step up our efforts to address the series of outstanding issues," he said.

China hopes that the United Nations can play a "bigger and more active role in the process of political settlement" as it is a legitimate and authoritative body, and is the biggest denominator among all the parties involved in the process, he said.

On Thursday, the Security Council unanimously passed a resolution to prevent the Islamic State, Al-Qaida and other terrorist groups from raising money to fund their criminal activities. The meeting was the first time finance ministers convened for a Security Council session.

Chinese Finance Minister Lou Jiwei said through a representative that terrorists are using new channels to raise funds - through illegal exploitation, trading of oil and other mineral resources, smuggling of cultural relics, ransom payments - and that new forms of electronic payment methods render the transactions more discreet.

"All the countries should also follow the FATF [Financial Action Task Force] rules to strengthen cooperation in financial monitoring and crack down such illegal activities as underground banks, so as to cut terrorist funding channels," he said in a statement.