China Wednesday called on the United Nations to play its due role in narrowing the gap between the rich and the poor and bringing about common prosperity to the world.

The appeal came as Tang Jiaxuan, the Chinese foreign minister,took the floor at the general debate of the 55th General Assembly session, which began Tuesday morning.

"To prevent poverty from swallowing up achievements of development and to prevent social injustice from shaking the basis of global stability, the U.N. must play its due role in narrowing the gap between the rich and the poor and bringing about common prosperity to the world," he said.

"It is an unshirkable major responsibility of the U.N. in the new century to promote the establishment of a new international economic order based on cooperation on an equal footing and aimed at common development, and ensure economic globalization to benefit everybody in the world," he said.

"The U.N. should give top priority to the issue of development,make efforts to change the current situation in which global economic affairs are dominated by only a few countries and ensure developing countries their right to equal participation in economic decision-making," he said.

"In making or revising global economic rule of the game,consideration should first be given to the need of developing countries in order to facilitate their development and reduce the risks they might run when participating in globalization," he said.

"The U.N. should also mobilize all the resources available and encourage the international community to narrow the 'digital divide' and help developing countries to seize, as far as they can,the opportunities brought about by the scientific and technological advancement driven by the information revolution,"he said.

"The U.N. also has the responsibility for introducing new rules to the world to make science and technology truly serve all mankind and the lofty cause of peace and development in the world," he said.

It is important for the world body to respond to globalization and realize common development of mankind, he said.

"The 20th century has seen both unprecedented economic prosperity and the greatest polarization," he said. "In the last decade of the century, economic globalization has advanced at the fastest speed while the gap between the North and the South has continued to widen."

"The 'New Economy' is so far only prospering in rich countries," he said. "Most developing countries are still information have-nots. Should such a situation be allowed to continue, many developing countries would, for a long time, be deprived of the opportunity of being part of technological progress and economic growth and they would be further polarized."

(People’s daily 09/14/2000)