In a meeting with visiting Secretary-General Kofi Annan of the UN, Jiang said that "China attaches importance to the role of the UN and supports the organization to perform its functions in accordance with the purposes and principles of the UN Charter."

Jiang said he had previously met with Annan during the UN Millennium summit last year. He congratulated Annan on the success of the summit, saying that the meeting has been the biggest gathering of heads of state in human history.

The Chinese President said that "we should work together to try to realize the goals enshrined in the documents passed at the summit."

China has always maintained that the role of the UN, as the most representative international organization, cannot be replaced by any other international organizations, Jiang stated.

He said that the organization "has done a lot of useful work in keeping world peace, in helping solve regional conflicts, in enhancing the awareness among the international community on economic and social development, and in pushing forward the talks on disarmament," over the past 55 years.

It has been proven that strengthening the role of the UN confirms to the tide of the history, to the needs of the development of the times, and to the common interests of all countries, Jiang noted.

"I believe, as long as the purposes and principles of the UN Charter are observed, the UN will be able to play its due part in international affairs," the president said.

Jiang said that China is satisfied with the secretary-general’s work, pledging that he himself and the Chinese government will continue to support him.

Annan said that he is happy to visit China as the traditional Chinese lunar new year is coming. He said that the documents passed at the millennium summit will serve as a blueprint for the UN in the 21st century.

The secretary-general noted that it is important the leaders of member countries of the UN reaffirmed their commitments to the organization at the turn of the century.

He said the first summit among the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, initiated by China last year, has been a success. And the UN and its Security Council should take the advantage of the summit to further strengthen their role in maintaining international peace and stability and promoting economic and social development of the world.

(Xinhua 01/22/2001)