Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi speaks at a Security Council high-level meeting at the United Nations headquarters in New York.

China calls for defending UN Charter amid global challenges

(China Daily/ANN) --Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi called for renewed commitment to the United Nations Charter and warned against unilateral actions and “double standards”, amid growing geopolitical tensions and challenges to multilateralism.
Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, made the remarks while presiding over a Security Council high-level meeting on upholding the purposes and principles of the UN Charter and strengthening the UN-centered international system.
Wang said the current international situation is undergoing the most complex and profound changes seen since the Second World War, stressing that the challenges confronting the world today test the international community’s conviction to safeguard peace, its resolve to uphold justice, and its courage to pursue reform and innovation.
“We must unite and take action to uphold, revitalise and strengthen the United Nations,” he said.
The meeting, held under China’s rotating presidency of the Security Council for May, was attended by representatives from more than 100 countries, including more than 20 foreign ministers and high-level delegates.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday also delivered a briefing on the current international situation at the meeting.
Wang urged the international community to reaffirm the spirit of the UN Charter, saying that the surging global conflicts are “not a sign of the Charter’s obsolescence”, but from failures to uphold the international order and basic norms of international relations established under it.
“Major countries in particular should shoulder their responsibilities, uphold the rule of law and fairness, and reject double standards, exceptionalism and selective application of rules,” he said.
On the role of the Security Council, Wang said council membership is “not a privilege, but a responsibility”, and urged members to “rise above national self-interest”.
He called for improvements to the council’s working methods to ensure objectivity, fairness and inclusiveness in draft resolutions and initiatives, and urged permanent members to strengthen coordination and seek consensus on major issues.
“Unilateral military actions without Security Council authorisation and unilateral sanctions beyond the scope of Security Council resolutions lack legitimacy,” Wang said.
On international development collaboration, Wang urged the United Nations to coordinate global action and mobilize global resources, providing greater financial, technical and intellectual support to countries of the Global South in priority areas such as poverty reduction.
On global governance challenges, Wang said China “supports a greater UN role in the political settlement of hotspot issues and is open to exploring a comprehensive mediation model involving the UN, regional organisations, stakeholders and professional institutions”.

(Latest Update May 28, 2026)