JAKARTA - Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi stressed that the United Nations (UN) organization must still be maintained by all member countries amid various global challenges.
This was conveyed by Wang Yi when answering a reporter's question at a press conference on China's diplomatic and foreign relations policy in Beijing, Antara, Sunday, March 8.
"The central position of the UN must be maintained and must not be shaken. The core role of the UN must be strengthened and must not be weakened. Although the UN is not perfect, without the UN the world will only get worse," said Wang Yi.
The statement comes amid pressure on the global multilateralism system. In January 2026, the United States reportedly withdrew its contributions from dozens of international organizations, including 31 bodies under the UN such as UNESCO, the World Health Organization, and the United Nations Human Rights Council.
The move was made on the grounds of ending US taxpayer funding of international institutions that are seen as advancing global agendas over US national interests.
The policy also triggered concerns about financial stability and the effectiveness of a number of bodies under the UN.
Wang Yi assessed that efforts to build an international system outside the UN framework would not gain broad support.
"Leaving the UN to build another system on its own, running its own set of rules, even stringing together various small groups and small circles, does not get the support of the people and is also unsustainable," he said.
He also alluded to the Global Governance Initiative proposed by China last year. According to him, the idea emphasizes the importance of reforming the global governance system so that it can keep up with the times.
Wang Yi said the reform also needed to increase the participation and representation of developing countries or those often referred to as the "Global South".
"The UN needs to reflect more the legitimate demands of the vast developing countries, with the aim of building a more just and rational global governance system," he said.
According to Wang Yi, China as a founding country of the UN is committed to maintaining the organization's goals and principles. As the largest developing country, China also claims to understand the expectations of Global South countries towards the global governance system.
He gave an example of cooperation through the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and the BRICS mechanism which he said still made the UN Charter the main guideline.
Wang Yi also invited more countries to support the Global Governance Initiative proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping.
"Let us together revive the UN, maintain the UN, and strengthen the UN," said Wang Yi.
According to him, the initiative has received support from more than 150 countries and international organizations. In fact, the Global Governance Friends Group has also been formed at the UN Headquarters in New York and Geneva.
Wang Yi said there were five main ideas in the initiative, namely sovereignty equality, international rule of law, multilateralism, human-centered, and action-oriented.
"All of this is considered in accordance with the aspirations of the international community and reflects the hearts of people of various countries," he said.
Meanwhile, in February, UN Secretary-General António Guterres warned that the world body was facing an increasingly deep financial crisis.
In a letter to member states, Guterres said many countries had not paid their mandatory dues, threatening the implementation of various UN programs.
The UN is even expected to run out of funds by July 2026 due to a record backlog of $1.568 billion, more than double the previous year.
The situation was exacerbated after the US, as the largest contributor to the UN, refused to pay the regular budget as well as funding for peacekeepers.
The US is known to contribute around 22 percent of the total UN budget. However, US President Donald Trump criticized the organization for failing to support various US-led peace efforts.
Guterres emphasized that the integrity of the UN system depends heavily on the compliance of member states in fulfilling their obligations to pay contributions in accordance with the UN Charter.
He added that although the United Nations had faced financial crises before, the current situation was considered very different and could potentially affect the sustainability of various global programs.
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