China Supports UN, AU Partnership

(Xinhua)—China supports the forging of a stable partnership between the United Nations and the African Union (AU), Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Wang Yi said here on Wednesday.

The UN Security Council bears unshirkable responsibility in the maintenance of peace and security in Africa, while the AU has a deep grasp of African issues, Wang said at the UN Security Council high-level meeting on peace and security in Africa.

The two sides should strengthen coordination and form synergy on the basis of equality, mutual respect, complementarity and mutual benefit and drawing on each other’s strength, he told the participants of the meeting, initiated by South Africa which holds the presidency of the council for April.

"In our view, the partnership between the UN and the AU should be based on a predictable, sustainable and flexible framework," Wang said. "While maintaining its authority, the Security Council should give priority to supporting the African Union’s key role in resolving regional conflicts, and give full consideration to the views of the African Union."

He specially mentioned the peacekeeping operation being carried out by the two organizations in Darfur, stressing that "we hope the AU-UN hybrid operation in Darfur will complete its deployment at an early date and begin its operation. We also support the UN in taking over the AU’s peacekeeping operation in Somalia."

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