Chinese President Hu Jintao (R) shakes hands with United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan during their meeting at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, May 19, 2006.

Chinese President Hu Jintao said Friday that the United Nations (UN) is playing an "irreplaceable" role in maintaining peace, nurturing international cooperation and promoting common prosperity.

In a meeting with the visiting UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan Friday afternoon, Hu said the UN's collective security mechanism should be further used to cement multilateral dialogue and cooperation in a bid to address the global challenges and achieve sustainable peace and security of mankind.

"The issue of development should be placed in a priority position", Hu told Annan, suggesting that the UN should make efforts to create favorable conditions especially for developing countries and help the economic globalization to score mutual-benefit and win-win results.

The Chinese president stressed that China will be an important partner and supporter of the UN as it conducts reforms.

However, China has on many occasions opposed the move by some countries to push for a vote on the reform plan, calling instead for increasing the representation of developing countries.

Hu told the UN chief that China hopes the UN will continue to increase its efficiency, better represent member countries, especially developing countries, during the reform process, and focus more on the peace, stability and development of African countries.

"China will unswervingly adhere to the aims and principles of the UN Charter, honor its duty and obligation and comprehensively participate in the programs of various UN organizations", promised the Chinese president, adding that the country will actively support the increasingly important role played by the UN and the UN Secretary-General.

In addition, Hu expressed his appreciation of Annan's work as Secretary-General in "promoting the world multilateral system centered by the UN and the organization's programs at various fields".

Annan, whose term expires at the end of this year, said that China, serving as a permanent member of the UN Security Council and as an influential country in the world, plays a very significant role in the UN and on the world stage and makes an important contribution to promote world peace and stability.

Echoing Hu's view on the UN and UN reform, Annan recognized that China has made an outstanding achievement in addressing global challenges and securing world peace and development, pointing out that China has made continuous efforts to support the development of African countries.

"We expect China to play a bigger role on world affairs", Annan said.

The two sides also exchanged views on the China-Africa relations, South-South cooperation and Iranian nuclear issue.

Annan arrived here Friday afternoon on a five-day official visit to China, the third leg of his Asian trip.

He is expected to meet with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, hold talks with Chinese State Councilor Tang Jiaxuan and deliver a speech next Monday at Beijing University, which is expected to cover a wide range of issues including UN reform, the Iranian nuclear issue and the six-party talks regarding re-unification of the Korean peninsula.

The Secretary-General earlier visited the Republic of Korea and Japan. After China, he is also scheduled to visit Vietnam and Thailand.

Source: Xinhua