China calls for int'l efforts to help Central African countries enhance security capacity

UNITED NATIONS, Dec. 11 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese envoy on Thursday called for international efforts to help Central African states enhance their capacity for independent security.

Security issues in Central Africa remain worrisome as violent extremist incidents occur frequently in the Lake Chad basin and the number of terrorist attacks in the region has long remained high, Sun Lei, China's deputy permanent representative to the United Nations, told the Security Council.

"The international community should uphold the concept of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security and provide greater support in areas such as situational awareness, financial input, intelligence and early warning to help countries in the region enhance their capacity for independent security and reinforce the region's security defenses," he said.

The international community should provide constructive support, based on the specific national conditions of countries in the region, in fields such as election financing, reconciliation and mediation, and institutional reform, so as to play a positive role in helping these countries steadily advance their political and peace processes, the envoy noted.

At present, many countries in the region still face development challenges such as high inflation, reduced aid, and difficulties in debt repayment, although the region's economy has generally achieved moderate growth, he said.

The international community, especially developed countries and multilateral financial institutions, should take actions to ease the debt burdens of countries in the region and support them in strengthening capacity in areas such as poverty reduction, employment, trade and infrastructure in line with their own development needs so as to enhance their development resilience and consolidate the foundations for peace, he said.

Noting that China and Africa are good friends and good partners, Sun said that China firmly supports African countries in exploring a path toward modernization suited to their own national conditions.

At last month's Johannesburg summit of the Group of 20, China and South Africa jointly launched the Initiative on Cooperation Supporting Modernization in Africa. China stands ready to work with African countries to implement the key areas of cooperation outlined in the initiative and to provide support for peace, stability, development and prosperity in Central Africa, said Sun.