BEIJING, March 23 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said here Thursday China "firmly" opposes Japan's proposal to revise UN dues assessments and set a minimum rate for permanent members of the Security Council.

    Japan presented a proposal to the UN General Assembly budget committee on March 10, saying each of the five permanent council members -- the United States, Russia, Britain, China and France --should contribute at least 3 percent or 5 percent of the UN budget.

    Under the proposal, China and Russia, whose dues currently account for 2.1 percent and 1.1 percent of the total, would pay much more each year.

    Qin Gang said Japan's proposal attempts to replace the established principle of capacity to pay with the concept of responsibility to pay.

    "The Chinese government firmly opposes it," Qin said.

    Qin said the crux of Japan's proposal is to connect power with UN dues and thus enabling countries to buy power.

    "This will undermine the basic principle of sovereign equality in the UN Charter and severely infringe the interests of the developing countries," Qin said.

    Qin said the principle of capacity to pay was the basic principle in allotting UN fees and has proved to be effective. "It also reflects the consensus of all countries and should not be changed."

    Qin said China still has a very low per capita income despite its rapid economic development. "Even so, the percentage of China's UN dues ranked ninth among the UN members and China has always faithfully fulfilled its financial obligation to the United Nations."

    He said China has always paid its UN fees on time and it also shoulders its share of the cost of UN peace keeping as well as dues subtracted from other countries.

    "As China's economy grows, China is willing to make a greater contribution," he said.

    Qin said UN dues assessment has a direct bearing on UN's capacity to fulfill its responsibility.

    "We hope a fair and rational scheme, which is consistent with the UN Charter, will be reached based on broad consultation," he said.

    The scale of UN dues assessments is reviewed every three years and the General Assembly budget committee, where all 191 UN member states are represented, is due to determine the scale for the 2007-2009 period by the end of December.

    China to improve legal system to solve refugee problems

    BEIJING, March 23 (Xinhua) -- China will continue to improve its legal system, to further contribute to the resolutions of refugee problems, said Qin Gang.

    UN High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres just finished his five-day visit to China, in which he met with State Councilor Tang Jiaxuan and officials from the Foreign Ministry, Ministry of Commerce and Ministry of Public Security.

    The two sides increased understanding through these meetings and consultations, and reached consensus on further carrying out cooperation on refugee affairs, said Qin, adding the visit was "successful".

    Qin said China values its cooperation with the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

    China has joined the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol, and has relocated 300,000 Indo-Chinese refugees, which is the largest action ever done in the UN history. China continues to make an active contribution to the resolution of refugees problems, Qin said.

    Putin's China tour fruitful

    BEIJING, March 23 (Xinhua) -- Russian President Putin's China visit was "fruitful", and can further strengthen the Sino-Russian strategic partnership of cooperation, said Qin.

    "During Putin's two-day state visit, China and Russia signed 22 agreements covering politics, diplomacy, energy, investment, finance and communications," Qin Gang told a regular press conference.

    Qin noted that the two sides also put forward some new ideas on bilateral cooperation, such as pledging to coordinate economic strategies and actively guiding and supporting local companies of the two countries to seek new opportunities for cooperation in each other's economic and regional development strategies.

    Qin said that Putin's visit to China was significant as this year marked the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the China-Russia strategic partnership of cooperation and the fifth anniversary of the Sino-Russian treaty of friendship and cooperation.

    During his visit, Putin held talks and exchanged views with his Chinese counterpart Hu Jintao on bilateral relations and major international and regional issues of common concern. The two presidents also signed China-Russia joint statement, attended the opening ceremony of the Year of Russia in China and addressed the high-level China-Russia economic forum. Putin also held meetings with top Chinese legislator Wu Bangguo and Premier Wen Jiabao.

    Qin added that during Putin's visit, the two presidents initiated a series of activities for the Year of Russia in China, which is a pioneering project in the history of the two sides and has great significance in improving mutual understanding and promoting cooperation.     

    China, US to hold 1st consultation on Latin American affairs

    BEIJING, March 23 (Xinhua) -- US Assistant Secretary for Western Hemisphere Affairs Thomas Shannon will visit China in mid-April to discuss Latin American affairs, Qin Gang said .

    Shannon comes to China at the invitation of Zeng Gang, head of the department of Latin American affairs under the Foreign Ministry, Qin said at a routine press briefing on Thursday. This will be the first consultation between the two countries on Latin American affairs.

    The two sides will exchange views on respective relations with Latin American countries, their policies on Latin America, situation in that region and their respective cooperation with Latin American nations.

    The consultation, part of the China-US strategic dialogue, will help increase understanding and trust between the two sides, Qin said.

    In recent years, Qin said, China and Latin American countries have witnessed rapidly growth in relations because they are all developing countries, who have common interest in peace and development.

    The development of China-Latin America relations accord with the world trend of seeking peace, development and cooperation, and is in the interest of all countries. It doesn't target any third party and will not infringe upon the interest of any other country. It will promote world peace, stability and common development, Qin said.

    China is willing to exchange views with the US side on Latin American situation and respective cooperation with Latin American nations, he said. Enditem