Chinese ambassador calls for support for Annan

Chinese Ambassador to the United Nations Wang Guangya called on member states on Tuesday to continue supporting UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan in his work.

Wang told Xinhua that it is very significant the secretary general was cleared of any personal wrongdoing in the oil-for-food corruption scandal, saying people should no longer focus all their attention on the secretary general.

"This year is important both to the United Nations and to member states," Wang said. "We should continue to support the work of the secretary general, and to work together to reform the United Nations."

"Volcker's report also shows that the United Nations has defects in its internal management, and should be improved by reforms in the future," Wang added.

An independent inquiry panel led by former US Federal Reserve chairman Paul Volcker released on Tuesday an interim report on its investigation into alleged corruption and fraud in the oil-for-food program.

Annan was cleared by the independent inquiry team of any personal wrongdoing in the oil-for-food corruption scandal, but he was criticized for failing to detect and stop a conflict of interest with his son's employer in the bidding process.