The United Nations Summit marking the 60th anniversary of the founding of the United Nations is going on in New York from September 14-16. Leaders from around 170 countries are attending the meeting, making it the largest summit meeting in UN history. The theme of the conference is how to restore the authority and reputation of the United Nations through reform.

Although no breakthrough has been made in the reform of the very influential Security Council and in other issues, and some major differences have not been resolved, the international community's common understanding of the necessity and urgency of the reform still expresses its strong will and confidence in continuing to promote reform, marking the entry of UN reform and development into a new historical period.

The 60-year history of the UN indicates that reform is a complicated, arduous and gradual system project. But the existing breakthrough in the present reform has again given full expressions to the international community's determination to strengthen the multilateral cooperation mechanism and collective security system with the UN at the core, and has reestablished the important position of the United Nations as the "cornerstone of global cooperation" and the most important multilateral diplomatic stage of the international community.

The United Nations after reform not only can make development, peace and security, and human rights the "three major pillars", and can play a greater role in the fields of traditional security and non-traditional security, but also it will have the resources and capabilities to play a greater governing role in international affairs. In comparison, unilateral-ism and hegemony are witnessing declining weight.

After the summit meeting, the UN reform will enter a more substantive operational stage. Various parties need to further carry out the already achieved consensuses, including specifically determining the methods for the construction of a peace commission, a human rights council and other new agencies, the composition of membership, accountability, operational methods, etc.

At the same time, various parties will carry out discussions on Security Council reform, development, disarmament, "protective responsibility", the political definition of terrorism and other problems of serious divergence. In this process, various contradictions and conflicts of interest will again surface and will possibly be further intensified. Whether the authority of the United Nations and multilateralism it represents can be truly put into practice still requires that various parties show their sincerity and make utmost earnest efforts.

As a founding member of the UN and a permanent member of the Security Council, China has regularly taken a cooperative, prudent and responsible constructive attitude. It has been actively promoting the solution of regional conflicts within the framework of the United Nations, continuously taking a greater part in the UN peacekeeping operations, conscientiously supporting the leading and coordinating role of the UN in international anti-terrorism and in preventing proliferation of WMD, vigorously supporting and extensively participating in UN activities in development, human rights and other important fields, thus making its own contributions in world peace and development.

Along with the entry of UN reform and development into a new historical period, China, advancing on the road of peaceful development, will adopt a more fresh, open and responsible attitude and make greater earnest efforts to promote the development and progress of various UN undertakings.

The article, written by Gao Zugui, deputy director at the World Politics Research Office of the Research Institute of China Modern International Relations, is published on the front page of People's Daily Overseas Edition, September 16, and translated by People's Daily Online