China is against a proposal that deviates from the principle of capacity to pay UN expenses and is ready to make an even greater contribution to the body on the basis of this principle, said a Chinese envoy to the United Nations (U.N.) on Monday.

Liu Zhenmin, Chinese Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations, made the remarks on Monday as the Administrative and Budgetary Committee (the 5th Committee) of the 61st session of the U.N. General Assembly started to consider the scale of assessment for the apportionment of UN expenses.

He said that capacity to pay had been the cornerstone of the scale methodology ever since the inception of the United Nations.

It is a principle that reflects the general consensus by the broad membership and has been reaffirmed by relevant General Assembly resolutions many times, he added.

"This principle therefore brooks no change or distortion. China is against any proposal that deviates from this principle, be it the concept of 'responsibility to pay' or the setting up of a minimum assessment rate for permanent members of the Security Council, as advanced by a certain state," the Chinese envoy said.

He said that China, as a member of the U.N. family and a permanent member of the Security Council, fully understood its responsibility toward the Organization and toward peace and security of the world.

The Chinese government stands ready to make an even greater contribution to the United Nations on the basis of capacity to pay, as its domestic economy continues to grow, he added.

In their statements, South Africa, on behalf of the Group of 77,and China, Pakistan, India and Egypt, along with Finland, on behalf of the European Union and some other countries, all supported the principle of capacity to pay in adopting the scale of assessment for the period 2007-2009.

Many developing countries also voiced their opposition to any proposals advocating a large-scale increase of their assessment.

Editor: Donald