PHNOM PENH — Premier Li Keqiang met with United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in Phnom Penh on Nov 13 to discuss various issues including multilateralism and climate change.

Premier Li said the United Nations is the principal institution for upholding multilateralism. China attaches high importance to the UN's important role in safeguarding world peace and promoting common development.

Against the backdrop of the current complex and fluid international situation, upholding multilateralism basically means safeguarding the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, and backing the UN's authority in handling international affairs, Premier Li noted.

Supporting the UN makes a contribution to world peace and development, the Premier said, adding that China commends UN's new accomplishments made under Guterres' leadership.

He pledged that China will, as always, strengthen cooperation with UN agencies, actively support and participate in all lines of efforts of the UN, and jointly safeguard the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, the norms in international law and international fairness and justice with all sides.

Poverty inevitably undermines stability, and it is difficult to avoid conflict and unrest without narrowing the gap between North and South, said Premier Li.

China commends the UN for prioritizing the development issues facing developing countries and actively helping them ease debt burden, tackle the climate change, improve living standards, and pursue sustainable development, Premier Li said.

As a permanent member of the UN Security Council and the largest developing country, China is ready to maintain close communication and coordination with the UN, do its best to help developing countries on climate change under the South-South cooperation framework, and play its constructive role on African countries' debt service suspension under the Group of 20 (G20), he said.

For his part, Guterres said cooperation between China and the United Nations is an important pillar of multilateralism. The UN appreciates China's tremendous efforts in promoting multilateralism, and speaks highly of China's contribution to advancing the UN's agendas on addressing climate change and achieving sustainable development.

The UN hopes to deepen cooperation with China to help developing countries cope with climate change, alleviate the debt burden and safeguard international food and energy security so that the various agendas put forward by the UN will win the support of more and more countries, he said.

The UN opposes economic decoupling and believes that all countries bridge their differences through dialogue and jointly deal with global challenges. The UN firmly supports China's important role in South-South cooperation and anticipates closer cooperation with China in this regard, the UN chief added.