Interview: China hopes to help improve world order: ambassador

China hopes to be a reformer who will go all out to help improve the international order in a world facing complex security challenges, said Chinese Ambassador to Belgium Qu Xing.

The end of the Cold War does not mean the end of the post-World War II world system, Qu told Xinhua in an interview during the ongoing Munich Security Conference, themed "the Collapse of the International Order."

"However, the authority of the UN Charter has been challenged and some nations have overstepped the authorization of the UN Security Council to use force against others, leading to a number of severe consequences," he said.

Another prominent feature of the world today is the collective rise of developing nations, said Qu, who was president of China Institute of International Studies before assuming the current post.

"To allow developing nations to have a say compatible with their rising status should be the core aspect of reform of the international order, " said the ambassador.

Before the establishment of the Yalta System, the Chinese people had made tremendous sacrifices and a great contribution to the world's anti-Fascist war, thus gaining its international status and becoming an important member of the post-war international system, Qu noted.

Since the resumption of its UN membership, especially since its reform and opening-up, China has prospered under the existing international system, therefore China does not demand to overthrow the current system, he said.

"Instead of to be a revolutionist, China hopes to act as a reformer of the existing international system," he stressed.

About the Munich gathering's focus on hot spots like the Ukrainian crisis and terrorism, Qu said the coexistence of traditional and non-traditional threats is the dominant problem facing the current international security situation.

While traditional security issues, such as the confrontation on the Korean Peninsula, the Ukrainian crisis and Middle East conflicts, have yet to be solved, the international community is facing more serious and pressing non-traditional security threats, especially the threat of international terrorism.

In the Middle East, external interference has pushed upheavals. The old state governance mechanism has been destroyed while a new order has yet to be established, he said.

Citing the recent terror attacks in Paris as an example, Qu said the mess in the Middle East has seriously impacted regional and global security. "The troubled regions in the Middle East are providing new breeding grounds for extremist forces."

He called on all countries to work together to combat terrorism, the common enemy of mankind.

"China is also a victim of terrorism, and has always engaged actively in international cooperation against terrorism and fulfilled its international responsibility," he said.

The diplomat also noted that external interference, through the use of military force to subvert existing regimes and break up native political, religious, racial and tribal modes, can lead to unpredictable consequences.

For example, the extremist group "Islamic State" has found a breeding ground in Iraq exactly because Iraq's native political structure was overthrown by the hasty use of force from outside.

"If there is anything to learn from the lessons of history, that is major world powers should not judge the governance of other nations with the standards of Western values or forcibly intervene in other countries' internal affairs, even hastily resort to the use of force. Otherwise, problems aroused by such interventions would be much more serious and complicated than the previous ones," warned the Chinese ambassador.

As for the Ukrainian crisis, Qu said major global powers should make efforts to advance a reconciliation process in the country. Noting that the current trend is worrisome, he said the wrangling of major powers could only make things worse.

China believes that foreign interference is not conducive to reconciliation and that lasting peace and stability can not be obtained by military means, he said, urging all parties concerned to achieve reconciliation through negotiations and consultations.

"China has friendly ties with both Russia and Ukraine, and hopes that the situation could be stabilized as soon as possible, national reconciliation be realized and the conflict be stopped," said the ambassador. Endi