Chinese State Councilor Dai Bingguo said Tuesday that China will unswervingly pursue a path of peaceful development and play a constructive role in the United Nations.

Dai made the remarks at a reception commemorating the 40th Anniversary of the restoration of the lawful seat of the People's Republic of China in the United Nations (UN).

On October 25, 1971, the 26th Session of the UN General Assembly adopted Resolution 2758 with an overwhelming majority and decided to restore the lawful seat of the People's Republic of China in the UN.

"This opened a new chapter in the external relations of the People's Republic of China and promoted the friendship and cooperation between China and all countries and peoples who love world peace and justice," Dai said at the reception hosted by the Foreign Ministry in Beijing.

It also enhanced the universality, representativeness and authority of the UN and strengthened the forces for world peace and human progress, he added.

He said, for the past 40 years, as the largest developing country and a permanent member of the UN Security Council, China has followed the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations, called on countries across the globe to practice tolerance and live together in peace as good neighbors, and made great contributions to world peace, common development and international cooperation.

This year marks the beginning of the second decade of the new century, and the world has undergone great, rapid and drastic changes, Dai said.

"The international community is becoming a global village and countries find interests converging in a scope and depth never seen before," he said, adding that the trend of peace, development and cooperation has gained more popular support, while the international situation remains quite fluid and complex.

He said the United Nations, as the most universal, representative and authoritative inter-governmental organization, should seize opportunities and meet challenges in the political, security, economic, development, social, humanitarian, cultural, arms control, and judicial fields, among others, and reinvigorate itself with fresh vigor and vitality.

"Under the new circumstance, the role of the UN should only be strengthened, rather than weakened, and its authority be upheld, rather than impaired," he said.

China has released the White Paper on China's Peaceful Development, which solemnly declared that China will unswervingly pursue the path of peaceful development, he said.

China will work actively, through peaceful, open, scientific and common development, to expand international cooperation, take part in international affairs, honor its due international responsibilities and obligations, and play a constructive role in the UN, he said.

Dai pledged that China will join other countries to make even greater contributions to building a harmonious world of durable peace and common prosperity and a brighter future for mankind.

China's entry to the UN 40 years ago made the international body a more representative international organization, said Kasymzhomart Tokaev, director-general of the UN Office at Geneva.

He said China has played an important role in the UN.

With the rise of its global status and influence, China, as a major power, will continue to shoulder its responsibility and play a more positive role in creating a more secure, just and peaceful world for future generations, he said.

Before the reception, Dai had a brief meeting with Tokaev, exchanging views on the UN's role as well as China's cooperation within the UN.

(Xinhua News Agency October 25, 2011)