Wednesday, August 31 2005 21:52 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Beijing: China today (Aug 31, 2005) said reform of the United Nation Security Council (UNSC) should focus on increasing representation of developing countries but was mum on whether it supported India's bid.

Reform of the world body would be high on the agenda of Chinese President Hu Jintao when he visits the UN next month and meets with world leaders, which may include Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, a senior Chinese Foreign Ministry official said here.

Hu, also General Secretary of the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC) will attend the UN High-Level Plenary of the United Nations General Assembly in New York from November 14 to 16, Director-General of the Department of International Organisations and Conferences of the Chinese Ministry of Fn66l9s, Liu Jieyi said.

"The Chinese position on the reform of the UN Security Council is clear. We support its reform," Liu said while responding to a question on whether Hu will reiterate Beijing's support for India's UNSC membership as reportedly pledged by Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao during his meetings with the Indian leadership in April this year.

"The purpose of the reform should be to expand or increase the representation of developing countries, to increase the efficiency of the Security Council and enhance its capacity to deal with the challenges it is facing now," he said without referring to India's bid or Wen's reported backing for it.

Asked whether the Indian government had sought a meeting with Hu on the sidelines of the UN Summit, Liu told PTI that bilateral meetings of the Chinese President were in the process of being firmed up.

"I think when President Hu Jintao attends the UN Summit meetings, the related bilateral meetings are in the process of discussion. I think you can refer this question to my Indian counterpart as to clarify this question," he said. At a special briefing on Hu's upcoming four-nation visit to the US, Canada and Mexico from September 5-17, Hu will undertake his maiden 'state visit' to Washington at the invitation of his American counterpart, George W. Bush, to steady their bilateral ties. This would be Hu's first official visit to the US since he took over as President in March 2003 and both sides attach high importance to the visit, Director-General of the Department of North American and Oceania Affairs of the Foreign Ministry, He Yafei said.

Though the White House has not termed Hu's visit as a state visit, He insisted that it would be a 'state visit' but declined to discuss the details. Hu's visit comes amid uneasy bilateral trade ties as the two nations wrangled over energy, textiles, Chinese counterfeiting and China's exchange rate policies. Hu would also discuss the Taiwan issue, the most sensitive issue in Sino-US relations, he said.