Members of the United Nations Security Council meet on Iran on Dec. 23, 2006. (File/AFP)   Dec. 26 - China's increased dues to the United Nations for the next three years reflects the country's active participation in the affairs of the world body, according to observers.

 

The 192-nation General Assembly made the decision on payment adjustments after unanimously adopting a resolution on Friday night.

 

The current scale of assessments was adopted in 2000, when the General Assembly based each country's assessment on its gross national income (GNI), while considering external debt and per capita income.

 

Under the formula, China's dues will edge up from 2.05 per cent of the total UN budget at US$2 billion each year to 2.67 per cent.

 

The United States, the world's biggest economy and the UN's biggest payer, will pay 22 per cent.

 

Japan, which has complained that its UN dues are too high and was one of several nations seeking to tinker with the current formula, will see its dues drop from 19.4 per cent of the total UN budget to 16.6 per cent.

 

It's "natural" for China to have increasing UN dues because of its rapid economic growth, said Ding Yuanhong, a former Chinese ambassador to the UN.

 

But Ding added it is inappropriate to "directly link dues to a country's status or its role in the UN."

 

Zheng Qirong, a professor of the China University of Foreign Affairs, said the increase in dues indicates China's rapid economic growth, which has drawn world attention.

 

"In 2006, China actively participated in UN activities and has won acclaim from the international community," said Wu Miaofa, a researcher at the China Institute of International Studies.

 

To fulfil the UN's millennium development goals, China has promised to offer aid to the most underdeveloped countries or cut or cancel the debts of some of them, although China is still a developing country, Wu said.