The Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence is an important embodiment of the spirit of the Charter of the United Nations, said Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao in Beijing Monday when he addressed a conference commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence.

Wen said that the United Nations is the most universal, most representative and most authoritative international organization in today's world. The UN Charter, which crystallized mankind's political wisdom in the 20th century, finds the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence an important embodiment of its spirit.

He said that promoting world peace and common development under the new international circumstances demands that the UN's authority be strengthened rather than weakened.

The UN should act in accordance with the Five Principles and its own Charter, and play its constructive role more vigorously in resolving international disputes, preserving peace, and providing humanitarian assistance, he said.

He added that the UN agencies should also undergo necessary and reasonable reforms. At the same time, it is important to let the WTO, the World Bank and other multilateral world bodies as well as regional cooperation mechanisms to play an active role in order to upgrade the performance of international and regional cooperation.

The five principles are: mutual respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, mutual non-aggression, non-interference in each other's internal affairs, equality and mutual benefit, and peaceful coexistence.

(Xinhua News Agency June 29, 2004)