China’s UN ambassador, Fu Cong, said it was an honor for Beijing to hold the rotating Security Council presidency in May and signaled that China wants the council to re-examine plans to withdraw the UN peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon (UNIFIL).
Fu told reporters the decision taken by the Security Council last August to end UNIFIL’s mandate at the end of 2026 should be revisited. He said an overwhelming majority of council members believe it is not the right time to pull the mission out of that part of Lebanon and that China will await a report from the UN Secretariat, due in June, before deciding its final position.
In a post on X, Fu praised Bahrain’s recent council presidency and said China will aim to uphold fairness, transparency and responsibility while promoting solidarity and cooperation within the Council to help safeguard international peace and security.
UNIFIL was created after Israel’s 1978 invasion to oversee Israeli withdrawal and its mandate was expanded following the 2006 conflict between Israel and Hezbollah. The force has operated as a buffer and overseen a demilitarized zone in southern Lebanon for decades; the council vote last year set a timetable to wind the mission down by the end of 2026.
