UN, China leaders meet

The United Nations wants to strengthen its partnership with a rising China, U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon said Wednesday during a visit to Beijing focused on global challenges such as food security and soaring energy prices.

Meeting with Chinese President Hu Jintao, Ban said the world body looked to China to play a growing role in dealing with problems affecting the global community as a whole.

"The United Nations needs the strong participation, cooperation and partnership of China, and I count on your continuing leadership and cooperation," Ban said.

In his opening remarks, Hu complemented Ban on achievements made in his first year in office and thanked him for the U.N.'s assistance in responding to the earthquake in China's Sichuan province that killed almost 70,000 people and left 5 million homeless.

Ban flew to the area just days after the March 12 temblor, visiting one of the hardest-hit towns and promising U.N. help with reconstruction.

"You have put in a lot of effort on the three major areas of the U.N.'s work, including security, peace and human rights, and brought good results," Hu said.

As one of five veto-wielding permanent members of the U.N. Security Council, China's support is crucial for a range of projects, from peacekeeping work to reforming the body's institutions.

Earlier in the day, Ban told Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi that China was regarded as a "strong partner," adding that "the purpose of my visit here is to ask even more stronger partnership and more participation from your country."

In a speech at Beijing's Foreign Affairs University on Tuesday, Ban praised China's role as a net grain exporter but also called on the communist leadership to further join in efforts to address soaring food prices, climate change and global disease outbreaks.

"This is an area where China stands tall. You are leading the activities of the U.N. as one of the five permanent members of the Security Council and your financial and peacekeeping contribution is growing," Ban said.

"China will need to rise even higher in both rankings if we are to meet growing global challenges. Today, the entire United Nations system expects China to help lead on the international agenda," he said.

Ban's visit to Beijing follows a trip to Tokyo, where he said he would soon visit North Korea following its recent declaration of its nuclear programs. The declaration marked the completion of a key step in the six-nation talks that aim to permanently disable Pyongyang's nuclear programs.

China is the host of those talks, which also include the United States, South Korea, Japan, and Russia.

The U.N. leader also said he would push for a 2020 midterm target for global carbon emissions at the upcoming Group of Eight summit to be held July 7-9 on the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido.

G-8 leaders have expressed support for cutting emissions in half by 2050, and are expected to reiterate that target at the summit.

China is key to any agreement, with it and other developing economies expected to boast the steepest future rises in energy use.

With that growth in mind, Western leaders have called for China to set strict emission caps. But Beijing, along with India, has maintained that it needs rapid development to fight poverty among its massive population and that its per-capita emissions are far lower than those in rich nations.