China should help expedite UN reform

China's contribution to the United Nations' regular budget will rise from 7.92 percent in 2016-18 to 12.01 percent in the next three years, says a resolution adopted by the UN General Assembly on Saturday. So China will surpass Japan to become the second-largest contributor - behind only the United States - to the UN budget.

Japan's contribution will drop from 9.68 percent to 8.56 percent, but the US' will stay unchanged at 22 percent, prompting some commentaries in Japanese media outlets to say that the continued decline in Japan's contribution shows the country's influence in the UN has been declining, and if this trend continues it could lose more say in the world body.

They also said Japan should attach greater importance to its status in the international community, and warned that if it fails to make larger contributions to the UN and other international organizations, it may fail to achieve its coveted goal of becoming a permanent member of the UN Security Council.