UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 1 -- China assumed on Sunday the rotating presidency of the UN Security Council for February.

Liu Jieyi, China's permanent representative to the UN, took over the rotating presidency from Cristian Barros Mellet, permanent representative of Chile to the UN.

The UN Security Council presidency rotates every month among the council members in alphabetical order of their names, while each president holds office for one calendar month.

The last time China took over the rotating presidency was in November 2013.

Under the UN Charter, the Security Council has the primary responsibility for the maintenance of peace and security in the world at large.