UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 21 -- The Permanent Mission of China to the United Nations (UN) hosted a reception on Friday evening to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China (PRC).

Present at the reception were more than 600 Chinese and UN officials, diplomats and representatives from different missions to the UN, including President of the 74th session of the UN General Assembly Tijjani Muhammad-Bande and UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed.

Seven decades ago, the PRC was founded. Since then, under the leadership of the Communist Party of China, Chinese people have embarked on a glorious journey in the history of human development, said Zhang Jun, China's permanent representative to the UN, in the opening speech.

"The past seven decades witnessed the common progress of China and the rest of the world," said Zhang, adding that with its own future linked with that of the world, China pursues an independent foreign policy of peace and a path of peaceful development.

Zhang said that as a founding member of the UN, China has witnessed the development of the UN and the UN has also seen China's outstanding contribution to world peace and development.

"China and the UN have become close partners of cooperation," he added.

Emphasizing that China is an upholder of multilateralism, a builder of world peace, and a contributor to global development, Zhang said China is also a firm supporter of the UN.

"We have established a China-UN Peace and Development Fund. We pay membership dues and peacekeeping expense on time and in full with a great sense of responsibility as the second largest financial contributor. We take an active part in UN management and reform affairs, and support the UN in practicing multilateralism and playing a bigger role in international affairs," he said.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres hailed China's cooperation with and contributions to the world organization in a message to the reception.

"China has been a key participant in the work of our organization and has played a central role as a pillar of international cooperation and multilateralism. China and the United Nations are continuing to work together to address pressing global issues," said Guterres in the message.

"I thank you for your commitment to the collective efforts of the United Nations to address peace and security, human rights, and development challenges across the globe, and wish you continued success in the years to come," said Guterres.