"China supports the reform of the Security Council aimed to strengthen its authority and efficiency and improve its working methods," he told the UN General Assembly here.

China said it favored an expansion of the council to include more developing countries, particularly from Africa. But it is strongly opposed to Japan's bid for a permanent council seat, demanding that it first atone for its wartime past.

As the world's second-largest economy and the second-biggest contributor to the UN budget, Japan claims a right to permament council membership.

Beijing joined the United States in derailing a joint bid by the so-called G4 group - Brazil, Germany, India and Japan - to gain permanent council membership.

The four countries have submitted a plan to boost the council membership to 25, with six new permanent seats - one each for the four and two for Africa - and four non-permanent seats.

"No reform proposal can work that only addresses the concerns of a few countries in disregard of the interests of the majority of countries and teats unfairly developing countries in Africa and other parts of the world," Li said.

"As the reform bears on the future of the United Nations and the interests of various parties, there should be no artificial timeframe or forced voting," he said, adding that member states should seek consensus through dialogue and consultation.

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