China plans to provide an additional $100 million in assistance to help deal with the global refugee and migrant crisis and is also considering setting aside a $1 billion fund for the purpose, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said on Monday.
Li told a refugee summit at the United Nations that large movements of refugees posed a political, social and security threat that created opportunities for terrorists to exploit, reports Reuters.
“We are committed to shouldering our responsibilities compatible with our abilities,” Li said.
“We would like to provide $100 million of additional humanitarian assistance on top of the previous pledges while considering taking further supportive measures.”
Li said China would also “seriously consider” setting aside the China-U.N. Peace and Development Fund to support developing countries in their effort to deal with the problem. He said China would “actively explore” working with international institutions and developing countries.
During the annual gathering of world leaders at the United Nations in September last year, China said it would establish a 10-year, $1 billion funds to support the U.N.’s work.
China took a first step in fulfilling this pledge when it signed an agreement with the United Nations in May to pay $20 million annually for a decade to help fund peace, security, and development.
Under the terms of the agreement, the money was to be paid into a newly established U.N. Peace and Development Trust Fund, and China’s contribution split evenly between supporting peace and security and implementing a 2030 agenda for sustainable development.
