In February, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon appointed Sha Zukang, formerly China's permanent representative at the UN's Geneva location, as Under Secretary-General for the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs.

In his 37 years as a diplomat, Sha has served in the fields of security, economy, social affairs, human rights and humanitarian affairs.

On July 9, Sha spoke with Xinhua News Agency about his appointment.

As a Chinese diplomat, Sha said that his focus was realizing the target of China's policies and serving the country's interests. As a UN official, his duty is now to realize UN targets and work in the interest of all member states.

He added that a high-level UN official must have a deep understanding of UN policies and targets, and should distance himself from any interference from governments and other interests.

Describing his new role, Sha said that the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs is involved in many areas including economics, society and technology. He added that it is hard to comprehend and digest all the issues. As a department leader, the most important is to have the ability to judge, organize and supervise, as well as how to grasp and enforce policies.

Sha acknowledged that he would have to familiarize himself with the department's mode of operation first. He plans to do this through consultation with his colleagues and will look to Ban for guidance.

Reflecting on his diplomatic career, he said, "I have worked 37 years for Chinese diplomacy. I established the Department of Arms Control and Disarmament under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. I have been involved with UN-related work for 23 years. The last six years, in particular, have been to do with economic and social affairs, which is useful for my job now in the UN. This is a new stage and I will work to serve the interests of the UN, its member states and the international community."

(China.org.cn by Zhou Jing July 14, 2007)