The United Nations Secretary General, Mr Kofi Annan, has called on China to contribute more troops to UN peacekeeping missions.
Mr Annan said on a visit to Beijing that he and the Chinese Foreign Minister, Mr Tang Jiaxuan, had "discussed all the areas where China could be helpful". He said China was likely to issue a policy statement on peacekeeping.
A Foreign Ministry spokeswoman told reporters that Beijing was likely to reiterate its commitment to participate in a proposed UN "standby force" to deal with crises.
"It is still at the stage of a general principle, but there haven't been any details," she said. Mr Annan was scheduled to meet the Chinese President, Mr Jiang Zemin, and other leaders before leaving for Japan later today.
Speaking at a joint news conference, Mr Tang made no mention of Beijing's plans to step up participation in UN peacekeeping missions. He said China, a permanent member of the Security Council, supported in principle council reforms with "the purpose of improving the function and efficiency".
"Reform should not be intended to sharpen the existing differences on the council," Mr Tang added.
Mr Annan said he would be urging China to "come on board fully" and ratify two treaties it had signed but not enacted: the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.