A senior Chinese diplomat to the UN Friday called on the international community to comprehensively and actively support Africa's endeavor for peace.

Li Baodong, China's permanent representative to the UN, made the remarks at a thematic debate of the UN General Assembly entitled "the peaceful resolution of conflicts in Africa."

"The international community should have faith in the wisdom and experience of the African people, fully listen to their voices, respect Africa's will and comprehensively and actively support African's endeavor to resolve the African problems in the African way," Li said.

The root causes of the conflicts in Africa are complicated. There are territorial, religious and ethnic problems left over by history, he said, pointing out that there are also realistic problems faced by African countries such as poverty, underdevelopment and weak capacity.

The Chinese envoy stressed that effectively helping Africa achieve economic growth and social progress is the fundamental means to address the root causes of African conflicts.

"We call on the international community, in light of the need of Africa, to actively provide assistance in such areas as politics, capital, technology and capacity building," he said.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Organization of African Unity, the predecessor of the African Union (AU). The ambassador also called on the United Nations to further enhance communication and coordination with the AU.