China's permanent representative to the United Nations on Tuesday asked the international community to address the root causes of hunger by working toward the peaceful settlement of conflicts and by promoting inclusive and balanced development.

It is imperative to prevent and resolve conflicts and to promote dialogue and political settlement of hot-spot issues, Zhang Jun told the Security Council in a debate on the protection of civilians affected by conflict-induced hunger.

The Security Council should keep up to its primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security and promote the resolution of conflicts through political and diplomatic means in order to relieve civilians from sufferings of war, including from hunger, he said.

It is essential to promote inclusive and balanced development and always take development as a priority, said Zhang.

"It's difficult to achieve development without peace. What is also true is that it is hard to realize sustainable peace without development."

He also stressed the importance of international cooperation in promoting global food security.

The international community should jointly take urgent action to ensure unobstructed global food supply chain and maintain food supply and price stability, he said. "We must support the Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Food Programme in playing their unique coordinating role in providing humanitarian assistance to countries concerned to prevent large-scale famine."