China Thursday called a draft proposal to give Japan, India, Brazil and Germany permanent seats in an enlarged United Nations Security Council "immature," saying the move would "derail" reforms.
"All sides are still divided," foreign ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao told a regular press briefing.
"Against such a backdrop, we believe that the member states should continue democratic consultations to find a solution that accomodates the interests of all parties."
The comments appeared to torpedo an offer by the four countries to forgo their veto rights for at least 15 years if they are accepted as permanent members.
Liu said it was against the long-term interest of the United Nations to push through the "highly divisive proposal."
"For a few countries to push through such an immature proposal has derailed the Security Council reforms and gravely undermined any potential progress of the UN reforms," Liu said.
"Therefore, just like many other countries, the Chinese side expressed worries about this and is firmly opposed to such practices."
Beijing has previously voiced support for seats for Brazil, Germany and India but demonstrated strong opposition to Japan being granted permanent status, demanding it first correct its attitude to its wartime history.
Tensions between the two countries have risen in recent months.
China has long advocated multilateralism and a stronger representation of developing countries in the Security Council.
"Increasing the representation of developing countries should be given priority," China said in a position paper on UN reform carried by the Xinhua news agency Tuesday.
"Developing countries, who account for more than two thirds of the UN membership, are seriously under-represented on the Security Council."
China's UN Ambassador Wang Guangya last week said giving the G4 permanent seats was a "dangerous move" that "will split the house and destroy the unity and also derail the whole process of discussion on big UN reforms."
