Philemon Yang (L), president of the UN General Assembly, presides over a meeting to elect members of the UN Economic and Social Council at the UN headquarters in New York, on June 4, 2025. [Photo/Xinhua]

Eighteen states, including China, were elected on Wednesday into the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), the coordinating body for the economic and social work of UN agencies and funds, for a three-year term.

Philemon Yang, president of the General Assembly, announced the results after voting by secret ballot in the assembly.

Elected were Burundi, Chad, Mozambique, Sierra Leone from African states; China, India, Lebanon, Turkmenistan from Asia-Pacific states; Croatia, Russia, Ukraine from Eastern European states; Ecuador, Peru, Saint Kitts and Nevis from Latin America and Caribbean states; Australia, Finland, Norway, Türkiye from Western European and other states.

They were elected for a three-year term beginning on Jan. 1, 2026.

Russia failed to obtain the two-thirds majority needed for election in the first round of the voting. It won in a restrictive round against Belarus.

In a by-election for rotation within the Western European and other states group, Germany was elected for a one-year term beginning on Jan. 1, 2026. It will replace Liechtenstein. The United States was elected for a two-year term beginning on Jan. 1, 2026. It will replace Italy.

ECOSOC has 54 members, which are elected each year by the General Assembly for overlapping three-year terms. Seats on the council are allocated on the basis of geographical representation with 14 seats to African states, 11 to Asia-Pacific states, six to Eastern European states, 10 to Latin American and Caribbean states, and 13 to Western Europe and other states.