UNITED NATIONS - China on Wednesday donated $1 million toward the United Nations' Capital Master Plan (CMP), the renovation project of the UN Headquarters in New York.

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Wang Min, Ambassador and Deputy Permanent Representative of China to the United Nations, signed an agreement with Jun Yamazaki, Assistant-secretary-general and Controller of the United Nations.

The donation will be used to renovate the lobby in front of the General Assembly Hall.

UN Under-secretary-general for Management Angela Kane and Assistant-secretary-general for and Executive Director of the CMP Michael Adlerstein attended the signing ceremony.

Kane, on behalf of UN Secretary-general Ban Ki-moon, thanked the Chinese government for its strong support to the work of the United Nations, particularly the CMP.

The nearly $2 billion renewal process for the entire UN complex - plagued by leaks, safety violations and outdated systems - is set to wrap up in time by 2013, with the renovation of the Secretariat tower scheduled to be completed in 2012.

When completed, the landmark 39-story building towering over the East River and First Avenue in Manhattan will possess the 21st- century trappings of eco-friendly energy conservation, and its now dulled glass facade will be replaced with a new glass curtain resplendent with the same bluish-green tint as in its first incarnation in 1952.