South Africa will takeover as the KP chair next year, and Milovanovic said that China had volunteered to serve as deputy chair - a step which could see Beijing, which is working hard to cement ties with resource-rich African nations, takeoverthe full chairmanship in 2014.
On Wednesday, Canada will takeoverthe council chairmanship in a meeting that will include signing a treaty on oil-spill preparedness and response as well as the decision on whether to increase the roster of permanent observers, with India, Japan, Italy and the European Union joining China and others on the list.