China will surpass Japan to become the United Nations’ second-largest regular budget contributor starting in 2019, Xinhua reported Monday.

China will bear 12.01% of the organization’s regular expense bill for the upcoming 2019-2021 period. China will also remain the second-largest contributor to UN’s peacekeeping.

China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Hua Chunying said the UN decided to increase China’s contribution portion due to the country’s position as the second-largest economy worldwide and its increasing “global influence” – despite China’s relatively low GDP per capita.