The case will take months to complete. Thaksin, who is certain to be the country's next prime minister, could be forced to resign if he is found guilty. He denies any wrongdoing. Annan said that China, with its army of 2.5 million troops, had the capacity to contribute more to UN peacekeeping efforts. He and Tang discussed how China could help further and they also talked about ways to reform the UN Security Council to enable it to make a more positive contribution to world peace and development.
China is one of the five permanent members of the council.
Annan later visited Japan for talks on developing closer ties. Taro Aso, a conservative on economic reform, will replace Nukaga, the third member of Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori's cabinet to step down in disgrace since April. It will build and deploy missiles that can reach most of North Korea. The missiles will have a range of 300 kilometres with a payload of 500 kilograms. A 1979 agreement with the U.S. had limited missile range to 180 kilometres.