BEIJING, Dec. 7 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) plans to increase the quota for Chinese staff, the China Daily reported Friday.

The quota for Chinese staff at UNESCO is between 23 and 39, but will likely be raised to between 38 and 63 next year as China becomes the biggest contributor, said Hong Kwon, director of the human resources management bureau of UNESCO, in a recent interview with the newspaper.

UNESCO sets quotas on the number of employees from different countries, based on how much money a country contributes, according to Kwon.

China is underrepresented in UNESCO and the organization is working very hard to increase the number of Chinese staff members, he said.

"I believe the contribution of our Chinese staff members to UNESCO is immense. Chinese people are very hardworking and intelligent, with a particular passion for education, science and culture," Kwon said.

UNESCO hopes the Chinese government will provide more support for the work of UNESCO, both financially and in terms of recruiting talented staff, he added.