On Friday, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on the sidelines of the general debate of the UNGA 77 in New York.
Wang Yi said that the world today is full of changes and chaos. The Secretary-General agrees very much with this and looks forward to strengthening international cooperation. China strongly agrees.
China has always maintained that major powers, especially the permanent members of the Security Council, should take the lead in abiding by international law, safeguarding the authority of the United Nations, practicing genuine multilateralism, and taking the lead in helping developing countries.
Regrettably, some major powers, out of their own selfish interests, practice unilateralism in the name of multilateralism, and under the guise of safeguarding the so-called "rules", they engage in "small groups" everywhere. China will stand firmly with the United Nations, firmly support the central role of the United Nations in international affairs, and firmly support the United Nations in playing a greater role in addressing the challenges of peace and security.
Guterres appreciated China's long-term key role in supporting multilateralism, promoting international cooperation and sustainable development, and said that the partnership with China is an important pillar of the United Nations and multilateralism. The two sides have carried out close and effective cooperation. We support the global development initiative and congratulate China on the recent successful meeting of the "Group of Friends" initiative, which I believe will help accelerate the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Guterres briefed the recent efforts to promote Ukrainian grain shipments and Russia's fertilizer exports, and was deeply concerned about the plight of the Ukrainian crisis spillover to developing countries. Strengthen cooperation on issues of interest to developing countries, such as financing, climate change response, biodiversity, and anti-epidemic.
Wang Yi said that China appreciates the Secretary-General's active mediation and achieved results. China's core position on the Ukraine issue is to persuade peace and promote talks, that is, to stand on the side of peace. We will continue to play a constructive role in our own way.
Wang Yi emphasized that President Xi Jinping has proposed global development initiatives and global security initiatives, contributing China's plans to boost international development cooperation and help implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and to provide public goods for bridging the deficit in peace and security and jointly addressing the current severe challenges. We are willing to work closely with the United Nations to form greater consensus, gather more strength and facilitate more actions. China will continue to support the various causes of the United Nations and assume its due responsibilities.
For more, check out our exclusive content on CGTN Now and subscribe to our weekly newsletter, The China Report.