Wang Yi Meets with UN Secretary-General António Guterres

On February 5, 2022, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN) António Guterres who came to China to attend the opening ceremony of the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022.

Wang Yi said, Mr. Secretary-General made a special trip to China to attend the opening ceremony of the Olympic Winter Games, which reflects the support of the UN for the Games and the importance it attaches to the cooperation with China. He believes that with the concerted efforts of all parties, the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022 will be a complete success and fulfill the solemn commitment of presenting a streamlined, safe and splendid Olympic Games to the world.

Guterres said, it is a great pleasure to come to China to attend the opening ceremony of the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022. At a time when the world features a volatile international situation, frequent conflicts and the development towards division and decoupling, I am particularly concerned about the plight of developing countries. At this time, it is more important than ever to carry forward the Olympic spirit of solidarity and mutual assistance. Guterres appreciated China's long-term vital role in upholding multilateralism, participating in peacekeeping and promoting development. He said that the Global Development Initiative proposed by President Xi Jinping came at the right time and the UN supports it unequivocally and stands ready to cooperate with China and work with other countries to implement it.

Wang Yi stressed, the world today is full of uncertainty and instability. The root cause is that some countries, under the banner of multilateralism, want to impose their own standards on others, promote unilateralism and form small cliques and are keen on bloc politics. China always stands for practicing true multilateralism. China holds that there is only one system in the world that is the international system with the UN at its core; there is only one order that is the international order underpinned by international law; there is only one set of rules that is the basic norms governing international relations based on the purposes and principles of the UN Charter. China firmly supports the UN's core role in international affairs.

Wang Yi said, last year, we jointly commemorated the 50th anniversary of the restoration of the lawful seat of New China in the UN. Over the past 50 years, China has always stood together and forged ahead with the UN, and has become an important stabilizing force for promoting world peace and development. China and the UN also jointly established the world's first international research center of big data for sustainable development goals and the first UN global geospatial knowledge and innovation center to support the UN in advancing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. China is willing to continue to support the work of the Secretary-General and the Secretariat and make positive contributions to the cause of the UN. To address the imbalance in global development, we must strengthen global governance and promote globalization that is more open, inclusive, balanced and beneficial for all. China is ready to strengthen international development cooperation with the UN and advance the implementation of the Global Development Initiative.

The two sides also exchanged views on regional hotspot issues, such as the Afghan issue and the Ukraine issue.