Wang Yi meets with UN chief

State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi met the United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Friday on the sidelines of the ongoing 77th session of the UN General Assembly.

In the face of global changes and chaos, Guterres called for strengthening international cooperation, which the Chinese side strongly agrees with, Wang said.

"We have always advocated that major countries, especially the permanent members of the UN Security Council, should take the lead in abiding by international law, in safeguarding the authority of the UN, in practicing true multilateralism, and in helping developing countries," Wang said.

"Regrettably, some major countries, out of their self-interests, practice unilateralism in the name of multilateralism, form 'small circles' and 'small groups' in disguise of maintaining order," he said.

He said China will stand with the UN, firmly support the central role of the UN in international affairs, support the UN in playing a greater role in addressing challenges confronting peace and security.

Guterres appreciated the key role China has been playing for a long time in upholding multilateralism and promoting international cooperation and sustainable development.

Guterres said the UN and China have been carrying out close and effective cooperation. He said the UN supports Global Development Initiative (GDI) proposed by China and congratulated China on the successful holding of Ministerial Meeting of the Group of Friends of the GDI on Tuesday, which he believes will help to accelerate the implementation the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

On Friday's meeting, Guterres also briefed Wang on the recent UN efforts to promote Ukrainian grain shipments and Russian fertilizer exports, and he was deeply concerned about the difficulties facing developing countries due to the spillover from the Ukrainian crisis.

Guterres said UN takes development as a priority and hopes to strengthen cooperation with China on issues bearing the interest of developing countries, such as financing, climate change response, biodiversity, and anti-pandemic measures.

Wang said China appreciates the Secretary-General's active mediation and achieved results. He said China's core position on the Ukrainian issue is to promote peace talks and stand on the side of peace, and "we will continue to play a constructive role in its own way," he said.

Wang emphasized that Chinese President Xi Jinping has proposed GDI and Global Security Initiatives, which has contributed China's plans to boost international development cooperation and help implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and has provided public goods for bridging peace and security deficit and jointly cope with the current severe challenges.

"We are willing to work closely with the UN to form greater consensus, gather more strength and facilitate more actions," said Wang, adding that China will continue to support the various causes of the UN and assume its due responsibilities.

On Friday, Wang also met with Thai Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai and Sri Lankan Minister of Foreign Affairs Mohamed Ali Sabry respectively.