Briefly

CHINA

Wang Yi to chair UNSC, visit Canada

As the rotating president of the United Nations Security Council for May, China will convene a Security Council high-level meeting in New York on Tuesday, Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said. The meeting will be chaired by Foreign Minister Wang Yi and will be open to all UN member states, Guo said. Foreign ministers and senior representatives from multiple countries have confirmed their attendance, and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will brief the meeting, he added. Wang will also attend a meeting of the Group of Friends of Global Governance in New York on Thursday. In addition, Wang will pay a three-day visit to Canada beginning on Thursday, which will be the first by a Chinese foreign minister in 10 years, Guo said.

Singaporean FM to make 3-day trip

Singaporean Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan will pay a three-day working visit to China from Sunday, the Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun announced on Friday. The upcoming visit follows a series of high-level exchanges between China and Singapore this year, including visits to China by Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong in March and Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong in May. The two countries upgraded their ties in 2023 to an all-around high-quality future-oriented partnership. Singapore is China's fifth-largest trading partner among the Association of Southeast Asian Nations countries. Since 2013, Singapore has been China's largest source of newly added foreign investment.

UNITED STATES

President ruled out using force: Envoy

US President Donald Trump has ruled out using military force to take control of Greenland, US Ambassador to Denmark Ken Howery said on Thursday during the opening of a new US consulate in Nuuk, the capital of Greenland. Responding to a question from Greenlandic broadcaster KNR on whether the United States still sought to take over Greenland, Howery said: "The president has taken the use of force off the table. The future of Greenland is something the Greenlanders themselves must decide." Trump had previously declined to rule out military action to gain control of Greenland, a self-governing territory within the Kingdom of Denmark. The United States on Thursday officially inaugurated new and larger premises for its consulate in central Nuuk. According to KNR, no members of Greenland's government attended the ceremony, amid strained relations between Greenland and the United States.

China Daily - Xinhua