Xi to attend UN anniversary celebrations

President to extend China’s support for multilateralism, observers say

President Xi Jinping will attend a series of high-level meetings for the 75th anniversary of the founding of the United Nations via video link and deliver speeches, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said on Sept 15.

The announcement was made on the day the 75th session of the UN General Assembly opened. It will include a series of high-level meetings, such as commemorating the 75th anniversary of the UN, and the general debate.

Details of Xi’s agenda for participating in the high-level meetings are still unknown, but observers said China would use the virtual meetings to express support for multilateralism and the international system with the UN at its center, set out its position on the reform of global governance, and call for international cooperation to fight COVID-19 as well as offset the impact of the pandemic on the global economy.

In 2015, Xi attended the high-level meetings for the UN’s 70th anniversary in New York and announced a host of initiatives and measures to support the UN during a speech at the general debate of the 70th session of the UN General Assembly. All of these initiatives and measures have been implemented, the Foreign Ministry said.

Su Xiaohui, a researcher of international strategy at the China Institute of International Studies, said that given the rise in unilateralism and protectionism, China firmly supports multilateralism and the UN playing a bigger role in international affairs.

The Foreign Ministry released a position paper on the 75th Anniversary of the UN on Sept 10, saying that China, as a founding member of the UN, the first country to sign the UN Charter and a permanent member of the Security Council, embraces the lofty ideals of the UN by contributing with concrete actions to humanity’s cause of peace and development and promoting a community with a shared future for mankind.

The paper covered a number of issues, including the role of the UN, the international situation, international cooperation to tackle COVID-19 and sustainable development.

Protectionism and bullying are on the rise, the paper said, criticizing “certain countries and political forces” for “putting the world in serious jeopardy” by “playing the blame game, clamoring for ‘decoupling’ and pulling out of international organizations and agreements”.

Urging rejection of politicization or stigmatization associated with COVID-19, the paper called for supporting the World Health Organization’s “key leadership” and concerted action to tackle the pandemic.

The 75th anniversary of the UN is a time to reflect on the reasons for its creation and its goals, and on the recent trend of the growth in populism and nationalism, Robert Lawrence Kuhn, chairman of the Kuhn Foundation of the United States, was quoted by Xinhua News Agency as saying.

“There are always differences among nations. The high road is figuring out how to develop collective opportunities while controlling potential conflict by constant contact,” he said.

Wang Yiwei, a professor at Renmin University of China’s School of International Studies, said the paper shows China’s “sense of responsibility as a major country”.