Chinese Vice President Han Zheng on Monday met with UN officials, including Director-General of the UN Office at Nairobi (UNON) Zainab Hawa Bangura, UN-Habitat Executive Director Anaclaudia Rossbach and Special Envoy of the UN Secretary-General for the Great Lakes Region Xia Huang, in Nairobi, Kenya.
Han stressed that China places importance on the role of the UN and has been in sound cooperation with UNON for a long time.
Han mentioned that last year, which was the 80th anniversary of the founding of the UN, President Xi Jinping met with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. During the meeting, Xi pointed out that as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, China always stands firmly on the right side of history and practices true multilateralism and will always be a trustworthy partner of the UN.
China will deepen cooperation with the UN, support its central role in international affairs, and work with the organization to shoulder responsibility for safeguarding world peace and promoting development and prosperity, said Xi.
Han noted that Xi put forth the Global Governance Initiative (GGI) last September, which is a vote of confidence in the UN and multilateralism. It meets the common expectations of the international community and has been echoed by over 150 countries and international organizations.
China then initiated the Group of Friends of Global Governance, which was launched successively at the UN Headquarters in New York City and its office in Geneva. Many countries, especially Global South countries, joined the group with great enthusiasm, injecting confidence and vitality to multilateralism.
Han emphasized that China is willing to work with the UN to promote a more just and equitable global governance system, contributing to greater peace, stability and prosperity worldwide amid the UN's ongoing reforms and the collective rise of the Global South.
Bangura thanked China for its longstanding support of the UN's work and its entities in Kenya. She emphasized that China has become an important pillar of multilateralism, playing a vital role in advancing peace and fostering economic and social development across Africa, as well as promoting South-South cooperation.
Bangura stated that UNON attaches great importance to and looks forward to further deepening its cooperation with China to support sustainable development in Africa, advance South-South cooperation, promote global peace and security and better safeguard multilateralism amid profound changes in the international landscape.
