UN to strengthen ties with China

WATCH VIDEO

Source: CCTV.com | 07-03-2008 08:57

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has continued his visit to promote the partnership between China and the United Nations. He welcomed China's pledge to reinforce its role in the UN by maintaining world peace and development, and showed his support for the upcoming Beijing Olympics.

Chinese President Hu Jintao (R) meets with UN Secretary- General Ban Ki-moon at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, July 2, 2008.(Xinhua Photo)

This is Ban Ki-moon's second visit to China in two months. This time, the focus was on further cooperation to tackle global challenges.

During his meeting with the UN chief, President Hu Jintao confirmed the UN's key role in promoting world peace and development, and expressed China's firm support to the organization as a cooperative partner. He said China will further cooperate with the UN in broader fields, and promised China would take a constructive and responsible role on major international and global issues. Hu Jintao also said China supports UN reforms to improve the global community's working efficiency.

Ban Ki-moon encouraged China to do more to combat problems affecting the world.

Global challenges such as poverty and food shortages topped the agenda of Ban Ki-moon's meeting with Premier Wen Jiabao.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao (R) shakes hands with UN  Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon at Zhongnanhai in Beijing, July 2, 2008. (Xinhua Photo)

Wen said China would take action to implement the UN Millennium Development Goals, and would work with the international community to help other countries develop.

He urged the world to come together to resolve global food shortages, and he expressed his support for the UN's role as lead coordinator.

He also thanked the UN for their aid for the quake zone in Sichuan Province, which the UN head visited in May.

Ban Ki-moon praised China's response to the natural disaster, and expressed his wish for smooth reconstruction work.

With only one and a half month to go for the Beijing Olympics, the UN chief also showed his interest in the Games as he toured the newly-finished Olympic venues and the Olympic park.

He was shown around an exhibition center in the Olympic park to get an overall picture of the construction for the Games, and also toured the National Stadium, the first top-level foreign official to visit since its opening.

Speaking outside the Bird's Nest, Ban Ki-moon urged the international community to work together to promote peace and mutual understanding during the Games.

Ban Ki-moon said "Let us work together so that the whole international community will be the gold medalist through this Olympic Games, through demonstrating friendship, cooperation, and mutual understanding."

The UN Secretary General is in the middle of a three-day visit to China. He will then visit the Republic of Korea, before heading for Japan to attend the G-8 summit of major industrialized nations.

Editor:Xiong Qu