Activities of Secretary-General in China, 2-6 September

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, accompanied by Madam Ban Soon-taek, arrived in Beijing, China, on Wednesday, 2 September.

Shortly after arriving in Beijing, the Secretary-General met with the United Nations Country Team.

He then gave an interview to the Chinese online platform known as Baidu.  He answered questions collected from Baidu’s online followers.  The interview, which was conducted by the company’s Chief Executive Officer, Robin Li, focused on the seventieth anniversary of the founding of the United Nations, sustainable development, climate change and other priorities of the Organization.

In the evening, the Secretary-General attended an informal banquet hosted by the President of China, Mr. Xi Jinping.

The following day, the Secretary-General attended commemorative events marking the seventieth anniversary of the end of the Second World War.  He also met with high-level Government officials, including President Xi, Premier Li Keqiang, Vice-Premier Liu Yandong and Foreign Minister Wang Yi.

In his meetings with them, the Secretary-General commended China’s strong commitment to multilateralism and its life-saving contributions, including to peacekeeping operations and Ebola response.  He called for continued support from China for building momentum ahead of the Climate Change Conference in Paris and the implementation of the new sustainable development agenda.

The Secretary-General told President Xi that he looked forward to his first visit to the United Nations Headquarters later in September to attend the United Nations Sustainable Development Summit and the general debate of the seventieth session of the General Assembly.

On 4 September, he gave an interview to China Central Television on issues of global concern, including the refugee crisis, as well as the situation in Syria.

The Secretary-General and Madam Ban departed China for New York on Sunday, 6 September.