Activities of Secretary-General in China, 17-21 June
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, accompanied by Madam Ban Soon-taek, arrived in Beijing on Tuesday afternoon, 18 June, on a flight that left New York on Monday, 17 June.
The Secretary-General first gave an interview to China’s main CCTV television network. He then met with a number of prominent Chinese business leaders and entrepreneurs from the Global Compact Network China to discuss efforts to combat climate change and foster the green economy. He also encouraged Chinese citizens to follow the United Nations on its new Chinese-language WeChat social media account.
On Wednesday morning, 19 June, the Secretary-General visited the Chinese Defence Ministry’s Peacekeeping Centre in Huairou District near Beijing. The Secretary-General spoke by video link with Chinese peacekeepers serving in the United Nations Mission in South Sudan and received a briefing from the commanding officers at the peacekeeping centre. He toured the centre, observed an exercise and addressed trainees, highlighting China’s role in peacekeeping and some of the emerging challenges for peacekeeping operations. (See Press Release SG/SM/15120.)
The Secretary-General then returned to Beijing for talks with Foreign Minister Wang Yi that covered a wide range of topics, notably Syria and the Korean peninsula.
He next held a meeting with the United Nations country team and a town hall meeting with staff.
That same afternoon, the Secretary-General met with President Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People. At the end of the meeting, he presented the President with an example of his own calligraphy.
The Secretary-General then met General Fang Fenghui, the Chief of General Staff of the People’s Liberation Army. He thanked China for its increasing contribution to peacekeeping, including its recent commitment to deploy engineers, medical personnel and a security unit to the new United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali.
That evening, the Secretary-General met with the President of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Wang Weiguang, and a number of other members of the academy to discuss a wide range of topics, including urbanization.
The Secretary-General also spoke by telephone with the President of Somalia, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, about the terrorist attack that day against the United Nations compound in Mogadishu.
On the morning of Thursday, 20 June, the Secretary-General was briefed on clean energy initiatives by Wang Xiaokang, who chairs the China Industrial Energy Conservation and Clean Production Association. He then visited Beijing’s Capital Museum to tour an exhibition of climate change with Xu Shaoshi and Xie Zhenhua, the Chairman and Vice Chairman of the China National Development and Reform Commission. He also held talks on climate change with Mr. Xie.
While at the museum, the Secretary-General spoke to reporters about the attack in Somalia and about developments related to the Korean peninsula.
After a lunch with leading members of the United Nations Association of China, the Secretary-General met with the Mayor of Beijing, Wang Anshun, at his office.
The Secretary-General then met the four millionth follower of the official United Nations account on the Chinese-language Weibo micro-blogging service, technical university student Gao Xuan. He also rode one of the United Nations country team’s United Nations bicycles to highlight China’s energy conservation week.
Next the Secretary-General held talks with Li Keqiang, Premier of the State Council, that focused on sustainable development and the Millennium Development Goals.
He also met with State Councillor Yang Jiechi, and their discussions covered a number of topics, including Somalia, Syria and the Korean peninsula.
Early on the morning of Friday, 21 June, the Secretary-General left Beijing on a flight to New York, where he arrived the same day.