Activities of Secretary-General in China, 13-16 May

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres flew from London, United Kingdom, to Beijing, China, where he arrived on Saturday, 13 May, to attend the Belt and Road Initiative Forum on International Cooperation.

On Sunday, 14 May, the Secretary-General opened the Forum along with President Xi Jinping, President Vladimir Putin of the Russian Federation and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan of Turkey.  In his remarks, Mr. Guterres said that in order for countries along the Belt and Road to fully benefit from the potential of enhanced connectivity, it was crucial to strengthen the links between the initiative and the Sustainable Development Goals.  (See Press Release SG/SM/18519.)

He later was interviewed by China Global Television Network.

During a leaders’ round table on “Policy Synergy for Closer Partnership”, the Secretary-General stressed that cooperation must become multi-directional and that the field of actors must expand far beyond Governments to include businesses, philanthropic foundations, civil society groups, local authorities, parliaments, trade unions, research institutes and academia.  (See Press Release SG/SM/18522.)

While in Beijing, the Secretary-General met with several members of the Chinese Government, including Premier Li Keqiang; Foreign Minister Wang Yi; State Councillor Yang Jiechi and Public Security Minister Guo Shengkun.

He also held a series of bilateral meetings with other leaders in attendance — Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras of Greece; Prime Minister Erdenebat Jargaltulga of Mongolia; and Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni Silveri of Italy; as well as with the Minister of Economy and Industry of Japan, Toshihiro Nikai; and the State Counsellor and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Myanmar, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.

The Secretary-General left China for France on Tuesday, 16 May.