UN chief meeting China president
UN chief Ban Ki-moon was meeting top Chinese officials Wednesday during a visit to Beijing expected to focus on food security and other major international challenges.
By Agencies |
BEIJING: UN chief Ban Ki-moon was meeting top Chinese officials Wednesday during a visit to Beijing expected to focus on food security and other major international challenges.
Ban was due to first meet Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi, followed by afternoon sessions with Premier Wen Jiabao and president and Communist Party leader Hu Jintao.
In a speech at Beijing's Foreign Affairs University on Tuesday, Ban praised China's role as a net grain exporter but also called on the communist leadership to further join in efforts to address soaring food prices, climate change and global disease outbreaks.
"This is an area where China stands tall. You are leading the activities of the UN as one of the five permanent members of the Security Council and your financial and peacekeeping contribution is growing," Ban said.
"China will need to rise even higher in both rankings if we are to meet growing global challenges. Today, the entire United Nations system expects China to help lead on the international agenda," he said.
Ban's visit to Beijing follows a trip to Tokyo, where he said he would soon visit North Korea following its recent declaration of its nuclear programs. The declaration marked the completion of a key step in the six-nation talks that aim to permanently disable Pyongyang's nuclear programs.
China is the host of those talks, which also include the United States, South Korea, Japan, and Russia.
The UN leader also said he would push for a 2020 midterm target for global carbon emissions at the upcoming Group of Eight summit to be held July 7-9 on the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido.
G-8 leaders have expressed support for cutting emissions in half by 2050, and are expected to reiterate that target at the summit.
China is key to any agreement, with it and other developing economies expected to boast the steepest future rises in energy use.
Ban was due to first meet Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi, followed by afternoon sessions with Premier Wen Jiabao and president and Communist Party leader Hu Jintao.
In a speech at Beijing's Foreign Affairs University on Tuesday, Ban praised China's role as a net grain exporter but also called on the communist leadership to further join in efforts to address soaring food prices, climate change and global disease outbreaks.
"This is an area where China stands tall. You are leading the activities of the UN as one of the five permanent members of the Security Council and your financial and peacekeeping contribution is growing," Ban said.
"China will need to rise even higher in both rankings if we are to meet growing global challenges. Today, the entire United Nations system expects China to help lead on the international agenda," he said.
Ban's visit to Beijing follows a trip to Tokyo, where he said he would soon visit North Korea following its recent declaration of its nuclear programs. The declaration marked the completion of a key step in the six-nation talks that aim to permanently disable Pyongyang's nuclear programs.
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China is the host of those talks, which also include the United States, South Korea, Japan, and Russia.
The UN leader also said he would push for a 2020 midterm target for global carbon emissions at the upcoming Group of Eight summit to be held July 7-9 on the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido.
G-8 leaders have expressed support for cutting emissions in half by 2050, and are expected to reiterate that target at the summit.
China is key to any agreement, with it and other developing economies expected to boast the steepest future rises in energy use.
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With that growth in mind, Western leaders have called for China to set strict emission caps. But Beijing, along with India, has maintained that it needs rapid development to fight poverty among its massive population and that its per-capita emissions are far lower than those in rich nations. Download
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