NAIROBI, March 23 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Vice President Han Zheng on Monday met with heads of United Nations agencies in Kenya, with both sides calling for upholding multilateralism and advancing South-South cooperation.
Han held talks in Nairobi, the Kenyan capital, with UN officials including Zainab Hawa Bangura, director-general of the United Nations Office at Nairobi, Anaclaudia Rossbach, executive director of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat), and Xia Huang, the UN secretary-general's special envoy for the Great Lakes Region.
China attaches great importance to the role of the United Nations and has long maintained sound cooperation with UN agencies in Kenya, Han said.
Noting that last year marked the 80th anniversary of the founding of the United Nations, he recalled that Chinese President Xi Jinping, during his meeting with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, said that as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, China always stands firmly on the right side of history and practices true multilateralism, and China will always be a trustworthy partner of the United Nations.
Han said that the United Nations plays an irreplaceable role in global governance, and China firmly supports safeguarding its authority and status.
China, he said, remains committed to being a builder of world peace, an advocate for global development and a guardian of the international order.
The Global Governance Initiative proposed by President Xi last September has, through concrete actions, cast a "vote of confidence" for the UN and multilateralism, he said, noting that the initiative aligns with the shared aspirations of the international community and has received support from more than 150 countries and international organizations.
China, leveraging the UN platform, has initiated the establishment of the Group of Friends of Global Governance, which has attracted active participation from countries of the Global South, injecting confidence and momentum into multilateralism, Han added.
Against the backdrop of deepening UN reforms and the collective rise of the Global South, China stands ready to strengthen cooperation with the UN to promote a more just and equitable global governance system, and to contribute more to global peace, stability and prosperity.
Bangura and other UN officials expressed appreciation for China's consistent support for the United Nations and its agencies in Kenya. They said that China is an important pillar of world peace and multilateralism, playing a vital role in promoting peace as well as economic and social development in Africa, and in advancing cooperation among Global South countries.
UN agencies in Kenya, they said, attach great importance to and look forward to further deepening cooperation with China to support sustainable development in Africa, advance South-South cooperation, promote global peace and security, and better uphold multilateralism amid profound changes in the international landscape.
Following the meeting, Han, accompanied by Bangura, visited the United Nations Office at Nairobi.
