MEDIA ADVISORY: The Secretary-General's Remarks to Students at Peking University

MEDIA ADVISORY: The Secretary-General's Remarks to Students at Peking University

May 23, 2006

    UNDP issued a statement regarding the importance of the
relationship between China and the United Nations as below:

    "Dear young friends,   

    Da Jia Hao! I am delighted to be here. The engagement
of Chinese students in the relationship between China and
the United Nations is of tremendous importance and interest
to me as Secretary-General. It is a relationship that is
crucial to the future of the UN. As China's leaders of
tomorrow, you have a key role in shaping it. 

    What China does, and how China fares, will help
determine how the world as a whole meets the challenges of
the 21st century. And China's ongoing transformation, its
growing constructive global leadership, its dynamic
engagement with the United Nations, give us real cause for
optimism. 

    Your country has achieved a rate of economic growth
that is the envy of countries around the world. You have
made progress in reducing poverty -- progress on a scale
that is unprecedented in human history. Through trade and
investment, China is building bridges across the globe. 

    You are playing a pioneering role in cooperation with
other developing countries, whether through projects abroad
or through the generous provision of training here in China.
And you are at the forefront of many global health efforts,
as we saw when you hosted the international pledging
conference on avian and human influenza earlier this year.


    China's performance will have an increasingly profound
effect on the ability of the world as a whole to reach the
Millennium Development Goals -- a set of simple, powerful,
people-centred objectives, based on fundamental human
needs, that every man and woman in the street, from Beijing
to Bamako, can easily understand and support. 

    China is already on its way to meeting most of the
Goals. I am heartened by the close synergy between them and
China's Xiaokang principles for balanced development, with
both visions based on the fundamental principle of
"putting people first". 

    Yet huge challenges remain. Somehow, the rural poor
must be enabled to share in China's amazing economic
growth. Urgent efforts are needed to fight the spread of
HIV/AIDS. And measures to protect the environment are
equally crucial. 

    Many of those are challenges in which you have a
crucial role to play. In particular, we cannot win the war
against AIDS without the leadership of you, the young
people of China. 

    But China's advancement is not limited to the field of
economic and social development. Your country is becoming
increasingly engaged in the work for multilateral solutions
in international peace and collective security. 

    As host of the six-party talks on the nuclear issue on
the Korean Peninsula, China has played a crucial role on
this pressing issue. China's ongoing leadership will be
essential to ensure that multilateral diplomatic efforts
result in a Peninsula free from nuclear weapons. We cannot
allow the current stalemate to continue. All parties will
need to redouble their efforts. 

    Dear friends, 

    Whatever path you choose to take when you leave this
campus, you will enter a world shaped by globalization.
What happens in one country affects another. Epidemics,
environmental degradation, nuclear proliferation and
terrorism challenge us all. Scientific breakthroughs,
information technology, economic integration, have the
potential to benefit us all. 

    The biggest challenge facing your generation is to
ensure that globalization becomes a force for good -- a
force that works not only for the privileged few, but for
all humankind. 

    As China plays an ever more active role on the world
stage, your impact on institutions with global reach and
global mandate will become more and more decisive.
Institutions that will establish and uphold international
norms and standards, while promoting the international rule
of law. Institutions like the United Nations. 

    One crucial set of norms to uphold is the protection of
human rights. I congratulate China on its recent election to
the new Human Rights Council. Now it is time for China and
other members of the Council to find ways to ensure the
protection of the human rights of all people in every
country in the world. 

    The UN family looks forward to an ever more engaged
partnership with China in the years to come. Here at home,
we are determined to help your great country realize the
tremendous promise it holds. And in the international
arena, we can provide an essential platform as China
continues to go global. 

    The range of issues that I have discussed with the
Chinese leadership on this visit shows the breadth of the
Chinese role in the world and the importance of China's
engagement with the UN. We discussed the fundamental
importance of multilateralism and the irreplaceable role of
the UN, as well as the need to deliver concrete reform
results on everything from the development agenda and the
Millennium Development Goals to peacebuilding,
strengthening human rights work, management reform, the
mandate review and counter-terrorism. 

    We also discussed China's support for Africa, for peace
operations, and the need for ongoing leadership on global
health challenges including HIV/AIDS, Avian Flu and
malaria. We spent a good deal of time discussing
non-proliferation and disarmament, including the importance
of the NPT regime and the specific situations on the Korean
Peninsula and in Iran. We also recognized the serious
developments in the greater Middle East, including the
situations in Israel and Palestine, Iran, Iraq and
Syria/Lebanon. 

    My discussions with President Hu Jintao and other
leaders reinforce my optimism about China's willingness to
work for the strengthening and cumulative consolidation of
constructive and cooperative ties within and beyond your
neighborhood. During my current visits to the region I have
observed that the ties that bind China, Japan and the
Republic of Korea are deep and multi-layered. The
interaction among businessmen, intellectuals, artists,
students and public personalities has risen dramatically in
recent years. People-to-people contacts are becoming a way
of life. 

    I am also encouraged by the desire of leaders in all
three countries to have better relations. Working together
on common challenges can help accelerate this process. On
this trip I have suggested that the three countries pool
their efforts together on issues of common concern. As a
start, this could include protecting the environment in
this part of the world. They could also combine their
efforts to advance a Green Revolution in Africa. All of
this could help pave the way for improved relations, and in
so doing help them to realize their immense individual and
collective potential. 

    I am also heartened by commitment of all three
countries to multilateral action, and by their desire for a
stronger and more effective United Nations. 

    On all the issues confronting us, we look forward to
working together with young people like you, who represent
the future of China. Your determination will be crucial as
you build on the achievements of your leaders. And China's
future is fundamental to the future of the world. 

    Now I look forward to hearing your questions. And I
hope you will question my answers.  Xie Xie. Thank you very
much.

    Beijing
    May 23, 2006"

    For more information, please contact:

     Ms. Zhang Wei, 
     Communications Officer, UNDP China 
     Tel:  [phone] 

     Mr. Roy Wadia, 
     Communications Officer, WHO China
     Tel:  [phone]

SOURCE  United Nations Development Programme