Chinese foreign minister to attend UN Summit of Future, general debate of UNGA

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi will attend the UN Summit of the Future and the general debate of the 79th session of the UN General Assembly as the special representative of President Xi Jinping from September 22 to 28, and China hopes that the summit will provide important opportunities for the international community to jointly respond to challenges, said Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian on Thursday.

He made the remarks at a regular press conference in Beijing.

"Member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Foreign Minister Wang Yi as the special representative of President Xi Jinping will lead a delegation to the UN Summit of the Future and the general debate of the 79th session of the UN General Assembly. Foreign Minister Wang will fully elaborate on China’s policy and propositions on the current international landscape, global governance and major international and regional issues, and further expound on the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative, the Global Civilization Initiative and other important visions," he said.

"The Summit of the Future as the most important agenda of the UN this year will have an important impact on the reform of the global governance system and is highly expected by the international community. China hopes that the Summit of the Future will provide important opportunities for the international community to build up political consensus, enhance solidarity and collaboration, and jointly respond to challenges. China will strengthen exchanges and cooperation with the UN, relevant countries and international organizations, and galvanize efforts in the international community to uphold true multilateralism, make concerted efforts to deal with various global challenges, jointly promote global peace, development and progress, and advance the building of a community with a shared future for mankind," Lin noted.

Chinese foreign minister to attend UN Summit of Future, general debate of UNGA

China urged the European Union (EU) to be clearly aware of the harm of imposing additional tariffs, as it will not solve any problems, said Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning at a press briefing in Beijing on Friday.

European Council President Charles Michel said on Friday at the ASEAN summit that China must adapt its behavior to solve the escalating trade row with Europe.

When asked to respond to Michel's statements, Mao said that on the economic and trade disputes between China and the EU, China made clear its position more than once.

"The EU needs to see clearly that higher tariffs solve no problem and will only undermine the EU’s business environment, weaken Chinese companies’ confidence in investment and cooperation in Europe, reduce the competitiveness of the EU’s relevant industry, and destabilize global industrial and supply chains. This will backfire and do no one good. We urge the EU to take concrete actions and work with China to find solutions through consultation and avoid further escalation of the trade frictions," she said.

EU needs to see clearly higher tariffs solve no problem: spokeswoman