China's permanent representative to the United Nations (UN) on Thursday called for deeper UN-OIC (the Organization of Islamic Cooperation) cooperation to promote international peace and stability.
Amid rising global instability, the UN Security Council convened on Thursday to discuss enhancing collaboration with the OIC. Fu Cong, the representative, emphasized China's support for bolstering ties between the UN and the OIC under Chapter VIII of the UN Charter to further deepen cooperation with the OIC.
During the session, UN Assistant Secretary-General Khaled Khiari praised the long-standing and close cooperation between the UN and the OIC and urged both sides to strengthen their partnership to confront global threats.
Fu noted that the OIC represents the unity and independence of Islamic nations. Since gaining observer status at the UN General Assembly, the OIC has actively cooperated with the UN in addressing global hotspots, combating terrorism, and making humanitarian relief efforts, efforts that have been widely recognized by the international community.
China emphasized the need to jointly uphold the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, promote political solutions to global hotspots, combat terrorism, and foster dialogue and exchanges among civilizations. Fu stressed that terrorism is a common enemy of humanity, and the international community faces complex and severe terrorist threats.
China called for a policy of zero tolerance toward terrorism, rejected double standards and selective approaches, and firmly opposed linking terrorism to any specific ethnicity or religion. Fu also urged the international community to continuously strengthen global counterterrorism cooperation.
"China and Islamic countries are close friends and reliable partners. Our friendship has deep roots in history. In recent years, pragmatic cooperation across various fields has flourished, setting a positive example of South-South cooperation. China is ready to work with Islamic nations to uphold true multilateralism and contribute more to global peace, development, and the building of a community with a shared future for humanity," said Fu.
China backs stronger UN-OIC ties for shared global future: Chinese envoy
China backs stronger UN-OIC ties for shared global future: Chinese envoy
China backs stronger UN-OIC ties for shared global future: Chinese envoy
The Chinese Embassy in South Africa on Monday held an event in Pretoria, the country's administrative capital, to celebrate the launch of the 2026 China-Africa Year of People-to-People Exchanges.
This year also marks the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and African countries.
Chinese Ambassador to South Africa Wu Peng said that over the past seven decades, under the joint guidance of leaders from both sides, China-Africa people-to-people and cultural exchanges have continued to expand, yielding fruitful outcomes.
Noting that the world is undergoing profound changes unseen in a century, Wu said China and Africa need to uphold fairness and justice, strengthen solidarity and mutual assistance, and enhance exchanges and cooperation more than ever before.
Taking the launch of the China-Africa Year of People-to-people Exchanges as an opportunity, Wu called for upholding the original aspiration of friendship, solidifying the foundation of cooperation, enhancing two-way efforts, and accelerating the building of an all-weather China-Africa community with a shared future for the new era.
Mmapaseka Steve Letsike, South Africa's deputy minister of women, youth, and persons with disabilities, said South Africa and China enjoy strong and historic bonds of friendship as close international cooperation partners in the political, economic, social, technical and multilateral domains.
"The significance of people-to-people is really about how we elevate the people's life to a just and equitable stance that we want to see. We want a better Africa; we want a better world. And that for us is significant," said Letsike.
"Through people-to-people exchanges, we promote mutual understanding, and that is the basis of building mutual trust, building peaceful coexistence. People-to-people exchange is a very important instrument for peace and mutual understanding," said Bongani Maimele, director of international relations with South Africa's National School of Government.
The opening ceremony of the 2026 China-Africa Year of People-to-People Exchanges was held at the African Union headquarters on Jan 8. According to the Chinese Foreign Ministry, the two sides will jointly host nearly 600 cultural and people-to-people exchange activities in 2026 to enhance exchanges and mutual learning between the two civilizations, and promote mutual understanding and connection between the peoples.
Organizing the 2026 China-Africa Year of People-to-People Exchanges is an important consensus reached by leaders from both sides at the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation Beijing Summit in 2024.
Chinese Embassy in South Africa unveils 2026 China-Africa Year of People-to-People Exchanges
