China supports UN in advancing global governance: Chinese FM

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in Shanghai on Friday, saying China is ready to deepen all-round cooperation with the United Nations and support the organization in building a more just and equitable global governance system.

The UN secretary-general is in Shanghai to attend the 2026 World AI Conference (WAIC) and High-Level Meeting on Global AI Governance. He also attended the signing ceremony for the agreement establishing the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization.

Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, said multipolarity is an inevitable trend in historical development, and stressed that the United Nations must be strengthened, not weakened.

Wang added that the more turbulent the international situation becomes, the more important it is to uphold the authority and central role of the United Nations.

"We have always believed that the United Nations should spearhead the development of AI. We established this organization with like-minded countries to support the United Nations' work. We also hope that all countries will make their own efforts in the same direction," Wang said.

Guterres said the UN is committed to working with China to uphold international law and improve global governance with China's continued support.

He also shared his views on the relationship between AI and global governance.

"We are totally committed to having, as it was said, an AI for good and AI for all. AI for good, of course, has to do with the way of governance. And the way of governance, we should not be afraid of it because we need global governance of AI," said Guterres.

China supports UN in advancing global governance: Chinese FM

Political shows staged by certain individuals in the Philippines cannot distort the historical and legal fact that relevant islands and reefs in the South China Sea belong to China, Jiang Bin, a spokesman for the Ministry of National Defense, said on Friday.

He made the remarks in response to media reports that the Philippine defense secretary had recently visited Zhongye Dao to take part in the activities commemorating the 10th anniversary of the so-called "South China Sea Arbitral Tribunal Award".

"China has indisputable sovereignty over Nansha Qundao and its adjacent waters, including Zhongye Dao. The Philippine defense secretary, who is sanctioned by the Chinese side, is playing tough toward China by staging political shows and fanning nationalist sentiments in pursuit of personal political interests, which will ultimately undermine the fundamental interests of the Philippines and its people. The 'arbitration' is, from beginning to end, a political farce masqueraded as a legal process, and the so-called award carries no legal force in any sense. The Chinese side does not accept nor recognize the award. We do not accept any claims or actions based on it. No matter how certain individuals in the Philippines perform, they can never distort the historical and legal fact that relevant islands and reefs belong to China, and can never shake the firm determination of the Chinese military to defend China's territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests," said Jiang.

China rejects Philippine political shows over South China Sea islands: defense ministry