Wang Yi to address New York on strengthening the international system
Beijing (ANTARA) - Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi will deliver a speech on the importance of the United Nations in New York at a high-level meeting of the UN Security Council during China’s rotating presidency of the UN Security Council.
“As the rotating president of the UN Security Council for the month of May, China will convene a high-level meeting of the UN Security Council on May 26,” said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun at a press conference in Beijing on Friday (May 22).
“Foreign Minister Wang Yi will preside over the meeting in New York with the theme ‘Upholding the purposes and principles of the UN Charter and strengthening a UN-centered international system’,” Guo Jiakun added.
The UN Security Council has five permanent members with veto powers—the United States, China, Russia, the United Kingdom and France. Meanwhile, ten non-permanent members are elected for two-year terms by the UN General Assembly.
Each month, both permanent and non-permanent members hold the presidency of the UN Security Council in turn according to alphabetical order, and as of 1 May 2026, China is the rotating president of the UN Security Council.
“As the rotating chair of the UN Security Council in May, China has proposed holding a high-level meeting at the Security Council. The meeting will focus on issues of great importance to the international community, including the relevance of the UN Charter today, observing and practising the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, and enhancing the authority and effectiveness of the UN and the Security Council,” Guo Jiakun said.
The meeting, Guo Jiakun said, will be chaired by Foreign Minister Wang Yi, and will be open to all UN member states.
“Foreign ministers and senior representatives from various countries have confirmed their attendance, and UN Secretary-General António Guterres will brief at the event,” Guo Jiakun added.
Guo Jiakun noted that the world today is witnessing accelerating transformations unseen in the last century, interlinked reforms and upheavals, as well as ongoing wars and conflicts.
He also said that Foreign Minister Wang Yi will urge UN Security Council members to reaffirm a firm commitment to multilateralism and invite members to take on greater responsibility in revitalising the status and role of the UN, and to mobilise greater synergies for reforming and enhancing global governance.
“When unilateralism and resurgent hegemony deal heavy blows to the international system, with the UN at its core and an international order based on international law, the world risks slipping back to a law of the jungle,” Guo Jiakun said.
Maintaining UN authority and international equality
In a meeting between President Xi Jinping and President Vladimir Putin, Guo Jiakun said the two leaders also agreed that as permanent members of the UN Security Council and major powers, China and Russia should increase their obligations and together uphold UN authority as well as international justice and equality.
“China and Russia will further deepen strategic coordination in building a multipolar world and improving global governance, delivering a strong call in line with the current circumstances, and becoming a source of stability and strength for world peace and development,” Guo Jiakun added.
Apart from attending the UN Security Council meeting, Wang Yi is also scheduled to attend the ‘Group of Friends on Global Governance’ meeting in New York on 28 May, and will hold meetings with the UN Secretary-General and foreign ministers from other countries.
“In December last year, the Group of Friends on Global Governance was inaugurated in New York, Geneva and Vienna, with increasing membership, influence and cohesion. This fully demonstrates that the Global Governance Initiative initiated by President Xi Jinping is at the forefront and meeting the needs of all countries. This is where history turns and public opinion trends take shape,” Guo Jiakun said.
He said China hopes that all parties will use the upcoming ‘Group of Friends’ meeting as an opportunity to build consensus on reform, strengthen coordination and cooperation, find effective solutions to global challenges, collectively uphold the authority and standing of the UN, and push for a more just and equitable global governance system.
The permanent members of the UN Security Council are China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States, while the non-permanent members for 2026 are Bahrain, Colombia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Denmark, Greece, Latvia, Liberia, Pakistan, Panama and Somalia.
The UN Security Council has 15 member states, and each member has one vote responsible for maintaining international peace and security.
The Council plays a key role in determining threats to peace or acts of aggression and, in certain conditions, can impose sanctions or even authorize the use of force to maintain or restore international peace and security.
The five permanent members of the UN Security Council, known as the P5, have veto powers, so resolutions or decisions of the UNSC cannot be adopted.