Former deputy foreign minister He Yafei has started at his new post as China's ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva, while his predecessor, Li Baodong, has taken up ambassadorship at the UN headquarters in New York. The Foreign Ministry made the announcement on its website, confirming an earlier report by the South China Morning Post. Li's predecessor, Zhang Yeshui, is expected to become the next ambassador to the US. Li's arrival at the UN headquarters indicates that Zhang's appointment will be announced soon. In Geneva on Wednesday, He handed his credentials to Sergei Ordzhonikidze, the director general of the United Nations Office. He told Ordzhonikidze that China supported multilateralism and would work with the UN to safeguard world peace and security. Li said after meeting UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon that China would support the UN's authority. 'As China develops, its connection with the world gets tighter,' he said. 'China needs the UN and the UN needs China.' The UN has become an increasingly important platform for China to exercise its rising clout and ambition. Beijing has preferred multilateral means to settle international affairs, in a bid to fend off criticism of the 'China threat'. Zhou Wenzhong has finished a five-year term in Washington and returned to Beijing to attend the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. He is expected to be given a ceremonial leadership position at the advisory body.
