Antony Blinken and Wang Yi to meet again as China hosts UN peace event
- China’s presidency of the Security Council will open with a gathering of foreign ministers to discuss global cooperation
- Chinese UN envoy says Blinken has accepted Beijing’s invitation to meeting which will be chaired by Wang
It will be the first event convened by China as it assumes the Security Council presidency for the month of May, at a time when the body faces numerous challenges including Myanmar, fallout from the ongoing pandemic, and continued friction between Beijing and other countries over human rights.
Blinken had responded with a “positive” answer to China’s invitation to attend the high-level meeting, China’s UN envoy Zhang Jun told reporters. “Quite a number” of other foreign ministers representing the council’s 15 members had also confirmed their attendance, he said.
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The gathering will focus on the maintenance of international peace and security, upholding multilateralism and the UN-centred international system, Zhang said during a press conference previewing China’s priorities for its presidency.
“It’s becoming more and more evident that in tackling the current global crises, multilateralism represents the right way out,” Zhang said.
Friday’s meeting, to be chaired by Wang, will be the second encounter between Blinken and the Chinese foreign minister, following a tense meeting in Alaska in March.
The US diplomat’s participation in the summit will come on the heels of a tour to Europe, where he is meeting this week with members of the Group of Seven (G7) to discuss a range of shared geopolitical challenges, including China.