2022 Yale US-China Distinguished Colloquium

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Greetings.

My name is Siddharth Chatterjee, the United Nations Resident Coordinator in China.

I want to thank the Yale Club of Beijing, Yale Center Beijing, the Association of Chinese Students and Scholars at Yale, and the Yale School of Management Greater China Club for the invitation to address the 2022 Yale US-China Distinguished Colloquium.

The greater Yale community, both in China and in the United States, are members of one of the most prestigious institutions of higher education in the world.

Academia is just one sector of society that the UN in China works with towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), our blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all.

Addressing challenges that threaten global progress on the SDGs, including the COVID-19 pandemic, the climate crisis, conflicts, and inequalities, requires collaboration from all stakeholders and the entire community of nations, including the U.S. and China.

As key Member States, China and the U.S. have an important role in upholding the values of peace and security, development, and human rights by following the principles of the UN Charter and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights while implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

The UN in China has embarked on a new cycle of cooperation with the Government of China in the UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework for 2021-2025 (UNSDCF).

The UNSDCF will help China respond to new opportunities and challenges presented in three key priority areas, people and prosperity, planet, and partnerships.

Through the implementation period of the UNSDCF, my highest priority is for the UN in China to support sharing China’s experiences, expertise, and resources, and bring these lessons to bear for the benefit of the developing world, especially in Africa, while ensuring alignment to relevant international norms and standards.

We live in a turbulent global landscape, with the world now experiencing the highest number of violent conflicts since 1945.

The 2030 Agenda reminds us there is no peace without sustainable development, and no sustainable development without peace or justice, or without respect for human rights.

In this context, the Sino-American relationship is perhaps the most consequential bilateral relationship in the 21st century.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres said that it is “essential to address the problems of vaccination, the problems of climate change and many other global challenges that cannot be solved without constructive relations."

Achieving the SDGs in the remaining years of this Decade of Action requires an all-of-society approach, and renewed efforts from the private sector, academia, and young people on both sides.

Young people entering the workforce should consider how they can work to address these interconnected challenges by engaging in an evolved and inclusive multilateral approach.

Just as youth engagement is critical to achieving the 2030 Agenda, actions to be taken by the young generation will also be key to the future of Sino-U.S. relations.

With the full normalization of diplomatic relations came the state visit of former Paramount Leader Deng Xiaoping to the U.S. with then President Jimmy Carter in early 1979, opening the door to scientific, technological, and cultural exchanges.

A new generation of students and scholars began studies in one another's countries, exchanges that continue to this day, to build trust, learn from each other, enhance friendships, and promote mutual understanding between the people of China and the U.S.

In this spirit and as part of a Chinese delegation in 1985, a young Chinese official visited Muscatine, Iowa, to study U.S. agriculture, staying in the home of an American family, creating a lasting impression upon him and his views of the two countries.

Reuniting 28 years later, President Xi Jinping visited the family and explained his return by saying, “To me, you are America.”

To the young people in the room, you too are an important bridge between these two powers, and I urge you to continue directing your efforts toward a more peaceful, sustainable future.

I again, express my regards to the Yale community, and wish you a successful event.