Speech

New Year’s Message 2023

30 December 2022

Message by Siddharth Chatterjee, UN Resident Coordinator in China

A recording of this message can be found on YouTube and Tencent Video

Greetings, everyone!

2022 was a year of many triumphs and tragedies for humanity.

Indeed, the world has faced many challenges, including the climate emergency, conflicts, rising inequalities, and the COVID-19 pandemic. As the COVID-19 situation in China continues to evolve, the United Nations family in China expresses our very best wishes and hope for a speedy recovery to all who have been impacted.

With 2023 approaching, we should also hold onto hope that while we are in the middle of the long winter of the pandemic, this too shall pass.

Over the past year, much has been accomplished by the United Nations in China to advance the implementation of our Cooperation Framework, in support of our Host Country’s national development priorities, and the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

We extend our sincere thanks to the Government of China for this positive record of cooperation, as we look forward to deepening the UN-China partnership in the coming year.

We also thank our partners, in academia, civil society, foundations, the private sector and media, for the fruitful collaborations that have taken place.

I also take this opportunity to express my deepest gratitude to all UN staff in China. They are a group of consummate professionals fully committed to China’s development and progress, and they work tirelessly every day to uphold the values of the United Nations.

As the United Nations Secretary-General, Mr. António Guterres has stated when putting forward his Common Agenda, “We are at an inflection point in history. The COVID-19 pandemic has served as a wake-up call and with the climate crisis now looming, the world is experiencing its biggest shared test since the Second World War.”

In 2023, let us all resolve to come together in global solidarity to recover and get the SDGs back on track, for people and planet.

On behalf of the United Nations Family in China, I wish you and your loved ones a very Happy New Year.