SDGs take centre stage at UN Day celebration in China
24 October 2023
BEIJING, 24 October – In celebration of the 78th United Nations Day, the UN in China hosted an event yesterday at its compound in Beijing. The event saw the attendance of more than 170 high-level guests, including representatives from the Government of China, Member States, leaders of the UN in China, and invited partners from academia, business, civil society and other relevant sectors.
UN Day, on 24 October, marks the anniversary of the entry into force in 1945 of the UN Charter. Celebrated every year, the occasion offers an opportunity to reaffirm the purposes and principles of the UN Charter that have guided the Organization and the international community for the past 78 years.
Under the theme “Act Now for the SDGs”, this year’s celebration of UN Day aimed to raise awareness, inspire dialogue and mobilize efforts for a new phase of accelerated progress on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), further demonstrating the convening power of the UN across its Three Pillars of peace and security, human rights and development.
Mr. António Guterres, UN Secretary-General, in a global video message played at the event, said, ‘The United Nations is guided by timeless values and principles, but it must never be frozen in time. That is why we must always keep strengthening ways of working and applying a 21st century lens to all we do.”
Representatives of the Government of China, led by His Excellency Mr. Ma Zhaoxu, Executive Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, who served as the Guest of Honour, attended the event, highlighting China’s support for the Organization.
His Excellency Mr. Ma Zhaoxu, Executive Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs for the People’s Republic of China, during his remarks, congratulated the UN on its 78th anniversary and expressed that the world today needs a robust UN more than ever. He emphasized that China will continue to support UN development agencies in China, in focusing on development and joining China’s endeavour to pursue Chinese modernization, and that China will make every effort to ensure that cooperation between it and the UN achieves new and greater results.
Representatives of the UN in China, led by Resident Coordinator Siddharth Chatterjee, were in attendance at the event. The Resident Coordinator used his remarks to call for renewed multilateralism for the SDGs as well as a healthy planet, better economy, just society and a world working together.
Mr. Siddharth Chatterjee, UN Resident Coordinator in China, during his remarks, said, “The multilateral system is under duress, with several regional crises and other global challenges threatening to tear us apart. We must not succumb to these differences. Only through international cooperation and a revitalized and reinforced UN and multilateral system will we be able to come together to develop solutions to these issues and begin to address them.”
The work of UN entities in China, including publications, reports and other related material, was made available to guests via a display area at the venue, highlighting their efforts to implement the Cooperation Framework, achieve the SDGs and leave no one behind.
Following remarks at the event, several performances touching on the theme of unity took place, including a recital of “We Are the World” by a children’s choir, pieces that featured Chinese musical instruments such as the guqin and pipa, and a concluding performance of “Ode to Joy”.
The UN in China gratefully acknowledges the efforts of its supporting partners and thanks all guests for their attendance at this year’s UN Day event.
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For further information, please contact:
Ms. Louise Xi LI, Head of Communications, UN Resident Coordinator’s Office in China
Tel: +8610-85320725, Email: xi.li@un.org
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