80th United Nations Day Event

H.E. Mr. Cai Wei, Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs, 

H. E. Mr. Ban Ki Moon, the 8th Secretary-General of the United Nations,

Excellencies,

Distinguished guests,

My amazing UN Country Team Colleagues,

Eighty years ago, from the ashes of a broken world, a choice was made. Not in the triumphant roar of victory, but in its weary, sobering silence. A choice forged not from certainty, but from a desperate, defiant hope. That hope was etched into history with simple but revolutionary words: “We the peoples of the United Nations.”

Our previous speaker, the 8th Secretary-General, Mr. Ban Ki-moon, is not just a statesman of this vision; he is its living testament. Born as the idea of the UN took root, his life has been intertwined with the UN. As a child, he fled his war-torn home, a refugee on a dusty road, until the hand of the United Nations reached out and saved him. That single act of rescue planted a seed—a vow to repay that aid with a lifetime of service.

Today, we do not merely commemorate an anniversary. We gather in the enduring light—and the lengthening shadow—of that very promise. The promise that once saved a boy named Ban Ki-moon. We are the inheritors of that courage. And so, we must confront the essential question: What have we built upon their legacy?

We have built bridges of dialogue where chasms of discord threatened. We have overseen an era of unprecedented human progress. And yet, we find ourselves at another precipice of deadly and profound change.

Our planet groans under the weight of our demands.

A digital revolution rewrites the rules of human connection, yet its benefits are not shared by all.

And a creeping fog of mistrust threatens to erode the very cooperation that has been our anchor for eight decades.

As Secretary-General António Guterres has warned, our Organization has never been more essential, and never more tested. His call is for “political courage and shared resolve.”

That courage must begin with unflinching honesty.

Honesty that the table where every nation has a seat must be reinforced.

That our tools for peace must be sharpened for the conflicts of today.

That to serve the world of tomorrow, we must become more agile, more inclusive, and powered by a new trinity: partnership, science, and solidarity.

This is not a distant aspiration; it is an urgent design. The recently adopted Pact for the Future is our blueprint—our commitment to bridge the digital abyss, to confront the climate emergency, and to forge global institutions that reflect the dynamic world of the 21st century, not the faded map of 1945.

And in this great endeavor, the partnership between the United Nations and the People’s Republic of China stands as a cornerstone.

Ladies and gentlemen, it has been my greatest honor to serve the United Nations as the Resident Coordinator to China in my three decades of service in the United Nations. This has been the most challenging and the most gratifying experience I have ever had.

When the UN established its presence here in 1979, China embarked on a transformation that would alter not only its own destiny, but the very trajectory of global progress. The result? A historic feat: over 750 million people lifted from the depths of poverty—the most rapid and largest-scale rise in human history. A testament to what is possible when political will and action align.

Today, that partnership has matured into leadership. China is now a vanguard—a pioneer in renewable energy, an engine of South-South cooperation, and a vital architect of a more equitable world through initiatives like the Global Governance, Global Development and Global Civilization Initiatives. These are not merely national strategies; they are global contributions, resonating with the foundational spirit of our UN Charter.

As we look to the next chapter of our cooperation, we are committed to deepening this work—to building a China that is greener, more resilient, and more prosperous; a success that benefits not one nation, but all nations.

For our duty, as the Pact for the Future reminds us, does not end at the horizon of today’s crises. It extends to those who will inherit our world—to the young girl who will one day look back and ask, with rightful clarity, what we did when the moment demanded our courage.

Let us imagine the world we are building for her:

A planet pulsating with clean energy, not choked by the fumes of the past.

A global economy that measures wealth in sustainability, not exploitation.

A digital realm that connects humanity, rather than fracturing it.

And a multilateral system that gives voice to all of humanity, not just the powerful.

This is the horizon we must steer towards.

Excellencies, distinguished guests,

Eighty years on, the first word of our Charter still defines our destiny: “We.”

“We” – the peoples. “We” – the nations. “We” – who are entrusted with this moment.

If we stand together—in solidarity, in trust, and in shared resolve—there is no challenge beyond our reach. The United Nations was born from humanity’s determination to rise from the ruins; it must now become the engine of our renewal.

Where walls of difference rise, we must build gates of empathy.

Where shadows of suspicion fall, we must light lanterns of compassion, revealing the familiar landscape of our shared humanity—forged in the same fires of hope and sorrow.

Let us honour the past, not with nostalgia, but with action worthy of its promise. Let us build a future equal to the courage of our founders and the boundless possibilities of our time.

Thank you.