Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi took a swipe at the United States at a press conference at the United Nations on Tuesday as he touted the need to safeguard multilateralism and the UN Charter in times of great instability.
“As we have seen for the recent period of time, the purposes of the UN Charter have been disregarded, the basic norms of international relations have been undermined, and world peace and security are in great jeopardy,” Wang said, without mentioning the United States or US President Donald Trump by name.
“At this critical juncture, we believe that the Security Council must step forward, and the Security Council must shoulder its responsibilities.”
Advertisement
China’s top diplomat also expressed hope that the US and Iran can “meet each other halfway” so peace can return to the Mideast.
China assumed the presidency of the UN Security Council in May, a rotating one-month position shared among the council’s 15 members, with Wang in New York to support his nation as it led the top UN body.
It was not immediately clear whether Wang would meet with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio during his time in the US. The State Department declined to respond to a question on Rubio’s schedule. Rubio is expected to return to his desk on Wednesday after a weeklong trip to Nato meetings in Sweden and Quad meetings in India.