On May 23, 2022, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi attended the opening ceremony of the 78th UNESCAP annual meeting by video and delivered a speech.

  Wang Yi said that 75 years ago, ESCAP came into being in Shanghai, China amid the ardent expectations of the people of the Asia-Pacific for a better life.

Over the past 75 years, the Asia-Pacific region has generally maintained peace and stability, regional cooperation has flourished, and economic strength has risen rapidly, creating the "Asia-Pacific Miracle" that has attracted worldwide attention.

Today, 75 years later, a century of changes has resonated with the epidemic of the century, the Cold War mentality has emerged, unilateralism has prevailed, the international order has been severely impacted, and the Asia-Pacific is once again standing at the crossroads of history.

  Wang Yi said that the peace and prosperity of the Asia-Pacific is not only related to the destiny of the region, but also to the future of the world.

The Asia-Pacific concept should not be diluted, and Asia-Pacific cooperation should not be disturbed.

We should take history as a mirror, forge ahead with determination, join hands to build an Asia-Pacific community with a shared future, and create new glories of Asia-Pacific cooperation.

  The first is to unswervingly safeguard peace and stability, uphold the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, and unequivocally reject any attempt to introduce confrontation between military groups and camps into the Asia-Pacific.

Adhering to the concept of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security, we cannot base our own security on the insecurity of other countries.

Adhere to peaceful settlement of disputes through dialogue and consultation, and oppose all words and deeds that exaggerate tension and provoke confrontation in the region.

  The second is to make concerted efforts to promote economic development, maintain the multilateral trading system with the World Trade Organization as the core, promote the establishment of the Asia-Pacific Free Trade Area, build an open Asia-Pacific economy and the world economy, and bring more "Asia-Pacific opportunities" for the recovery and growth of the world economy.

  The third is to complement each other's advantages to achieve win-win cooperation, strengthen the docking of development policies, deepen practical cooperation in poverty reduction, food security, anti-epidemic, green development, digital economy and other fields, form a multiplier synergy, and make Asia-Pacific contributions to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development .

  Wang Yi stressed that the Asia-Pacific is where China lives and lives.

China will continue to base itself on the Asia-Pacific, benefit the Asia-Pacific, and make greater contributions to the long-term stability and sustainable development of the Asia-Pacific with practical actions.

China will firmly safeguard peace in the Asia-Pacific, and is willing to strengthen dialogue and cooperation with other countries in the Asia-Pacific to implement global security initiatives.

China will firmly promote the development of the Asia-Pacific, expand high-level opening to the outside world, promote the high-quality joint construction of the "Belt and Road", promote the interconnectivity of the Asia-Pacific, and maintain the security and stability of the regional industrial chain and supply chain. China is willing to work with other countries to implement the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement. ", and actively promote accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement and the Digital Economy Partnership Agreement.

China will firmly participate in Asia-Pacific cooperation, take the implementation of global development initiatives as an opportunity to contribute to the sustainable development of the Asia-Pacific, hold high-level global development conferences in due course, increase financial support, and promote the establishment of a project library for all parties to participate.

China will firmly support the work of the United Nations ESCAP, and work with ESCAP members to well implement the construction of major projects such as the Asia-Pacific Trade Agreement and the Trans-Asian Railway Network, and support ESCAP in playing a greater role in promoting regional development.

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  UNESCAP is one of the five intergovernmental regional economic commissions under the UN Economic and Social Council. It is an important intergovernmental comprehensive economic and social development organization established by the United Nations in the Asia-Pacific region.

This year marks the 75th anniversary of the founding of ESCAP. Its predecessor, the Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East, was established in Shanghai, China in 1947, and was renamed the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific in 1974.

The theme of this year's annual meeting is "Advancing a Common Agenda for Sustainable Development in the Asia-Pacific".