Chinese President Xi Jinping skipped UN General Assembly after US summit — South China Morning Post

In New York, United States, Chinese Vice President Han Zheng, speaking at a session of the UN General Assembly, called on major powers to respect the sovereignty and security of Middle Eastern countries and to promote the establishment of two states to resolve the Palestinian issue. Xi Jinping did not speak at the General Assembly, although he was in Washington this week for a summit with US President Donald Trump.

China’s position at the UN

According to the South China Morning Post, Han Zheng also called on the international community to abandon Cold War thinking and bloc confrontation. He stated that disputes should be resolved through dialogue and consultations, while unilateral military actions that violate the UN Charter or bypass approval by the UN Security Council must be opposed.

The Chinese vice president also spoke about the need to preserve peace, restore trust, and abandon unilateral actions at the expense of multilateral cooperation. In his address, he mentioned Chinese initiatives in global development, security, civilization, and global governance.

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Why Xi did not address the General Assembly

Some analysts questioned Xi Jinping’s decision not to address the General Assembly, given his three-day trip to Washington. Bonnie Glaser, managing director of the German Marshall Fund of the United States, noted that Chinese officials had said in advance that Xi might visit the UN only for a major anniversary.

Since coming to power in 2012, Xi Jinping has personally addressed the annual session of the General Assembly only once — in 2015, during the UN’s 70th anniversary. In 2020 and 2021, he addressed participants by video link. Last year, for the UN’s 80th anniversary, China was represented by Premier Li Qiang; in other years, other senior officials, including Han Zheng and Foreign Minister Wang Yi, traveled to New York.

Former US Consul General in Chengdu Jeffrey Moon suggested that it was more important for Beijing to emphasize protocol equality with the United States. The Washington summit lasted 48 hours and did not include additional trips or multilateral events, similarly to Trump’s visit to China in May.