Activities of Secretary-General in China, 16-20 July

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres arrived in Shanghai, China, late on Thursday morning, 16 July.

In the afternoon, he did an interview with China Global Television Network, and in the evening, the Secretary-General attended an official dinner hosted by President Xi Jinping.  Following the dinner, he attended the signing ceremony for the World AI Cooperation Organization as an observer.

On Friday, 17 July, the Secretary-General addressed the opening ceremony of the World Artificial Intelligence Conference.  In remarks, the Secretary-General said that artificial intelligence (AI) can be humanity’s greatest opportunity in the twenty-first century, and it could also become one of its greatest risks.

The Secretary-General underscored that the technology that will shape the future of humanity must be shaped by all humanity, and it cannot be governed by a handful of countries or a handful of companies.  He pointed out that few areas hold greater promise for our common future than the application of AI to sustainable development, but it won’t happen if the historical injustices of the past are repeated in the technologies of the future.

Also in the morning, the Secretary-General toured an exhibition of China's MAZU meteorological AI early warning system.

Soon after, the Secretary-General held a bilateral meeting with Wang Yi, Member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, Director of the Office of the Central Commission for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Foreign Affairs of China.  This was followed by a lunch hosted by Mr. Yi.

In the afternoon, the Secretary-General attended the World Artificial Intelligence Conference Meteorological Forum.  In his remarks, he noted that the Forum shows one of the clearest ways AI can serve humanity: by helping save lives.

The Secretary-General said that early warning systems are the most cost-effective protection against climate disaster.  He noted that 128 countries now have multi-hazard early warning systems, more than double since 2015, but one third remain unprotected, and stressed that we urgently need to accelerate, and artificial intelligence can help.

Later in the afternoon, the Secretary-General held a bilateral meeting with Xi Jinping, President of the People’s Republic of China.

A readout summarizing the Secretary-General’s meetings with the President of China was issued.

In the evening, the Secretary-General attended a dinner hosted by the Special Envoy for Climate Change, Ministry of Ecology and Environment of China, Liu Zhenmin.

On Saturday early morning, the Secretary-General departed from Shanghai for Yunnan Province.  He arrived in Dali in the afternoon, where later that day he attended a banquet hosted by Dali officials.

On Sunday morning, before departing Dali, the Secretary-General visited the Erhai Lake Ecological Corridor in Dali, a 900-hectare nature-based restoration project that has significantly boosted local biodiversity.  He then traveled to Kunming, where later in the afternoon, he attended an official dinner.

On Monday morning, the Secretary-General interacted with beneficiaries and local counterparts of UN programmes from agencies such as the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN-Women), supporting the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals in China.  He heard first-hand accounts from beneficiaries of projects on biodiversity conservation and ecosystem restoration, promoting nature-based solutions, the sustainable use of medicinal plants and community-based conservation efforts linked to local livelihoods.

Later, the Secretary-General planted a tree at Baofeng Wetland Park, which was rehabilitated from former fish ponds and farmlands through a major restoration project.

The Secretary-General departed China on Monday, 20 July.