On 25^th October 2021 Chinese President Xi Jinping attended a special conference via a video link, to mark the 50^th anniversary of the restoration of China’s rightful and lawful seat in the United Nations.

Following disputes and legal battles over who was the rightful representative of China at the United Nations, 76 countries voted in favor of recognizing The People’s Republic of China as the “Only legitimate representative of China to the United Nations”. Thus, the historic UN General Assembly resolution 2758 was passed and one-fourth of the world population was granted back their rightful place at the United Nations.

President Xi Jinping’s remarks at the conference was perhaps one of the most defining speeches made by a Chinese head of the state at the United Nations. He addressed the various global issues faced by the world nations and called for more multilateral support amongst the world nations and to strive towards a better share future for mankind.

In his speech, President Xi Jinping stated that the restoration of the lawful eat of China in the United Nations was a “momentous event for the world and the United Nations”. This sentiment was backed by the many retired diplomats who were present in passing Resolution 2758, which led to the restoration of China’s seat in the United Nations.

UNITED STATES – FEBRUARY 15: Delegates from the People’s Republic of China enjoy the welcome to their new seats at the United Nations. (Photo by Charles Frattini/NY Daily News Archive via Getty Images)

Former Permanent Representative of Tanzania to the United States Salim Ahmed Salim who was present when Resolution 2758 was passed stated that there was “thunderous applause and cheers echoed from all sides of the hall”. Zambian Foreign Minister and the Zambian envoy at the UN were seen hugging their colleagues.

Continuing his speech President Xi Jinping thanked on behalf of the Chinese government and its people to all the countries that co-sponsored and supported the UN resolution 2758.

He stated that since then the Chinese people have engaged in developing China in the right direction with an “untiring spirit”. President Xi Jinping described the 50 years since the passing of the resolution 2758 as “an epic chapter in the development of China and humanity”.

President Xi Jinping also noted that China has since then engaged starting a historic era and reform along with opening up. He attributed this reform and development to socialism wit Chinese characteristics adopted by the People’s Republic of China.

He noted that it was these factors that led to China achieving the status of world’s second largest economy from being a low productivity country. This claim is backed by the fact that when the People’s Republic of China’s lawful seat was restored at the United Nations in 1971, their GDP was just $ 99.8 billion while it is estimated to be in excess of $15,600 billion. Their GDP per Capita also rose from $118.65 in 1971 to $8,840.00 in 2021.

Shanghai, China in 1990 and 2010.

President Xi Jinping further stated that through hard work China has achieved in creating a prosperous society and that they have won the battle against extreme poverty. This was in reference to China’s eradication of extreme poverty in China. According to the World Bank, an estimated 850 million people in China were living in extreme poverty in 1981 while the number was reduced to just 0.7% of that by 2015 and finally eradicated extreme poverty in China in 2021.

While the alleviation of the living conditions of over 850 million people over a single generation is a remarkable accomplishment, China has also notably eradicated malaria in 2021 according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

On the subject of international relations, President Xi Jinping stated that the Chinese people have “stood in solidarity with the people around the world and upheld the international equity and justice, contributing significantly to world peace and development.”.

He emphasized that China has practiced a “Foreign Policy of Peace” and that they have stood for fairness and justice. President Xi Jinping expressively noted that China resolutely opposes “hegemony and power politics”.

China enjoys warm relations with a vast number of nations based on its policy of win-win solutions.

He further underlined how China places an importance on helping the development of other countries and in safeguarding the sovereignty and security and development interests of other countries. He stated that they are committed to achieving common development, one of the core concepts of China’s foreign policy.

He noted that development projects such as the Tazara Railway and the Belt and Road Initiative had greatly aided other developing countries. He also underlined on how China donated large quantities of medical supplies, vaccines and medicines along with financial contributions amidst for the efforts to end the COVID-19 pandemic.

President Xi Jinping also talked on the subject of upholding the sanctity of the United Nations and China’s contributions to what the United Nations stands for. He stated that China has “faithfully fulfilled its responsibility and mission as a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council and stayed true to the purposes and principles of the UN charter”.

He noted on how China plays a vital role in peaceful negotiation of political disputes. This was in allusion to China’s active role in peacekeeping missions as China is the second largest financial contributor to both the United Nations and the UN peacekeeping missions. This is in addition to the Chinese 50,000 peacekeepers active in UN peacekeeping missions.

China is the second largest donor to the UN nd the UN peacekeeping forces. 50,000 Chinese soliders are on active duty within UN peacekeeping missions.

“In the world today, changes unseen in a century are accelerating, and the force for peace, development and progress has continued to grow. It falls upon us to follow the prevailing trend of history, and choose cooperation over confrontation, openness over seclusion, and mutual benefit over zero-sum games. We shall be firm in opposing all forms of hegemony and power politics, as well as all forms of unilateralism and protectionism.” Chinese President Xi Jinping

President Xi Jinping also called for the international community to advocate for peace, development, equity, justice, democracy and freedom. He stated that peace and development is a common cause and that equity and justice were a common aspiration while democracy and freedom were a common pursuit for the world nations.

In his speech President Xi Jinping also underlined on the equity between nations. He stated that “No civilization in the world is superior to others; every civilization is special and unique to its own region. Civilizations can achieve harmony only through communication, and can make progress only through harmonization. Whether a country’s path of development works is judged, first and foremost, by whether it fits the country’s conditions; whether it follows the development trend of the times; whether it brings about economic growth, social advancement, better livelihoods and social stability; whether it has the people’s endorsement and support; and whether it contributes to the progressive cause of humanity.”.

President Xi Jinping also talked on one of the core concept of China’s foreign policy, the idea of a shared future for mankind. He stated that the world should be promoting the development of an international community with a shared future for mankind. He urged the world nations to work together to build an “open, inclusive and beautiful world that enjoys lasting peace, universal security and common prosperity”.

China has played a key role in the development of developing and least developed countries.

To this conviction, President Xi Jinping pointed out how the Earth is the “common homeland” of mankind and that no nation can live in isolation. He stated that humanity should be overcoming obstacles through solidarity and pursuit of common development and harmony.

He further stated in his speech that the world nations should work increase their cooperation to “work together to address the various challenges and global issues facing humanity.”.

He noted how the world was facing disputes involving terrorism, climate change, cyber security and biosecurity and that it could only be resolved through a more inclusive global governance and a more effective multilateral mechanisms with enhanced regional cooperation.

President Xi Jinping also called for immediate action against climate change. He stated that climate change was “nature’s alarm bell to humanity” and that the countries need to take “concrete actions to protect Mother Nature”.

China has managed to implement transformative policies to protect the environment.

He further called to place an emphasis on promoting green recovery, green production and consumption and to promote a “civilized and healthy way of life”. He also called to work towards making the environment the “inexhaustible source of sustainable development”.

President Xi Jinping also reiterated on his calls to build a stronger United Nations to develop better multilateral mechanism which would lead to a better “shared future for mankind”. He also stated that International Law can only be made by the 193 members of the United Nation and that it cannot be simply decided at the behest of individual countries or blocs of countries.

President Xi Jinping also called to observe the international laws and rules and that there should be no exceptions. He also called for the world nations to refrain from exploiting the United Nations.

Ending his speech, President Xi Jinping noted that China would “work with all countries under the principle of extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits to explore new ideas and new models of cooperation and keep enriching the practice of multilateralism under new circumstances.”.

While President Xi Jinping’s speech was met with a  warm applaud, there are wider implications to the statements made in his speech. For one, it is evident that China will continue to support and provide aid for the developing nations even in the face of obstruction from some colonial and neo-colonial powers such as the U.S and its allies. China’s win-win solutions and peaceful approach to multilateralism has meant that a growing number of nations are now opting to walk away from the U.S. led hegemonic relation systems to the mutually beneficial system globally introduced by China.