Today is the United Nations (UN) Day, which marks the anniversary of the entry into force in 1945 of the UN Charter. With the ratification of this founding document by the majority of its signatories, including the five permanent members of the Security Council, the United Nations officially came into being. 24 October has been celebrated as United Nations Day since 1948. Today, around 800 friends and colleagues of the UN agencies in China gathered in Beijing to celebrate the UN Day together!

It has been 40 years since the UN began its journey in China in 1979. The UN Resident Coordinator in China Nicholas Rosellini said, “from humanitarian aid, poverty alleviation, and industrialization to education, public health, and social equality, the partnership between the UN and the Government of China successfully contributed to the overall development of China.” He highlighted that, as China made significant progress in economic growth and improving people’s livelihoods, the role of the UN has shifted from a traditional donor to a partner, providing technical expertise and supporting China’s global engagement in realizing the shared vision of “leaving no one behind”.

Over the past nearly four decades, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and China have enjoyed a solid partnership covering a large number of the country's priority areas for food and agricultural development, including sustainable intensification of agricultural production, preservation and restoration of ecosystem and biodiversity, sustainable management of forest, global health and poverty reduction. Over 400 FAO projects have benefited tens of millions of people across the country, with special attention given to smallholder farmers and vulnerable groups in poverty-stricken areas.

Vincent Martin, FAO Representative in China and DPR Korea, underlined that FAO has witnessed China’s transformation from a country receiving technical support to a strategic partner providing development knowledge and experiences to other developing countries. Since 2016, FAO in China also have a large portfolio of GEF projects addressing the sustainable intensification of agriculture, the management of forest, water resources, agrobiodiversity, all contributing to greening the value chain and protecting the environment.

On June 23, 2019, at the 41st Session of the FAO Conference, Qu Dongyu was elected as the new Director-General of the FAO. This was the first time a Chinese candidate was elected as the Director-General of the FAO. We look forward to the new chapter in cooperation between FAO and China.