BEIJING: Chinese President Xi Jinping called on countries to protect the \u201ccentral role\u201d of the United Nations in international affairs, urging his Brazilian counterpart on Friday to help safeguard international norms, state media reported.<\/p>\n
The comments come after US President Donald Trump unveiled plans for his new \u201cBoard of Peace\u201d at the World Economic Forum.<\/p>\n
Although originally meant to oversee Gaza\u2019s rebuilding, the board\u2019s charter does not seem to limit its role to the Palestinian territory and has sparked concerns Trump wants to rival the United Nations.<\/p>\n
While China and Brazil have both been invited to join Trump\u2019s new grouping, neither has confirmed participation.<\/p>\n
Xi told President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva during their Friday morning phone call that in the current \u201ctumultuous\u201d international situation, China and Brazil \u201care constructive forces in maintaining world peace and stability,\u201d according to a readout published by state broadcaster CCTV.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey should stand firmly on the right side of history… and jointly uphold the central role of the United Nations and international fairness and justice,\u201d Xi said.<\/p>\n
European leaders have expressed doubts over Trump\u2019s norm-busting proposal, with some viewing it as an attempt to potentially sideline or even replace the United Nations.<\/p>\n
While in Davos, Switzerland, Trump said that once complete, the board \u201ccan do pretty much whatever we want,\u201d while adding that \u201cwe\u2019ll do it in conjunction with the United Nations.\u201d<\/p>\n
Beijing\u2019s foreign ministry said on Wednesday that \u201cno matter how the international situation changes, China firmly upholds the international system with the United Nations at its core.\u201d<\/p>\n
Brazil has also expressed skepticism about the Board of Peace, saying it could represent \u201ca revocation\u201d of the United Nations.<\/p>\n
Lula\u2019s special adviser Celso Amorim told Brazilian media that \u201cwe cannot consider a reform of the UN made by one country.\u201d<\/p>\n
During Trump\u2019s global tariff onslaught last year, China and Brazil sought to present their countries as staunch defenders of the multilateral trading system.<\/p>\n
Xi told Lula in August they could set an example of \u201cself-reliance\u201d for emerging powers.<\/p>\n
China, a permanent member of the UN Security Council, engages with the international body even as it has objected to what it terms internal interference.<\/p>\n
Advocacy groups like Human Rights Watch have accused China of seeking to undermine the United Nations by reducing contributions to the organization\u2019s rights budgets, establishing an alternative international mediation body and blocking activists from UN events.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
BEIJING: Chinese President Xi Jinping called on countries to protect the \u201ccentral role\u201d of the United Nations in international affairs, urging his Brazilian counterpart on Friday to help safeguard international norms, state media reported. The comments come after US President Donald Trump unveiled plans for his new \u201cBoard of Peace\u201d at the World Economic Forum. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":527234,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-527223","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n