Michelle Bachelet meets China's top diplomat in UN chief bid

The race for the world’s top diplomatic post is heating up. UN secretary-general candidate Michelle Bachelet traveled to Beijing on Thursday to meet with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, securing an important audience with one of the UN Security Council's most powerful veto holders.

Following the high-profile meeting, Wang Yi announced that China intends to participate in selecting the next UN chief in a "responsible and constructive manner". He added that Beijing's goal is to help revitalize the organization so it can better adapt to modern global challenges, News.Az reports, citing Anadolu Agency.

Bachelet, a heavy hitter in international politics, has framed her campaign around the need for strong multilateralism. She described the UN as an "indispensable platform" but called for major internal reforms to steer the organization back toward its original founding mission.

The stake for China is high. Beijing previously outlined strict criteria for the next leader, stating they must firmly protect the UN Charter, champion the needs of developing countries, and possess elite diplomatic coordination skills.

Bachelet boasts an impressive resume for the role, having served two terms as the president of Chile and later leading the UN's human rights wing as High Commissioner from 2018 to 2022. She is currently one of five official candidates vying for the five-year term.

The election to choose the UN’s 10th secretary-general will take place later this year. If Bachelet succeeds, it will mark a historic milestone: since the United Nations was founded in 1945, a woman has never held the office of secretary-general.

News.Az 

By Aysel Mammadzada