Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi will chair the meeting, and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov are among the confirmed participants. This will be the first event in which all three will participate, albeit virtually.

Chinese UN envoy Zhang Jun told a press conference on Monday: “It is becoming increasingly evident that in tackling the current global crises, multilateralism is the right outcome.”

He recalled the declaration adopted last September by world leaders to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the United Nations which said that following the COVID-19 pandemic: “Multilateralism is not an option but a necessity as we rebuild better for a more equal, more resilient, and a more sustainable world. The United Nations must be at the center of our efforts. “

The State Department said Thursday that Blinken “will discuss the importance of multilateral cooperation and highlight the core principles that are essential to maintaining a rules-based international order.”

In his first speech to a global audience after his inauguration, US President Joe Biden said that “America is back, the transatlantic alliance is back,” after four years of a Trump administration that flaunted its foreign policy through an “America first”. lens.

Addressing the Munich annual security conference practically in February, he walked through a daunting list of tasks – saving the Iran nuclear deal, addressing the economic and security challenges posed by China and Russia, and repairing the damage caused. by the pandemic – he said. would require close cooperation between the United States and its Western allies.

Last week, Biden stressed in Congress the critical importance for the United States of following China, which his administration sees as a strategic challenger, and of proving that American democracy can still work and maintain primacy in the world.

Friday’s council session also comes following a contentious meeting in Alaska on March 18 between Blinken and Communist Party of China foreign chief Yang Jiechi, which targeted each country’s radically divergent policies. It was the Biden administration’s first face-to-face meeting between the United States and China.

Blinken said the administration was united with its allies in pushing back China’s growing authoritarianism and assertiveness at home and abroad, including its actions in Hong Kong and against Taiwan, the Uyghur minority in Xinjiang and the South China Sea. Yang responded angrily, demanding that the United States stop promoting its own version of democracy at a time when the United States has been troubled by domestic discontent and accusing Washington of hypocrisy for criticizing Beijing over human rights. man and other matters.

The Chinese “concept note” said the discussion could focus on exploring “how to better consolidate the multilateral system and prevent the resurgence of unilateralism”, discussing “what kind of multilateralism the world needs and how. multilateralism should be supported “and by exploring” what efforts the international community should make to better uphold the United Nations-centered international system and the fundamental norms of international relations “based on the United Nations Charter.