On September 24, 2018 local time, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi attended the Nelson Mandela Peace Summit at the United Nations (UN) headquarters in New York.

Wang Yi expressed in his speech that Mr. Nelson Mandela's contributions to peace and reconciliation of mankind is worth remembering. His great spirit will surely encourage the younger generations to continuously make unremitting efforts to peace. Regrettably, peace is still out of reach in many places of the world. As we commemorate the centennial of the birth of Mr. Nelson Mandela, we should continuously carry forward the spirit of peace, reconciliation, equality and inclusiveness that he advocated, so as to push the UN to better fulfill the lofty mission of maintaining peace.

Wang Yi stated that the UN is the banner of multilateralism and the important defender of world peace. At the moment, unilateralism and protectionism are on the rise, posing severe challenges to the contemporary international system with the UN at its core. The international community should unite under the banner of multilateralism, maintain the core role of the UN in international affairs as well as provide more stable expectations for the turbulent world.

Wang Yi said that dialogue and reconciliation is the road we must go through to peace, and also the principle Nelson Mandela upheld for his lifetime. Faced with the complicated hot spot issues and the growing regional conflicts, all parties should actively advocate solving disputes through dialogue and solving differences through negotiation. Nelson Mandela once said that eradicating poverty is the protection of fundamental human rights. While poverty persists, there is no true freedom. Many problems of today's world have their root causes in poverty and the sure way out is through development. We must remain committed to addressing both the symptoms and the root causes of conflicts to eradicate the root of the conflicts, and comprehensively implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, so as to provide the basic guarantee for sustainable peace.

Wang Yi expressed that China and Africa have been a community with a shared future sharing weal and woe and a community of common interests with win-win cooperation. Developing unity and cooperation with African countries is an important basis of China's foreign policy, as well as a long-term and firm strategic choice of the Chinese side. Not long ago, the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation was successfully held, which is also one of the best commemorations for Mr. Nelson Mandela. President Xi Jinping has put forward that China and Africa should join hands in building an even stronger community with a shared future for China and Africa, with focus on implementing the eight major initiatives. The Summit has expanded new and broad space for further deepening South-South cooperation, and injected strong positive energy into world peace, stability and development.

Wang Yi said that we call on various countries in the world to take the 100th birthday of Nelson Mandela as a new starting point and this peace summit as a new opportunity to jointly build a community with a shared future for mankind as well as a world with lasting peace and universal security.