On the afternoon of September 28, 2023, President Xi Jinping met with Director-General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Audrey Azoulay at the Great Hall of the People.

Xi Jinping pointed out that the cooperation between China and UNESCO is of great significance and is conducive to jointly advancing the cause of world peace and development. China has been supporting the work of UNESCO over the years, and has done a lot, together with UNESCO, for maintaining world peace and promoting global development. Such cooperation is valuable and should be sustained in the long run. The world is made up of diverse civilizations, and China is one of the countries with the oldest history and culture in the world. China is ready to conduct closer cooperation with UNESCO to continuously enhance the capacity for heritage protection, promote mutual learning and inclusive cooperation among various civilizations, boost world peace, and promote the building of a human community with a shared future.

Xi Jinping stressed that China has a population of more than 1.4 billion, and its significant development is in itself an important contribution to the progress of human civilization. China is committed to building a great modern socialist country in all respects by the middle of this century and advancing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation through a Chinese path to modernization. To this end, China adheres to the strategy for invigorating the country through science and education, actively promotes the development of education, science and technology, and culture, and attaches importance to international exchanges and cooperation with UNESCO and other parties. China is ready to make joint efforts with UNESCO to contribute to global common development.

Audrey Azoulay said that the Chinese government has always attached great importance to and actively supported the work of UNESCO. China's support for the establishment of the UNESCO Prize for Girls' and Women's Education has played an important role in promoting women's and girls' education across the globe. UNESCO is satisfied with the fact that China and UNESCO share many common understandings and have conducted sound cooperation in a wide range of areas. She expressed the hope that UNESCO will further strengthen exchanges and cooperation with China in such fields as cultural heritage protection, science, culture, and technology, to build more international consensus and make positive contributions to maintaining world peace and development.

Wang Yi was present at the meeting.