President Hu Jintao is making an unprecedented string of visits to United Nations summits as he leads a high-ranking Chinese delegation to the United States this week.
The president will be in New York for the UN Summit on Climate Change, the 64th annual UN General Assembly debate and a nuclear nonproliferation and disarmament summit of the UN Security Council from Monday through Thursday.
The president, along with his delegation, will be voicing China's positions, concerns and solutions on urgent global issues, such as reshaping the global governance on climate change, nuclear security and the financial recession. He will be delivering four speeches at the summits and General Assembly, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
He then treks to the G20 summit in Pittsburgh, Pa., on Thursday night. Hu is expected to attend the G20 summit through Friday.
The president is the first Chinese head of state in over 30 years to attend the UN general debate, according to Liu Zhenmin, China's deputy permanent representative to the UN, in an interview with Xinhua News Agency. It will be the first time that a Chinese head of state has attended so many UN summits for a single visit since the resumption of China's legitimate seat at the UN in 1971, Liu said.
Hu is also expected to hold talks with his US counterpart Barack Obama and a separate discussion with Japan's new Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama, according to the ministry.
Together with Hu are Vice-Premier Wang Qishan, as well as ministers in charge of economic, financial and monetary policies, and China's top climate change envoy Xie Zhenhua.
The team of delegates arrived in the US last week to help pave the way for the UN climate change summit tomorrow (Tuesday, eastern standard time in the US).