Senior UN official visits Tianjin

UN Under-Secretary-General Peter Launsky-Tieffenthal visited Tianjin on Tuesday to meet local media, as well as keep track of the progress of Model UN Conference at Tianjin's universities.

After touring Tianjin's TV station, he met with journalists from local news agencies to discuss UN activities.

He said the UN has made full use of modern media channels to associate with more people around the world and popularize UN activities.

"Through the UN's television channel, website, videos, Weibo (or micro blog) and WeChat, our followers can be engaged in the UN's big live conferences. Those media platforms mainly provide translations in six official languages with Chinese included," he said.

A blend of traditional media and social media allows people from both remote areas and developed countries to follow updates about the UN.

The UN's Sina Weibo account has hundreds of thousands of Chinese followers, which Launsky-Tieffenthal takes pride in.

He spoke highly of China's commitment and leverage in global issues.

UN's Millennium Development Goals is the first aspect in which China plays a significant role. He reiterated the goals, which are reducing poverty and realizing sustainable development in the next generation.

Another area that he emphasized is global security.

"China already today is the largest contributor to peace keeping operations among the five permanent member states of the UN Security Council," he said. "I am also very grateful to China's additional mission in Africa."

When speaking of Tianjin, he celebrated its remarkable preservation of cultural heritage and its employment in the high technology industry. The UN has collaborated with Tianjin in the creative industry.

Amid the intimate talks with teachers and students from Tianjin Foreign Studies University at the Model UN Conference, Launsky-Tieffenthal answered questions covering a wide range of topics.

Launsky-Tieffenthal wrapped up his session by thanking for the university for its supportive efforts "not in word, but in deed".