China’s EU ambassador Fu Cong to take over United Nations role
- Fu’s tenure in Brussels coincided with growing tensions over Beijing’s relations with Russia and probes into alleged electric vehicle subsidies
- In his farewell comments to the EU, Fu urged the bloc to ‘build more bridges’ rather than ‘errecting walls or digging holes’
Fu takes on the UN role at a time when China is seeking to bolster its support among members of the so-called Global South. In announcing his appointment, the China International Development Cooperation Agency, a government foreign aid organisation, called for greater cooperation between the agency and China’s diplomats at the UN.
Despite the growing tensions with the EU under his watch, Wang Yiwei, a professor of international relations at Renmin University in Beijing, said “Fu’s work in Europe was commendable to the leadership.”
He said that by moving to the UN: “His official rank remains the same, but the new role means more responsibility as that involves China-US confrontation.”
Fu left his posting in Brussels last month, and in his farewell reception, he urged China and the EU to “build more roads and bridges instead of erecting walls or digging holes or creating small yards”.