Premier Li Keqiang arrives at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York on Sept 18. Photo: Xinhua

 
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on Sunday left Beijing for New York to attend the 71st session of the UN General Assembly.

Li will address the UN General Assembly and attend a summit on the refugee crisis. He is expected to meet US President Barack Obama on Monday and will later visit Canada and Cuba.

Zhang Haibin, a professor from the School of International Studies at Peking University, said Li will talk about China's experience in promoting sustainable development and its plans for the future in his address to the UN.

"Global governance is a significant topic for the UN at this moment, and the world wants to hear China's views on it," Zhang told the Global Times. 

He said the "G20 Summit in Hangzhou has already discussed economic affairs, so it is time for China to present more detailed suggestions on how to use economic means to achieve UN's sustainable development goals," Zhang said.

"Li's visit will strengthen engagement between China and the UN," said Ruan Zongze, executive deputy president of the China Institute of International Studies.

Li is set to propose ways to achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development of the United Nations, China Radio International (CRI) reported.

The UN's 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development has set 17 goals for the world to achieve by 2030, covering many areas such as economic development, poverty alleviation, gender equality, and environmental protection.

Hong Pingfan, an official with the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, told CRI that China's "Belt and Road" initiative is supporting the world by creating pathways to implement the UN 2030 Agenda.

The "Belt and Road" initiative, proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2013, aims at strengthening infrastructure interconnectivity and economic cooperation among the countries on the Eurasia continent and Africa, which are together home to more than half of the world's poor population. 

Zhang stressed that the world has high expectations for China, and China is willing to participate in global governance, but the scale of responsibilities China can shoulder at the moment remains limited.

"The world can't just expect China to give money to solve every problem; sustainable development needs a collective effort," Zhang said.

Apart from financial and material support, China can also provide a deeper perspective for the UN members to discuss the refugee crisis, Zhang said.

Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Li Baodong said on Wednesday in Beijing that "the 71st session of the UN General Assembly is facing a complex international situation, and world peace and development are also facing a series of new difficulties and challenges."

The UN General Assembly will host a high-level summit, which Premier Li will attend, to address large movements of refugees and migrants, with the aim of bringing countries together behind a more humane and coordinated approach.

"The key to the approach is to understand fundamental reasons behind the refugee crisis," Zhang said. "War in the Middle East is only one reason. Other factors such as climate change and pollution also cause food and water crises, but not so many people link these problems with the refugee crisis."

First Visit to Cuba

After attending the General Assembly session, Li will visit Canada and Cuba.

Ties between China and Canada have improved since Justin Trudeau became the Canadian Prime Minister. Trudeau's administration has a more positive attitude toward China and both sides have agreed to start an annual premier-level dialogue, the China News Agency reported on Saturday.

In Cuba, Li will discuss "how to further deepen bilateral relations and traditional friendship," Vice Foreign Minister Wang Chao said on Wednesday. Li's visit will be the first formal visit by a Chinese premier since the two countries established diplomatic relations 56 years ago, Wang added.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will also visit Cuba after the UN General Assembly session. Abe hopes to gain support from the Cuban government, which has close ties with Pyongyang, in dealing with North Korea. He also wishes to expand economic cooperation during what will be the first-ever visit by a Japanese leader to Cuba.