Chinese Vice-President Zheng was the first to address the assembly during Saturday's morning session of the UN General Assembly's (UNGA) General Debate. Chinese President Xi Jinping decided to skip the UN meeting in New York but was in Washington for a summit with President Donald Trump between September 23rd and September 25th.
Zheng used the speech to emphasize China's supposed commitment to a multilateral and rules-based international order, as well as to subtly criticize U.S. foreign policy.
"We should stay committed to multilateralism and take steps to safeguard fairness and justice. Multilateralism is a choice made by humanity after going through scourges … China holds that all countries, big or small, are equal members of the international community and that world affairs should be handled by all", Zheng told the delegates present.
Zheng's statements presented a stark contrast to those of President Donald Trump, whose speech to the assembly on Tuesday was punctuated by frequent references to claimed American technological, military and economic supremacy.
"Our economy is the envy of the world. Our military is the most powerful on earth. Our technology is second to none, and we are leading in virtually everything … America is rising. Our nation is growing. Our power is expanding", Trump declared.
However, Zheng's most explicit criticism of the U.S. related to its policy on Cuba.
"China urges the relevant country to immediately stop using threat of force against Cuba and immediately and completely lift the blockade and sanctions against Cuba".
The "relevant country" mentioned is the U.S., which has maintained a comprehensive trade embargo against Cuba for decades and has ratcheted up punitive economic sanctions and restrictions on oil imports to the Caribbean nation this year. The Trump administration has also repeatedly threatened the Cuban political leadership with military intervention and forced regime change.
U.S. trade policies also came under implicit fire.
"Protectionism produces no winners … we must firmly safeguard the WTO centered, rules-based multilateral trading system" Zheng argued.
Protectionist trade policies are at the heart of the Trump administration's economic policy, particularly as it relates to China. Last year the trade war between China and the U.S. escalated significantly because of Trump's imposition of tariffs on U.S. goods. Retaliatory cycles drove U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods up to 145% by April 2025.
Although the economic relationship has since recovered significantly and shows signs of continued improvement after a $30 billion dollar reciprocal tariff-reduction agreement was agreed during the recent Trump-Xi summit, new legislation passed by Congress would allow Trump to impose tariffs of up to 100 percent on China
The Chinese politician's other criticisms were more subtle; Zheng referenced the need to respect the "sovereignty and security of countries in the Middle East", a potential nod to Chinese disapproval of the American decision to attack and continue to engage in hostilities with Iran.
Zheng's mention of the need to "oppose unilateral military actions that violate the UN charter and circumvent Security Council authorization" is likely an allusion to various recent U.S. military actions that were undertaken without UN approval, such as the capture and forcible extradition of former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro to the United States in January as well as the joint Israeli-U.S. strikes on Iran in February.
Zheng's comments are a reminder that, despite the insistence of both Washington and Beijing that the Trump-Xi summit laid the groundwork for a constructive relationship between the two nations, China and the U.S. have differing, and at times downright opposing, views of their nations' place in the international order.
