The Beijing International Model United Nations (BIMUN)2018, hosted by China Foreign Affairs University (CFAU), was held in Beijing from 10th to the 13th May. Under the guidance of the Foreign Ministry of the P.R.C, the Ministry of Education of the P.R.C, the Central Committee of the Youth League and the United Nations Association of China, organized by the Communist Youth League Committee of CFAU and CFAU Model United Nations Association (CFAUMUNA) and co-organized by the Beijing Wu Jianmin Foundation, this meeting brought together over 700 students from more than 176 universities and high schools around the world.

CFAU introduced MUN to China for the first time in 1995. Decades of effort have witnessed the development of BIMUN into one of the most well-known MUN in China and even in the Asia-Pacific region as a whole. This year marks the first time in which the Beijing Rules of Procedure created by CFAUMUNA were used. The twelve committees under the General Assembly employed Chinese, English, French and Spanish as working languages, with Spanish serving as a BIMUN working language for the first time. 

Opening remarks were delivered by CFAU President Qin Yaqing; Ambassador Xie Bohua from the Department of International Organization and Conferences of the Foreign Ministry of the P.R.C; Guo Wenjie,deputy secretary of the Communist Youth League; Secretariat Feng Wei of the Wu Jianmin Foundation; Ou Minxing, representative of the UNESCO Representative Office in China; and Bai Shangde, counselor of the District Office of the Delegation of the European Union to China. Sun Jisheng, vice president of CFAU and representatives from embassies of relevant countries and the World Wildlife Fund also attended the opening ceremony.

In his welcoming speech, Prof. Qin extended a warm welcome on behalf of CFAU to students and teachers home and abroad and expressed heartfelt thanks to all leaders, guests and friends from all walks of life who had shown their interest and given their support to MUN. He noted that after participating in MUN activities, many students had reaffirmed their diplomatic dreams and demonstrated and strengthened their abilities in handling diplomatic affairs. He expressed his wishes that the young delegates could exchange their views on the specific contents of the 2030 UN sustainable development goals and fully engage themselves in the discussion of future development, cultivating a global vision and learning from each other.

Ambassador Xie Bohua, on behalf of the Department of International Organization and Conferences, extended his congratulations on the convening of the conference and thought highly of the MUN activities held by CFAU. He also mentioned that the BIMUN 2018 committee topics covered seventeen UN sustainable development goals for the first time, bringing a global vision to students present at the event. He expressed his hope that young students can keep an eye on the international landscape so as to cultivate a global vision, work hard to be more professional in their majors, combine what they have learned in class with practice, be concerned about national development and devote themselves to the course of China’s diplomacy.

Secretary Guo Wenjie also addressed the meeting on behalf of the Beijing Youth Federation and the Communist Youth League in Beijing. He expressed his hope that young students could seize development opportunities and rise up to shoulder the responsibilities of promoting the well-being and progress of humankind’s future, striving to build a harmonious homeland for humankind. He also hoped that the young students could live up to the expectations of the world, accumulating knowledge and contributing Chinese wisdom to maintain the international order. He urged the young students to respond to the call of the times, build on what the pioneers had achieved and fight for the rise and rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.

Mr. Feng Wei, secretariat of the Wu Jianmin Foundation, on behalf of President Shi Yanhua and Councillor Wu Jiansheng, delivered a congratulatory speech at the meeting. He recalled in his speech that cultivating personnel in diplomacy and foreign affairs had always been the course pursued and the dream cherished by the late ambassador Wu Jianmin. And in order to carry out the unfinished task of Mr. Wu Jianmin, the foundation would like to contribute its share to the development of the new generation of personnel and talents committed to China’s diplomacy and foreign affairs.

Congratulatory letters and videos were received from UN Secretariat António Guterres, the United Nations Association of China, the UN Resident Coordinator's Office, the United Nations Development Programme in China and other UN representative offices and delegations in China. In his congratulatory message, Mr. Guterres said: “In today’s world, we are holding unprecedented opportunities. The 17 sustainable development goals show us the blueprint of a healthy planet drawn by all humankind… The potential of the youth represents the potential of our planet. Let us protect the common wealth of the world.”

During the four-day meeting, young delegates from various committees engaged in discussions, focusing on nearly twenty topics related to seventeen UN sustainable goals. Their discussions proceeded from the three dimensions of society, the economy and the environment, showing the new generations’ views and exploring new ways to pursue sustainable development.

May 13th marked the closing ceremony as well as the launching ceremony of the ‘Experience the U.N.’International Youth Exchange Program. Ambassador Sha Kangzu, former vice secretariat of the UN and high-level adviser of the Beijing Wu Jianmin Foundation; Ambassador Shi Yanhua, president of the Wu Jianmin Foundation; and CFAU Professor Sun Jisheng attended the meeting. Twelve committees of the BIMUN granted seven awards including “Best Delegate Award”, “Outstanding Delegate Award”, “Honorable Mention Award”, “Best Diplomatic Etiquette Award”, “Best Paper Award”, four “Outstanding Delegation Awards” and two “Best Delegation Awards”.

Then, Ms. Shi Yanhua, Mr. Sha Kangzu, Ms. Sun Jisheng and Mr. Feng Wei launched the “Experience the U.N.” program together and granted awards for those students.

In her speech at the closing ceremony, Professor Sun noted that the young MUN delegates had demonstrated their outstanding abilities and aspirations through their keen attention to the future of humanity, their deep thinking on global issues and inclusiveness towards different civilizations, and maintained that CFAU would always stay committed to a better BIMUN.