Chinese President Xi Jinping said China is willing to enhance cooperation with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and jointly advance the cause of world peace and development during his meeting with Audrey Azoulay, director-general of the UN organization, at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.

Noting China has always supported the work of UNESCO over the years, Xi said China and UNESCO have done many positive things to safeguard world peace and promote global development, adding that this kind of cooperation is very valuable and should be maintained for a long time.

Xi noted that the world is made up of colorful civilizations, and China is one of the countries with the oldest history and culture in the world.

Under this context, Xi said China is willing to work more closely with UNESCO to continuously improve the capacity and level of cultural heritage protection, promote exchanges, mutual learning and inclusive cooperation among different civilizations, contribute to world peace and promote the building of a community with a shared future for mankind.

Home to more than 1.4 billion people, Xi said China's tremendous development is itself an important contribution to the progress of human civilization.

Noting China is committed to building a great modern socialist country in all respects by the middle of this century, Xi said China adheres to the strategy of rejuvenating the country through science and education, actively promotes the development of education, science, technology and culture, and attaches importance to international exchanges and cooperation with UNESCO and other parties. 

China is ready to work with UNESCO to contribute to the common development of the world, Xi said. 

Appreciating China's support for UNESCO's work, Azoulay spoke of the UNESCO Prize for Girls' and Women's Education – jointly established by China and UNESCO, saying that it has played an important role in promoting the education of women and girls around the world.

With fruitful cooperation between China and UNESCO, Azoulay said the UN organization hopes to further strengthen exchanges and cooperation with China in cultural heritage protection, science, culture and technology, build more international consensus, and make positive contributions to safeguarding world peace and development.