Chinese President Hu Jintao (R)  meets with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, July 2, 2008.[Photo:Xinhua]

It's his first official visit here to China since taking office.  United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon arrived here in China on Tuesday as part of a 2-week East Asian tour.  Among his tasks here in China are visits to the Olympic venues and AIDS patients.  But the main thrust of his work here consists of meetings with top Chinese leaders, including President Hu Jintao.  This meeting comes at a unique time in world politics, with the United States facing a potential recession on top of soaring oil prices and global food price concerns.  So what will Ban Ki-moon's trip here to China do to help deal with these problems? 

Ni hao, you're listening to People In the Know, your window into the world around you, online at crienglish.com here on China Radio International.  In this edition of the show we're talking about the UN Secretary-General's visit here to China.  So let's get started.

(Music)

First, we'll talk to China's former alternate representative to the UN Security Council.  Professor Wu Miaofa is also a Senior Research Fellow at the China Institute of International Studies.

(Dialogue with Wu)

And after a short break, we'll talk to an academic from Peking University.

(Promo)

Ni hao, you're listening to People In the Know, your window into the world around you, online at crienglish.com here on China Radio International.  I'm Paul James in Beijing.  In this edition of the show we're talking about UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's first official visit here to China.  For more on this we're joined on the line now by Professor Jia Qingguo, Associate Dean of the School of International Studies at Peking University.

(Dialogue with Jia)

And with that we close out this edition of People In the Know, online at crienglish.com here on China Radio International.  With all the problems now facing the global society, it's imperative that the United Nations play a key role in helping to ensure countries in the development stages keep growing.  Questions or comments for us can be sent to crieng@crifm.com.  For Executive Director Zhao Yang and Producer Yang Jingjie, I'm Paul James in Beijing.  We'll talk to you tomorrow.