China News Service, Beijing, April 2. According to the official website of the United Nations and the United Nations system in China, United Nations Secretary-General Guterres has appointed Irish official Stephen Jackson as the United Nations Coordinator in China. His term will begin on April 1. Chang Qide, the former United Nations Resident Coordinator in China, said that he will stay in China after "retirement".
The United Nations Resident Coordinator in China is the highest-level permanent representative of the United Nations in China. He is responsible for coordinating the work of the United Nations country team in China, coordinating the resources and projects of various agencies, aligning with the Chinese government's national development priorities, implementing the Sustainable Development Goals, and promoting cooperation with partners.
The appointment notice pointed out that Jie Siheng has more than 30 years of experience in the fields of international development, peacebuilding and humanitarian affairs, and has achieved outstanding results in leading United Nations country teams and promoting strategic cooperation with host governments to advance national development priorities.
According to the announcement, Jie Siheng once served as the resident coordinator of Kenya and Gabon. During his tenure in the Department of Political Affairs, he served as Director of the Policy Planning and Guidance Branch, Head of the Secretariat of the 2015 United Nations High-level Review of Peacebuilding, and Head of the Mediation Support Group. While serving as Chief of Staff of the United Nations Office in Burundi, he was responsible for the Policy Planning Branch and the African Great Lakes Region Team, and also served as Special Advisor to the United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for the Great Lakes Region. At the United Nations Department of Peace Operations, he served as Senior Political Advisor to the United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Before joining the United Nations system, Jie Siheng worked at the American Social Science Research Council and the National University College Cork in Ireland. Earlier in his career, he worked in humanitarian relief and development in Angola, Rwanda and Somalia.
Jie Siheng holds a PhD in cultural anthropology and a master's degree in public affairs from Princeton University in the United States, and a bachelor's degree in mathematics from Trinity College Dublin, Ireland.
On March 31, Chang Qide, the former United Nations Resident Coordinator in China, ended his five-year term and announced his "retirement" in Beijing. He said that he will choose to stay in China, teach at Tsinghua University, and offer courses on the theme of "China and the World". He is also preparing to write a book and join a think tank.
