In this file photo taken on Feb 4, 2020, United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres speaks during a press briefing at United Nations Headquarters in New York City. (ANGELA WEISS / AFP)

UNITED NATIONS - UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres hopes for a positive outcome of the high-level meeting between the United States and China in Alaska, said his spokesman on Tuesday.

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We hope for a positive outcome. We hope that China and the United States can find ways to collaborate on critical issues, notably on climate change, on rebuilding the post-COVID world.

 Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres

Asked about the secretary-general's hopes for the meeting scheduled for Thursday and Friday in Anchorage, Alaska, Stephane Dujarric, the spokesman, said: "We hope for a positive outcome. We hope that China and the United States can find ways to collaborate on critical issues, notably on climate change, on rebuilding the post-COVID world."

"We fully understand that there are tensions and outstanding issues between the two, but they should also both find ways to cooperate on the biggest global challenges that are before us," he added.

Yang Jiechi, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the CPC Central Committee, and Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi will meet with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan.

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