The United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon will kick off his first official visit to China on Tuesday.Before his departure to East Asia, Ban Ki-moon addressed the Chinese media. Here's our reporter Shen Ting from the United Nations Headquarters in New York.

Reporter:

Ban Ki-moon has been to China many times, but this will be his first visit to the country as the Secretary General of the United Nations. Ban Ki-moon said he had been looking forward to this visit for a long time and wants to exchange views on a wide range of topics with Chinese leaders.

"China is one of the P5 and has been exercising globing leadership in the United Nations and around the world. As one of the most important states with a global interests and global responsibilities, it's of course that I would discuss with the Chinese leaders all the global issues affecting the humanities and peace and security."

Ban Ki-moon once again offered condolences to Sichuan earthquake victims and their families. Meanwhile, he said, he was very impressed by the highly efficient response of the Chinese government in dealing with the disaster.

"I was so much touched and saddened by what I have seen when I visited the epicenter of the earthquake. At that time, I was very much impressed by the very effective and efficient way of managing, overcoming this natural disaster. This is an exemplary case. You can send some great lessons to many other countries who may suffer from this kind of natural disasters."

He said the United Nations will continue to support the Chinese government in relief and the reconstruction work in quake-hit areas.

"United Nations has mobilized necessary resources and assistance to the Chinese people and government. We've donated eight million US dollars from the Central Emergency Response Fund. We'll continue to liaison with international community about how to provide necessary assistance. But basically, the Chinese government has the capacity and will have resources to overcome this disaster even for this as a very tragic natural disaster."

Talking about the upcoming Beijing Olympics, Ban Ki-moon said he was confident China would make it the most successful event in the history of the games.

"I think Chinese people should be very proud of what you have achieved so far for the coming Olympic Games. This will be the third Olympic Games ever held in the Asian continent. This Olympic Games should be used as a venue where whole people of the world can enjoy, of course through fair competition. This should be the venue where we promote harmony, friendship, mutual understanding, transcending all ideologies and national, geographical boundaries. I'm quite confident that people of China will make it the most successful ever Olympic Games in the history."

During the interview, Ban Ki-moon also talked about the food crisis in the world, the G8 Summit, the Millennium Development Goals, and so on.

Shen Ting, CRI news, New York.