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"The world must wake up. We are on the edge of an abyss and moving in the wrong direction," Guterres told international leaders gathered in New York.

The Portuguese diplomat presented a bleak analysis of the international conjuncture, marked in his view by a lack of unity in the response to the pandemic, little progress in the fight against climate change, growing inequalities and crises in countries such as Afghanistan, Yemen and Ethiopia.
In particular, Guterres took aim at the United States and China, whom he urged to engage in dialogue following growing tensions in their relationship.

"I fear that our world is moving towards two different sets of economic, trade, financial and technological rules, two divergent approaches to the development of artificial intelligence, and ultimately two different military and geopolitical strategies," Guterres said.

"This is a recipe for trouble. It would be far less predictable than the Cold War. To restore trust and inspire hope, we need cooperation," he said.

"We need dialogue. We need understanding," he added. "We need investment in prevention, peacekeeping and peacebuilding. We need progress on nuclear disarmament and in our efforts to fight terrorism. We need actions anchored in respect for human rights," António Guterres insisted.
The summit will feature the first address to the world body by U.S. President Joe Biden, who has described an authoritarian and rising China as the supreme challenge of the 21st century.

Chinese President Xi Jinping will also address the United Nations, but by video in light of Covid's restrictions.

Guterres said divisions between the two powers delayed efforts on other key priorities, including reversing coups.

In an implicit allusion to Burma, Mali, Guinea or Sudan, the UN official regretted witnessing "also an explosion of seizures of power by force."

"Military coups d'état are making a comeback," and "the lack of unity within the international community is not helping," he lamented.

"Geopolitical divisions undermine international cooperation and limit the ability of the Security Council to make the necessary decisions. At the same time, it would be impossible to overcome dramatic economic and development challenges while the world's two largest economies are at odds," the UN chief added, pointing the finger at Beijing and Washington.

Antonio Guterres, who is in the last year of his first term at the helm of the UN and who will begin his second term in January, already warned in 2018 about the Sino-US "divide", and called the risk of a bipolar world imprisoned by tensions between the two great powers a "new cold war".