Zhou Xun promotes UN public-service film

Chinese actress and United Nations Development Programme goodwill ambassador Zhou Xun attended an event on Wednesday in Beijing to promote a public-service film for the international organization.

Zhou, who was suffering from allergies, covered her face with a mask during the news conference to promote the five-minute video entitled "2032: The Future We Want". In it, she leads 32 ordinary Chinese to express their hopes for the next 20 years.

"We cannot make the world a better place until everyone in it feels like we are working to achieve their dreams, and we cannot really do that until we know what their dreams are," Zhou was quoted as saying in a UNDP release. "I hope this video will inspire people to think about the future they want and what we need to do as individuals and as a global family to make that future a reality."

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was also present at the event. He was in Beijing to attend the opening ceremony of the 5th Ministerial Meeting of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation.