UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned China and the US of a potential new Cold War. He asked the countries to repair their “completely dysfunctional” relationship. He said challenges relating to vaccination, climate change and other global challenges cannot be resolved. Constructive relations in the global community, including among superpowers are necessary to resolve them. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres spoke to The Associated Press ahead of this week’s annual United Nations gathering of world leaders. The session will discuss COVID, climate concerns and wars across the planet. Cold War between Soviet Union and its East bloc allies, and United States and its Western allies began after World War II. It ended with the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991. World’s two major economic powers must be cooperating Guterres said the world’s two major economic powers should be cooperating on climate. They should negotiate more robustly on trade and technology. They should cooperate on political fissures about human rights, economics, online security and sovereignty in the South China Sea. He said “Unfortunately we have a confrontation today. We need to re-establish a functional relationship between the two powers”. He said “we need to avoid a Cold War. It will be more dangerous and more difficult to manage.” He said the US-Britain deal to give Australia nuclear-powered submarines. The submarines will operate undetected in Asia. The deal signed a contract with Australia of worth $66 billion. The contract is for a dozen of French conventional diesel-electric submarines. The secretly negotiated deal angered France. The secretary-general also addressed about Afghanistan’s uncertain future under its new Taliban rulers. Taliban took power on August 15 from the government’s US-trained army. As American forces were in the final stage of withdrawing from the country after 20 years. Speaking about the UN’s role in the new Afghanistan, Guterres called it “a fantasy”. He said that the UN involvement will not produce an inclusive government instantly. It cannot instantly guarantee that all human rights are respected. Or that no terrorists will ever exist in Afghanistan, or that drug trafficking will stop.