Guterres during a press conference in Geneva on September 13, 2021 (AFP)

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has warned against a "cold war" between the US and China.

In an interview for the Associated Press, Guterres urged the two states leaders to "fix their dysfunctional relationship -- before the differences affect the rest of the world."

Guterres warns against a 'cold war'

Guterres stated before the United Nations General Assembly that "the two major economic powers should cooperate on the climate issue," stressing that "we must avoid the cold war at all costs, which will be different from the previous one and even more dangerous."

“We need to re-establish a functional relationship between the two powers,” he said, calling that “essential to address the problems of vaccination, the problems of climate change and many other global challenges that cannot be solved without constructive relations within the international community and mainly among the superpowers.”

The trilateral agreement

He added that the agreement between the US and the UK to provide Australia with nuclear-powered submarines so that it could operate undetected in Asia "is but a small piece of an even more complex puzzle in this completely dysfunctional relationship between China and the United States."

The French submarine deal signed with the Australian army is still being discussed.

At a time when North Korea considers that the US actions will upset the strategic balance in the Asia-Pacific region, the UK is seeking to ease the tension in relations with Paris.

Australia cancels 2016 deal with France

Australia announced last Thursday that it would cancel a 2016 deal with France's Naval Group to build a fleet of conventional submarines and instead build at least eight nuclear-powered submarines using American and British technology after concluding a trilateral security partnership.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison dismissed French criticism of Australia's cancellation of a submarine deal, saying that he had brought up the issue in talks with the French president back in June.

In the meantime, the French Foreign Minister, Jean-Yves Le Drian, considered that what happened in the submarine issue would affect the future of NATO, and accused Britain of "permanent opportunism" over the submarine issue with Australia.

Moreover, the French Foreign Ministry renewed its criticism of Australia's decision after it backed away from a deal to buy French submarines worth billions of dollars in favor of an alternative deal with the United States and the UK.