John Angelillo/Pool via REUTERS Acquire Licensing RightsUNITED NATIONS, Sept 15 (Reuters) - World leaders meet at the United Nations next week in the shadow of geopolitical tensions - largely fueled by the war in Ukraine - as Russia and China vie with the United States and Europe to win over developing countries. BILLIONS FOR INFRASTRUCTUREThe Ukraine war is just one reason for the focus on developing countries. Ahead of the New York meetings, diplomats acknowledged their focus on the developing world but dismissed suggestions that rivalry played a role. Ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, described the U.N. gathering as a chance for small countries to "lay out their priorities to us" and that she doesn't view it "as being a competition between big powers." Ambassador Zhang Jun told Reuters that Beijing has "no intention to compete with anyone else" and that, as China's conditions improved, the country was "willing to do more in return for developing countries but we are not competing."

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Persons: John Angelillo, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Richard Gowan, U.N, Linda Thomas, Greenfield, Zhang Jun, Russia's U.N, Vassily Nebenzia, Joe Biden, Antonio Guterres, Sergei Lavrov, Nebenzia, Barbara Woodward, Michelle Nichols, Don Durfee, Howard Goller Organizations: UN, Assembly, United Nations Headquarters, REUTERS Acquire, UNITED NATIONS, United Nations, Group, New, Reuters, Security, Ukraine, Thomson Locations: New York, U.S, Ukraine, Russia, China, United States, Europe, Africa, Latin America, Asia, Beijing, Moscow, European, Western, Brazil, India, South Africa, African