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Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning’s Regular Press Conference on May 29, 2023

At the invitation of the government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Special Envoy of President Xi Jinping and Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress Peng Qinghua will attend President Bola Tinubu’s inauguration ceremony in the capital of Nigeria Abuja on May 29.

Xinhua News Agency: According to reports, Special Representative of the Chinese Government on Eurasian Affairs Li Hui just wrapped up his visit to Ukraine and other countries. Could you share more with us on this visit? During the visit, has the Chinese side put forward a more specific proposal for the political settlement of the Ukraine crisis? What does China plan to do next?

Mao Ning: From May 15 to 26, Special Representative of the Chinese Government on Eurasian Affairs Li Hui visited Ukraine, Poland, France, Germany, the EU Headquarters and Russia to have extensive contact and exchanges with various parties on the political settlement of the Ukraine crisis, make clear China’s position and propositions, listen to the opinions and advice from various parties, and build up international common understandings. All parties attach high importance to Special Representative Li Hui’s visit, fully recognize China’s positive role in promoting talks for peace, commend China’s call for respecting sovereignty and territorial integrity and observing the purposes and principles of the UN Charter and express the hope that China will continue to exercise its constructive influence.

At present, the Ukraine crisis is still at a critical juncture. Going forward, China will continue to act upon President Xi’s call for joint efforts in four areas, four principles and three observations, strengthen dialogue and communication with all parties, continue to build up common understandings and mutual trust, encourage the international community to find the broadest common understandings and make China’s contributions to a political settlement of the Ukraine crisis.

Reuters: North Korea has notified Japan of a planned satellite launch between May 31 and June 11. Has China received any notice from North Korea about the launch? If so, does China have any concerns about the launch?

Mao Ning: The situation on the Korean Peninsula has come to where it stands today for a reason. It is hoped that relevant sides can grasp the crux of the issues, strive for a political settlement and address each other’s legitimate concerns in a balanced way through meaningful dialogue.

CCTV: We noted that recently many countries spoke highly of the work of Chinese medical teams. For example, President Umaro Sissoco Embaló of Guinea-Bissau awarded the Chinese medical team National Order of Merit, Cooperation and Development Medal. The eighth medical expert team dispatched by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army to Laos was awarded the Lao People’s Army Medal of Valor by the Ministry of National Defence. The Cambodian Ministry of Health awarded the traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) anti-COVID team from China the Knight Medal of the Kingdom of Cambodia. The performance of Chinese medical teams abroad was highly recognized. What’s your comment?

Mao Ning: China dispatched its first medical aid team abroad 60 years ago. Since then, a total of 30,000 medical personnel have treated over 290 million local patients in 76 countries and regions, including Africa and Asia, with widely recognized achievement.

As a developing country, China has always shared weal and woe with fellow developing countries. The 60-year international medical assistance demonstrates that the Chinese people love peace, value life and have the original aspiration of mutual help and common pursuit of happiness with other developing countries. Chinese medical aid teams are now working hard at 115 sites in 56 countries around the world. China will continue to provide assistance to fellow developing countries and improve the health and well-being of people around the world with concrete actions.

AFP: Amnesty International said last week that a Uyghur man named Abuduwaili Abudureheman has been missing after arriving at the Hong Kong airport. A friend of Mr. Abuduwaili said that Chinese police appeared to have stopped him for questioning at the Hong Kong airport, but Hong Kong government has said Mr. Abuduwaili never entered the territory. Is the Chinese side able to confirm Mr. Abuduwaili’s whereabouts. Is he in the Chinese mainland? And if so, what is his location and have Chinese authorities taken any action against him? And if so, for what reason?

Mao Ning: I am not aware of the specifics.

China News Service: We noted that recently leaders and foreign ministers from African countries, including the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia and Sierra Leone, visited China. State Councilor and Foreign Minister Qin Gang at the Africa Day Reception said that China-Africa relations have entered a fast track. How do you view the current China-Africa relations and the prospect of China-Africa cooperation?

Mao Ning: Over the years, guided by the principles of sincerity, real results, amity and good faith, and of pursuing the greater good and shared interests in developing China’s relations with Africa put forth by President Xi Jinping, China-Africa relations have been brought to new heights and entered a new stage of building a high-level China-Africa community with a shared future. Exchanges and cooperation between the two sides have been growing with the “acceleration button” on, and entered a fast track, demonstrating strong vitality. Following Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan’s state visit to China soon after the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, African leaders and foreign ministers paid visits to and attended events in China, including President of Gabon Ali Bongo Ondimba, President of Eritrea Isaias Afwerki, President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo Tshisekedi and Prime Minister of Cote d’Ivoire Patrick Achi. Carrying forward the fine tradition of China’s diplomacy, Foreign Minister Qin Gang visited five African countries, the African Union Headquarters and the League of Arab States Headquarters 10 days after he came into office. Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (NPC) Zhao Leji visited Senegal and Morocco not long ago.

The world today faces many challenges. Being the world’s largest developing country and the continent home to most developing countries, China and Africa need solidarity and cooperation more than ever. The two sides will join hands to practice true multilateralism, firmly safeguard each other’s legitimate and lawful rights and interests, actively advance our respective modernization with distinctive features, push forward the reform of the global governance system, pursue common security and strengthen exchanges and mutual learning between civilizations. We will make the spirit of China-Africa friendship and cooperation as alive as ever across the vast lands of China and Africa, jointly build a closer high-level China-Africa community with a shared future and turn it into a pacesetter for building such a community for mankind. 

NHK: For four times the DPRK has notified international organizations that it will launch “satellites” but in fact launched ballistic missiles instead. It is against UN Security Council resolutions for the DPRK to launch ballistic missiles. Is China opposed to the launch this time?

Mao Ning: I shared China’s position on the Korean Peninsula issues right now. We believe that the situation on the Korean Peninsula has come to where it stands today for a reason. Relevant parties need to think hard how the current situation emerged and address each other’s legitimate concerns in a balanced way through dialogue.

Reuters: Western officials familiar with special envoy Li Hui’s recent trip to Europe say China is proposing a ceasefire that would leave Russia in possession of parts of Ukraine, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal. Can you confirm that China is proposing this and why?

Mao Ning: China has released timely readouts on Special Representative Li Hui’s visit. Please refer to them for authentic information. I also noted that the Foreign Minister of Ukraine publicly said that he contacted other parties and no country said Special Representative Li Hui made the remarks reported by The Wall Street Journal. 

AFP: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has been reelected for a new term. Does the Chinese side have any comment on his reelection?

Mao Ning: We congratulate President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on his reelection as the President of Türkiye. We support Türkiye in following a development path that suits its own national realities and hope that under the leadership of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Türkiye will continue to score new achievements in its development.

China attaches high importance to its relations with Türkiye. In recent years, under the guidance of the two heads of states, both countries have achieved fruitful outcomes in cooperation in various fields, which benefits the two peoples. China stands ready to work with Türkiye to scale new heights in the China-Türkiye strategic relationship of cooperation.

Dragon TV: As far as we know, the upcoming 8th Annual Meeting of the New Development Bank (NDB) will be held in Shanghai. Could you share more with us?

Mao Ning: The New Development Bank (NDB) Eighth Annual Meeting will be held in Shanghai from May 30 to 31. On the morning of May 30, Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang will attend the opening ceremony and deliver an address. The NDB is a landmark outcome of BRICS cooperation. With the support of BRICS members, the NDB has made new positive progress in its business operations, institution-building and membership expansion and become an important emerging force in international multilateral development institutions. This annual meeting will plan for the development of the NDB going forward. As the host, China stands ready to continue to deepen all-round cooperation with the NDB and support its growing stronger. 

Global Times: Singapore’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Lawrence Wong said during a speech at the Nikkei Forum 28th Future of Asia that in terms of democracy, “we do not blindly copy what others do…and develop a model that is suitable for our needs.” He added that countries, all with their own deep cultures and long histories, have developed their own governance and political systems over time. The people in many of these countries are quite happy with their systems, rather than to have external parties impose their values or systems on them, and others need to respect that. He noted that the world cannot be easily distilled into binary labels of democracy or autocracy, and “it is far more important for us to find ways for countries to build common cause with one another, to coexist and work together despite our differences.” Do you have any comment on this?

Mao Ning: Singaporean Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong’s remarks on democracy is based on Singapore’s own successful practice and speaks to the aspirations of many countries. As we all know, there is no one-size-fits-all model for democracy. As long as it suits a country’s national realities and represents the interests of the people, it is a true democracy that works. Despite their different national conditions, China and Singapore have both found democratic paths that suit them and have their own characteristics. We firmly oppose any act of instigating “democracy vs. authoritarianism” and historical retrogression that tries to drag the world back to the Cold War era.

China stands ready to strengthen exchanges and mutual learning with Singapore and other countries in the world, advocate the common values of humanity featuring peace, development, equity, justice, democracy and freedom, promote democracy in international relations, and make due contribution to the diversity of political civilization and promoting the common values of humanity.

Kyodo News: The first question is that the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) ministerial meeting was held in the US on May 27 and negotiations on an international supply chains deal were substantially completed. What’s the foreign ministry’s comment? The second question is that Japanese Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Nishimura Yasutoshi and US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo agreed to strengthen cooperation in the field of next-generation semiconductors. A joint statement was issued saying that semiconductor research centers of the two countries are encouraged to work together and formulate a roadmap for chip-related technological and human resource development. Is China concerned that US-Japan semiconductor cooperation may pose negative influence to China?

Mao Ning: We always believe that openness, cooperation and mutual benefits are vital for the success of the Asia-Pacific economy. Regional cooperation frameworks, in whatever name, need to stay open and inclusive, rather than discriminatory or exclusive. The industrial and supply chains are shaped and developed by the laws of market dynamics and the choices of businesses. Disrupting the function of the market, politicizing normal trade activities and setting barriers to hinder industrial cooperation such as semiconductor cooperation is the biggest risk to supply chain stability.

We noted relevant reports on US-Japan semiconductor cooperation. It is China’s consistent belief that the cooperation between countries should not target any third party and we oppose putting up exclusionary blocs and engaging in discriminatory and exclusive cooperation. We believe that one should not undermine other countries’ interests to perpetrate hegemony or protect selfish interests. We will closely follow the developments and firmly safeguard our rights and interests.

Yonhap News Agency: The ROK and the US said that the DPRK’s launch of a satellite would violate UN Security Council resolutions. What is China’s position on this?

Mao Ning: China’s position on the Korean Peninsula issues remain unchanged. All parties need to see clearly the root cause and history of the situation on the Korean Peninsula, face up to the crux of the problem, adhere to the direction of political settlement, and find a way that can address each other’s legitimate concerns in a balanced manner through meaningful dialogue.

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