Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zhao Lijian's Regular Press Conference on June 29, 2020
CCTV reporter: A few days ago, the US announced that it would impose visa restrictions on Chinese officials involved in Hong Kong. What is China's comment?
Zhao Lijian: The issue of Hong Kong’s national security legislation is purely China’s internal affairs, and no foreign country has the right to interfere in it. The Chinese government's determination to safeguard national sovereignty, security, and development interests is unswerving, its determination to implement the "one country, two systems" policy, and its determination to oppose any external forces' interference in Hong Kong's affairs is unswerving. The United States’ attempt to obstruct China’s advancement of Hong Kong’s national security legislation through so-called sanctions will never succeed.
In response to the above-mentioned wrong actions by the US, China decided to impose visa restrictions on US personnel who behaved badly on Hong Kong-related issues.
"China Daily" reporter: Recently, the US Senate considered and passed the "Hong Kong Autonomy Act" and relevant Hong Kong-related resolutions, accusing China of advancing Hong Kong's national security legislation and threatening sanctions on relevant Chinese personnel, entities and financial institutions. What is China's comment?
Zhao Lijian: The US Senate disregarded China’s solemn position and insisted on deliberation and adoption of relevant Hong Kong-related negative bills, maliciously defamed Hong Kong’s national security legislation, seriously interfered in Hong Kong affairs and China’s internal affairs, and violated international law and basic norms of international relations. Make solemn representations.
Hong Kong’s national security legislation is aimed at safeguarding national sovereignty, security and development interests, ensuring Hong Kong’s long-term security and long-term prosperity and stability, and ensuring that the practice of “one country, two systems” is stable and far-reaching. Hong Kong affairs are China's internal affairs, and no foreign country has the right to interfere. The Chinese government's determination to safeguard national sovereignty, security, and development interests is unswerving, its determination to implement the principle of "one country, two systems," and its determination to oppose any external forces to interfere in Hong Kong's affairs is unswerving. No matter how the chaotic forces of chaos in Hong Kong are clamoring or how the external anti-China forces exert pressure, they cannot stop China's determination and actions to advance Hong Kong's national security legislation. Their plot will fail. The motion is also a piece of waste paper.
We urge the United States to recognize the situation and stop interfering in Hong Kong affairs and China’s internal affairs in any way. It is not allowed to deliberate on the implementation and implementation of negative motions related to Hong Kong, nor to impose so-called sanctions on China on this ground, otherwise China will take a firm and strong response And countermeasures. All consequences will be borne entirely by the US.
"Beijing Youth Daily" reporter: It is understood that the China -ASEAN senior officials consultation will be held soon. What does China expect from this meeting?
Zhao Lijian: On July 1, the 26th China-ASEAN Senior Officials Consultation will be held in video format. Assistant Foreign Minister Chen Xiaodong will lead the delegation and co-chair the meeting with senior officials of the Philippines-ASEAN Affairs Coordinator of China-ASEAN Relations.
Since the outbreak of the new coronary pneumonia outbreak this year, China and ASEAN countries have maintained a sense of community of destiny and supported and cooperated to fight against the epidemic. President Xi Jinping spoke with or exchanged letters with leaders of many ASEAN countries to lead regional cooperation in the fight against epidemics. We have successfully held special meetings of leaders of ASEAN, China, Japan, and South Korea (10+3), China-ASEAN Special Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, etc. to deepen anti-epidemic cooperation and send positive signals of regional countries working together to overcome difficulties and fully reflect the relationship between the two sides. Important strategic implications.
At present, China and ASEAN still face the arduous task of fighting the epidemic, stabilizing the economy and protecting people's livelihood. Through this consultation, China looks forward to in-depth discussions with all parties on the coordination of anti-epidemic cooperation and economic and social development in the context of normalization of epidemic prevention and control, to promote new progress in China-ASEAN cooperation, and to make new contributions to the stable development of the region.
Reporter from China Central Radio: According to reports, US Secretary of State Pompeo issued a statement on June 24, accusing China of its commitment at the China-Africa Solidarity Anti-epidemic Special Summit, claiming that the Chinese Communist Party concealed the truth about the new crown pneumonia from the world, causing African countries Unsustainable debt burden. What is China's comment?
Zhao Lijian: Pompeo’s remarks ignored basic facts and carried out unprovoked attacks on China to discredit the Chinese side. China firmly opposes this.
Since the outbreak of the New Coronary Pneumonia, China has always maintained an open, transparent, and responsible attitude, timely informed the WHO and relevant countries and regions, including the United States, of the outbreak information, shared the viral gene sequence, and actively responded to the concerns of all parties and strengthened All parties cooperate. China has won time and made active contributions to fight the epidemic worldwide.
Africa is China's good brother who breathes together and shares a destiny. In the face of the New Coronary Pneumonia epidemic, China and Africa are in trouble together. Recently, the China-Africa Solidarity Special Anti-epidemic Summit was successfully held. At the summit, President Xi Jinping put forward a series of important initiatives and propositions, which were generally welcomed by African countries. The epidemic has caused a severe impact on the world economy and brought severe challenges to African countries. China is willing to work with the international community to increase support for African countries and actively promote the implementation of the G20 "Debt Relief Initiative." At present, some African countries have submitted applications for debt relief to China. We have stepped up consultations on specific issues to try to help African countries reduce their debt burdens and overcome difficulties.
It is hoped that the United States will truly focus on its own epidemic prevention and control and do some real things for international cooperation in epidemic prevention and control, rather than attack and smear and spread "political viruses" in other countries' anti-epidemic efforts. Who is really helping Africa, and who is politicizing the debt problem, the international community, including African countries, sees clearly. To provoke relations between China and African countries is intentionally sinister, destined to be in vain, and will not succeed.
Shenzhen Satellite TV reporter: According to reports, on June 24, U.S. President’s Assistant to National Security Affairs O'Brien delivered a speech on China, accusing China of a series of issues. What is China's comment?
Zhao Lijian: The relevant speech unreasonably accused China’s domestic and foreign policies, provoked the relationship between the Chinese Communist Party and the Chinese people, and was full of political lies. China firmly opposed it and condemned it.
In the 71 years since the founding of New China, under the leadership of the Communist Party of China, the Chinese people have embarked on a development path suitable for China's national conditions and achieved great achievements that have attracted worldwide attention. This is a fact that everyone can see. The US-related politician's remarks on China violated basic facts and basic rules of international relations, and exposed its deep-rooted Cold War thinking and ideological prejudice. The United States has turned a blind eye to various serious problems that existed on its own, but has pointed its finger at other countries. Its purpose is to divert the attention of the domestic people and cover up its own problems. In this regard, the Chinese people and the international community see clearly.
We urge the US to immediately correct its mistakes, stop making erroneous remarks about China, and stop practices that harm bilateral relations and mutual trust and cooperation.
Xinhua News Agency reporter: According to reports, on the 27th, the chairman of the Malawi Election Commission announced that the leader of the Malaysian Congress Party Lazarus Chakvila was elected as the new President of Malaysia with a vote rate of about 59%. What is China's comment? Will you congratulate Chuckville?
Zhao Lijian: China is pleased that Malawi’s presidential elections have been held smoothly, respects the choices made by the people of Malawi, and congratulates Chakvila on his election as president. Since the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Malaysia in 2007, the relations between the two countries have developed rapidly and healthily. China is willing to work with the new government of Malawi and people from all walks of life to jointly promote the continuous development of China-Malaysia relations.
Beijing Radio and Television reporter: US Secretary of State Pompeo once again publicly accused China of concealing the truth of the epidemic, saying that this is inconsistent with China 's commitment to "uphold the supremacy of the people and the supremacy of life." What is China's comment?
Zhao Lijian: Since the outbreak of the New Coronary Pneumonia epidemic, China and the United States have shown two different ways to fight the epidemic: One is "life first". In order to protect people's lives and health, the state has suspended social and economic operations, taken decisive measures such as isolation, and followed WHO’s professional advice, scientific advice, stop the spread of the virus and save lives at all costs. We have worked hard to treat 108-year-olds and babies as little as 30 hours old, and China's anti-epidemic effect is obvious. The other is "political self-interest". For this reason, he did not hesitate to downplay the epidemic, not to speak of science, and even tossed the blame, which led to the outbreak of the epidemic, the people's lives and health were greatly violated, and the economy fell into recession, causing social unrest. According to statistics from the US media in May this year, more than one-third of the deaths from new coronary pneumonia in 31 US states came from nursing homes.
The Chinese government insists on the supremacy of the people and the supremacy of life. We have repeatedly introduced China's anti-epidemic measures and results in a timeline manner. We have released the white paper "China Action Against New Coronary Pneumonia", which comprehensively and systematically introduces China's anti-epidemic process. China's epidemic prevention, control, and blocking warfare has achieved major strategic results, but we have not relaxed or slackened, and put out new epidemics in a timely manner. After the recent epidemic outbreak in Beijing's new development site, relevant departments in Beijing quickly invested in the fight against the epidemic. The quarantine testing group was set up and nucleic acid testing was started in an all-round way. 7.7 million people took multiple measures to quickly and effectively control the epidemic.
In contrast, the United States currently has nearly 2.54 million confirmed cases, nearly 130,000 deaths, and 387 deaths per million population. These data are 30 times, 27 times, and 129 times that of China. Redfield, director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said that the actual number of people in the United States infected with new coronary pneumonia may be more than 10 times the number of currently confirmed cases, that is, the number of infections may have exceeded 20 million. The recent epidemic in the United States has rebounded strongly, with more than 44,000 newly diagnosed cases on a single day on June 27, setting a new record high. This shows that the US side's blame is simply useless. Whoever insists on "people first, life first" in China and the United States, the answer is clear.
As for Pompeo's false claim that China has concealed the truth of the epidemic, we still let the facts speak. When Wuhan “closed the city” on January 23, everyone on earth knew that there was only one publicly confirmed case in the United States at that time. When the United States closed its border to China on February 2, there were only 11 confirmed cases in official US statistics. According to public reports, statistics from Canada, France, Russia, Australia, Singapore, Japan and other countries all show that the vast majority of cases in the countries concerned are not from China. On the contrary, the article "Why the United States Exports Coronavirus" recently published by the "New York Times" pointed out that the United States, as the country with the largest number of cases of new coronary pneumonia infection, is currently continuously repatriating thousands of illegal immigrants, many of which are new crowns. People with pneumonia virus infection. According to reports, at the end of April, the Guatemalan government reported that nearly one-fifth of the country’s new coronary pneumonia infections were related to those deported from the United States, and 71 of the 76 deportees tested positive for the new coronavirus.
As the most developed and mature country in the world with medical technology, the United States is both puzzling and thought-provoking to deal with the epidemic. We deplore the American people who have been killed by the virus and pay tribute to the American medical personnel who saved lives and contained the epidemic. We sincerely wish the American people an early victory over the epidemic. We once again urge Pompeo and other American politicians to put the response to the domestic epidemic in the United States and save the lives of the people first, discard the wrong practice that political self-interest is higher than the lives of the people, respect facts, respect science, and stop talking nonsense and deceiving the world.
"Global Times" reporter: "Global Times" reported today that the Australian security intelligence department has long been engaged in espionage in China, including setting up intelligence stations in China, installing eavesdropping devices in the Chinese embassy in Australia, spying as a diplomat, and targeting The Chinese carried out anti-police activities, which seriously threatened China's national security. What is China's comment?
Zhao Lijian: I have noticed relevant reports. I would like to emphasize the following points.
First of all, the "Five Eyes Alliance" intelligence cooperation alliance has long violated international law and basic rules of international relations, and implemented large-scale, organized and indiscriminate cyber secrets, interception, and monitoring of foreign governments, enterprises, and individuals. This has long been known to the world. fact. As an important member of the "Five Eyes Alliance", Australia has always been keen to carry out spy intelligence activities in relevant countries. The situation disclosed this time is probably just the tip of the iceberg.
Secondly, for some time, some people and media in Australia have been enthusiastic about concocting all kinds of sensational "Chinese spy cases" and "Chinese penetration theory", but they have never come up with even a real case. On the contrary, Australia has so much "real hammer" evidence of Chinese espionage. While wantonly stealing information and data from other countries and endangering the sovereignty and security of other countries, the Australian side pretended to be a victim, spread rumors and create confrontation, and staged a farce that called “thieves calling for thieves”, which completely lost the bottom line. These people should give an explanation to the Chinese people and the people of the world.
Third, China has always pursued a path of peaceful development, is unswervingly pursuing a mutually beneficial and win-win opening strategy, and is committed to developing friendly and cooperative relations with other countries on the basis of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence and promoting the building of a community of shared future for mankind. China’s foreign cooperation in various regions of the world is generally welcomed by people of all countries. We have no need or interest in interfering in other countries’ internal affairs. At the same time, the Chinese government's determination to safeguard national sovereignty, security and development interests is unswerving, and its determination to oppose any external forces to interfere in China's internal affairs is unswerving. We urge some people in Australia to abandon the Cold War mentality and ideological prejudice, do less of the roaring of dog robbers, and say less of nothing, and contribute positive energy to the promotion of world peace and stability and mutual trust and cooperation between countries.
Batong reporter: According to reports, today, several men with guns attacked the Pakistan Stock Exchange in Karachi. Police said four attackers were killed. What is China's comment?
Zhao Lijian: China condemns all forms of terrorist attacks, expresses its condolences to the innocent victims of this incident, and expresses its condolences to its families and injured people. China firmly opposes all forms of terrorism and firmly supports Pakistan’s efforts to combat terrorism and maintain national security and stability.
China Radio International reporter: Recently, Mongolia held parliamentary elections and the ruling People's Party won. What is China's comment?
Zhao Lijian: China has noticed that the Mongolian parliamentary elections were successfully held a few days ago. China and Mongolia are friendly neighbors adjacent to mountains and rivers. We would like to see Mongolia's political stability, social stability, economic development, and people's well-being. The current development of China-Mongolia relations is good. We are willing to work with the Mongolian side to continuously consolidate and strengthen political mutual trust, strengthen pragmatic cooperation in the fields of anti-epidemic and joint construction of the “Belt and Road”, and promote the continuous progress of China-Mongolia comprehensive strategic partnership.
Reuters reporter: You just said that China has decided to impose visa restrictions on US personnel who perform badly on Hong Kong-related issues. Is this a new measure? Can you provide more details?
Zhao Lijian: This is of course a new measure. I have just said that China has decided to impose visa restrictions on US personnel who perform badly on issues involving Hong Kong. The specific personnel are clearly understood.
Kyodo reporter: You just said that China decided to impose visa restrictions on US personnel who behaved badly on Hong Kong-related issues. Do US personnel include US officials?
Zhao Lijian: I have made it very clear just now. China has decided to impose visa restrictions on US personnel who perform badly on issues involving Hong Kong. The specific personnel are clearly understood.
Reuters reporter: According to reports, the Australian police and intelligence department searched the home and office of MP Mossorman last Friday. The operation was part of an investigation into foreign interference in China. Mosoman said he was not a suspect himself. What is China's comment?
Zhao Lijian: We have taken note of relevant reports and made no comment on Australian domestic affairs. What I want to point out is that for some time, some politicians in Australia seem to have suffered from paranoia and fear of China, and lost at least their rationality and justice. Under the guise of "values", they often talked about China in domestic politics. Luo Zhi blamed all the charges, stigmatized and demonized normal Sino-Australian personnel exchanges and cooperation, and constantly poisoned the atmosphere of bilateral relations. This is completely unconstructive and irresponsible. China is firmly opposed to this.
China has always insisted on developing relations with other countries based on the principles of mutual respect and non-interference in each other's internal affairs. Interfering in other countries' internal affairs is not the "gene" of China's diplomacy, and this hat is definitely not to be detained by China. We urge Australia to abandon the Cold War mentality and ideological prejudice, view China's development objectively and rationally, and do more things that are conducive to China-Australia mutual trust and mutually beneficial cooperation.