Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Geng Shuang's Regular Press Conference on November 5, 2019 |
2019-11-05 21:32 |
Q: The United States on Monday imposed sanctions on nine people close to General Staff of Iran's Armed Forces and the supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, including one of his sons. I wonder if China has any comment? A:China opposes unilateral sanctions and so-called "long-arm jurisdiction". Arbitrary sanctions or threat of sanction cannot solve problems. The key is dialogue and negotiation. Following the principle of equality and mutual respect, we hope relevant parties will resolve disputes through dialogue and consultation and jointly uphold peace and stability of the region and beyond. Q: Similar questions to the one I asked yesterday on China-US trade talks. Do you have any updates yet, as to when and where the two leaders might meet? Do you have any update on the current state of negotiations towards the phase one trade deal? What requirements or requests China is making to the United States at the moment in these discussions? A: I'll leave that to the Ministry of Commerce. What I can tell you is that China and the US stay in contact. The trade talks have achieved progress and are now moving forward as planned. I have nothing to update you regarding the meeting between two presidents. As I said, they stay in contact through various means. Q: On November 4, White House National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien at the US-ASEAN Summit took a swipe at China, saying Beijing was using intimidation to try to stop ASEAN nations from exploiting their offshore resources. "That's just not how things should be done in the 21st Century. That's conquest. Big countries should not bully other countries. We don't think we're meddlers. We always come when we're invited." I wonder if you have any comment on his remarks? A: The words of the US official sounded assertive but were in fact aimed to shift blames. His remarks were more of a confession of the country's own behaviors in the South China Sea. With the joint efforts made by China and ASEAN countries, the situation in the South China Sea remains generally stable. We have good communication and cooperation on this issue, and we have every readiness, capability and confidence to safeguard peace and stability while working for improvement in the situation in the South China Sea. We advise the US to respect and support regional countries' efforts, and not to stir up troubles, destabilize the region or undermine East Asian cooperation. Q: Russian prime minister announced that it welcomed China's imitative to hold the next round of intra-Afghan talks in Beijing with participation of all sides, including the Afghan government, other Afghan leaders and Taliban. Can you give us any details of the next meeting? A: China firmly supports the "Afghan-led, Afghan-owned", broad and inclusive process of peace and reconciliation. We support the intra-Afghan dialogue between the Afghan government, the Afghan Taliban and other parties. We are ready to provide convenience and assistance for Afghanistan's peace and reconciliation process based on our respect for the will of all relevant Afghan parties. The information you asked about, once available, will be released in due course. Q: According to the French president's office, on Wednesday during President Macron's visit to China, the two sides will sign an agreement, which includes a paragraph on the irreversibility of the Paris Agreement. Can you confirm that? And what's your comment regarding the signing of this text when the US started its process of withdrawing from the Paris Agreement? A: I guess you are more interested in our view on US withdrawal from the Paris Agreement. China regrets that the US began the process to withdraw from the Paris Agreement. Climate change is a challenge to all human beings. All countries need to work together with their best efforts. The United Nations Climate Action Summit last September stressed the importance of multilateralism, necessity of cooperation and support for fully implementing the Paris Agreement. Now there are 187 parties to the Paris Agreement after Russia joined it not long ago. On multilateral cooperation, we hope the US will act proactively and responsibly instead of pulling out. As the biggest developing country, China firmly supports multilateralism. We support the Paris Agreement, actively fulfill our international obligations that are consistent with our development stage and national condition, and take policy actions on climate change. We will continue to work towards this end, participate in multilateral process and uphold global governance in this area. We will also keep close communication and coordination with other countries. You asked about President Macron's visit to China. As I know, he and Chinese leaders will exchange views on climate change. We will keep you updated on any specific agreement between the two sides. I'd like to reaffirm China's commitment to working with all countries for full and effective implementation of the Paris Agreement and for green, low-carbon and sustainable development of the world. Q: US President Trump said that China and Russia both would like to reach an arms control deal with the US. He added that the US is dealing with China and Russia, "I think they would both like to do it especially as we are talking about nuclear weapons." What's your comment? A: Regarding the trilateral arms control negotiation that involves China and Russia as the US claims, we stated our position on many previous occasions. China's attitude is very clear. The premise and basis for a trilateral arms control negotiation doesn't exist at all and China won't be part of that. Like we said, the US has been trying to drag China in when it comes to this issue. We wonder whether the US wants to have China's nuclear arsenal increased to its level or reduce its own nuclear arms to China's level? As the possessor of the largest and most advanced nuclear arsenal in the world, the US should earnestly fulfill its special responsibility for nuclear disarmament, respond to Russia's call to extend the new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START), further reduce its large nuclear arsenal and create conditions for other nuclear states to join multilateral nuclear disarmament negotiations. Q: According to BBC reports, China rent a large amount of land in Russia's Far East Region, which is complained by locals as an "expansion". I wonder if you have any comment? A: So-called "Chi |