Foreign Ministry'S Reply On The US Lowering The Warning Level Of Travel To China And Sanctions On Cotton Products In Xinjiang

Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin presided over a regular press conference on September 15.

The following is the transcript of the press conference:

CCTV: what's China's comment on the video meeting between the leaders of China, Germany and Europe held last night? What are the results of the meeting? What's the significance for the development of China EU relations in the next stage?

Wang Wenbin: on the evening of September 14, President Xi Jinping held a video meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, President of the European Council Michel Michel and President of the European Commission von der Laine. This is an important meeting at the highest level between China and the EU during the year, and also an important strategic communication between China and the EU against the background of the changes in the past century and the epidemic situation in the century. During the meeting, leaders of China, Germany and Europe exchanged in-depth views on China EU relations and bilateral dialogue and cooperation in economic and trade, green, digital, anti epidemic and other fields. They also agreed to strengthen communication, coordination and cooperation to ensure the success of a series of major political agenda between China and the EU in the future, deepen mutual trust, achieve mutual benefit and win-win results, and promote China EU relations have moved to a higher level. President Xi Jinping proposed that China and the EU should adhere to the "four insistences", adhere to peaceful coexistence, adhere to open cooperation, adhere to multilateralism, and adhere to dialogue and consultation.

The meeting achieved a series of important results. First, China and the EU have formally signed the China EU agreement on geographical indications, which fully reflects the commitment of China and the EU to adhere to free and open trade and support the rule-based multilateral trading system, which will provide new impetus for the development of China EU economic and trade cooperation; The second is to recognize the significant progress made in the negotiations on the China EU investment agreement, reiterate the political determination to complete the negotiations within the year, provide strategic guidance for the next stage of negotiations, and jointly release firm confidence and positive signals; Third, China and the EU have agreed to establish a high-level dialogue mechanism on environment and climate and a high-level dialogue in the digital field, so as to create a green and digital partnership between China and the EU, so as to release the positive signals of China and the EU to jointly address climate change and jointly promote digital cooperation; Fourth, support and practice multilateralism, strengthen global cooperation in combating epidemic diseases, jointly promote global economic recovery, jointly respond to global challenges, and jointly promote political solutions to international and regional hot issues.

Due to differences in history, culture, social system and development stage, China and the EU have different views on some issues. This is normal and will not and should not affect China EU dialogue and cooperation. In the spirit of equality and mutual respect, the two sides agreed to strengthen communication, enhance objective understanding and cognition, gather and assimilate differences, and constructively manage and control differences, adhere to the orientation of China EU comprehensive strategic partnership, and grasp the dominant aspect of China EU relations and the keynote of mutual benefit and win-win results.

In the next stage, China will implement the important consensus and results of the meeting, continue to promote the healthy and stable development of China EU comprehensive strategic partnership on the basis of adhering to peaceful coexistence, open cooperation, multilateralism, dialogue and consultation, and inject more positive energy into the international community to fight the epidemic, restore the economy and safeguard justice.

Global Times: the European side announced that the EU China Summit, attended by President Xi Jinping and leaders of EU countries, is expected to be held in 2021. Can China confirm?

Wang Wenbin: since this year, China and the EU have maintained a momentum of close high-level exchanges. The two sides are maintaining communication and consultation on the time, place and form of important exchanges in the next stage.

Reuters: for the first question, Indian officials told Reuters that the Chinese army is laying underground optical cables in the Bangong Lake area on the Sino Indian border. Can you confirm? Second, Indian officials said that since last week's meeting between the foreign ministers of China and India, the two sides' armies have not made any substantial withdrawal action. What is China's comment on this?

Wang Wenbin: on the first question, as far as I know, the relevant reports are not true.

On the second issue, during their meeting in Moscow, the foreign ministers of the two countries reached a positive consensus on jointly promoting the relaxation and cooling of the border situation, and will continue to maintain close communication through military and diplomatic channels to promote the settlement of local problems. We hope that India will conscientiously implement the consensus reached by the foreign ministers of the two countries, meet with China and make practical efforts to ease the situation.

On the grounds of "suspected" of "forcing the import of French cotton products from the US News Agency. What is China's comment on this? Second, during the Sino German European leaders' meeting, the European side talked about human rights and other issues, and proposed that it hopes to visit Xinjiang independently. Is it possible for the European side to realize this request? Can we give more details?

Wang Wenbin: on the first question, the US side, under the pretext of the so-called "forced labor" issue, has taken restrictive measures against Chinese enterprises, violated international trade rules, and destroyed the global industrial chain, supply chain and value chain. China firmly opposes this.

The so-called "forced labor" problem is completely fabricated by some institutions and personnel in the United States and the west, which seriously violates the facts. As a part of the vast number of Chinese workers, the rights and interests of Xinjiang ethnic minority workers are protected by law. Their personal freedom has never been restricted, and their customs, religious beliefs, and languages have been protected in accordance with the law. Where does the "forced labor" come from? On the one hand, some people in the United States claim that they "care" about the ethnic minorities in Xinjiang, and on the other hand, they take various measures to suppress Xinjiang enterprises, which fully exposes that the United States has curbed the development of Xinjiang The hypocritical face and sinister intention of instigating China's ethnic relations.

China and the United States are urged to put aside their prejudices in economic and trade, and to stop interfering with China and the United States. China will continue to take all necessary measures to safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese enterprises.

On your second question, China has issued a detailed press release on the China Germany EU summit held yesterday. On the other hand, President Xi Jinping has no better way to guarantee human rights in the world. Each country should do its own thing first. It is believed that the European side can solve its own human rights problems. China does not accept the "teacher" of human rights and opposes "double standards". China is willing to strengthen exchanges and make common progress with the European side on the principle of mutual respect. The meeting also discussed human rights issues within the EU, such as the protracted refugee problem, repeated humanitarian crises, the rise of racism, extremism and ethnic minorities in some EU Member States, and the frequent occurrence of anti Semitic, anti Muslim and anti black remarks and vicious events. The European side has also acknowledged its own problems and hopes to carry out dialogue with China on the principle of equality and respect, enhance mutual understanding and properly handle differences and differences.

President Xi Jinping also clarified China's principled position on issues related to Hong Kong and Xinjiang, pointing out that the essence of the issues related to Hong Kong and Xinjiang is to safeguard China's national sovereignty, security and unity, and to protect the right of people of all ethnic groups to live and work in peace and contentment. China firmly opposes any person or force to create instability, division and unrest in China, and resolutely opposes any country's interference in China's internal affairs.

On Xinjiang related issues, we have always welcomed friends from all over the world, including the European side, to go to Xinjiang to have a look, to understand the real situation in Xinjiang on the spot, rather than relying on hearsay and believing in deliberately fabricated lies. The envoys of the EU and member states in China have proposed to visit Xinjiang, and China has agreed and is willing to make arrangements. Now the ball is on the European side.

At the same time, I would like to point out that we are against the so-called "presumption of guilt" type of investigation.

Beijing Youth Daily: climate change is an important area of China EU cooperation. Please give us a detailed account of the discussions on climate change and other issues during the joint meeting between President Xi Jinping and leaders of Germany and the European Union.

Wang Wenbin: at the meeting between President Xi Jinping and the leaders of Germany and the European Union on September 14, President Xi pointed out that it is necessary to build a green partnership between China and the EU and participate constructively in the global response to climate change and the protection of global biodiversity. Climate change is a common global challenge. As the largest developing country, China has implemented a national strategy to actively respond to climate change. Through arduous efforts, China has completed the 2020 climate action goal ahead of schedule, making significant contributions to the global response to climate change. China is willing to make greater contributions to its capacity. We are studying the long-term vision of addressing climate change in the middle of this century, including carbon dioxide peaking and carbon neutralization.

The United States has lowered the travel warning level to "level 3" for travel to China, including the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. At the same time, U.S. citizens were warned to pay attention to the new crown pneumonia epidemic in China and the risk of local "compulsory law enforcement". What is China's comment on this?

Wang Wenbin: after the outbreak of new crown pneumonia, China has taken the most comprehensive, strictest and most thorough prevention and control measures, and has made major strategic achievements in the national anti epidemic struggle. As of September 14, there has been no new confirmed cases in China for 30 consecutive days.

China has always protected the safety and legitimate rights and interests of foreigners in China in accordance with the law. China is one of the safest countries in the world. Of course, foreigners in China are also obliged to abide by Chinese laws. When formulating travel warnings, the US side should fully respect the facts and should not engage in groundless political manipulation.

Reuters: Pope Francis has agreed to extend the provisional agreement on the appointment of bishops between China and Vatican for two years, Reuters reported. Can China confirm this? What's your comment?

Wang Wenbin: in recent years, thanks to the joint efforts of both sides, Sino Vatican relations have continued to improve. The provisional agreement between China and Vatican on the appointment of bishops is an important achievement, which has been successfully implemented in the past two years. The two sides supported each other in fighting the new crown pneumonia epidemic, and jointly committed to maintaining global public health security, and mutual trust and consensus were further deepened. China is willing to maintain close communication with the Vatican side, promote the good implementation of the agreement and make more progress in the process of improving relations.