Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zhao Lijian's Regular Press Conference on June 19, 2020 |
2020-06-19 23:05 |
As agreed by China and the EU, Premier Li Keqiang of the State Council will hold the 22nd China-EU Summit with Charles Michel, President of the European Council, and Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission through video link on June 22. CCTV: Could you outline this summit for us? And also, what does China expect from it? Zhao Lijian: The China-EU Summit plays a guiding role in China-EU relations. During this summit, President Xi Jinping will meet with President Charles Michel of the European Council and President Ursula von der Leyen of the European Commission through video link. Premier Li will co-chair the virtual meeting with President Michel and President von der Leyen. This year marks the 45th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and the EU. This is the first official meeting between Chinese leaders and the new EU leaders. China attaches great importance to this meeting and is willing to work with the EU to promote positive outcomes from the meeting, promote the China-EU cooperation on fighting the pandemic and reviving economies, deepen practical cooperation in such fields as economy, trade and investment, connectivity, climate change, and scientific and technological innovation, strengthen policy coordination on international and regional hot-spot issues, jointly uphold multilateralism, and work together to address global challenges. In this way, China and the EU will see a fresh outburst of energy in bilateral relations in the post-COVID-19 era and contribute to maintaining world peace and stability and driving the global economic recovery. The Globe and Mail: We've seen charges now filed formally against Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor. They were arrested 557 days ago. We have seen charges, but we haven't seen any evidence against them. Can you please tell us what they are alleged to have done? What secrets did they allegedly steal? What secrets did they allegedly and illegally provide to overseas entities? Zhao Lijian: On Michael Kovrig's case, after due investigation, the Beijing Municipality People's Procuratorate Second Branch formally prosecuted Michael Kovrig, who is of Canadian citizenship, in the Beijing Municipality Second Intermediate People's Court on June 19, 2020, for secretly gathering state secrets and intelligence for overseas forces. The indictment charged the accused Michael Kovrig of secretly gathering state secrets and intelligence for overseas organizations with particularly serious circumstances, which violated Article 111 of the Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China. The facts are clear and evidence solid and sufficient. The defendant should be held accountable for criminal responsibilities under the above-mentioned charge. On Michael Spavor's case, after due investigation, the People's Procuratorate in Dandong, Liaoning Province, formally prosecuted Michael Spavor, who is of Canadian citizenship, in the Intermediate People's Court in Dandong on June 19, 2020, for secretly gathering state secrets and illegally providing them to overseas forces. The indictment charged the accused Michael Spavor of secretly gathering state secrets and illegally providing them to overseas forces during his stay in China with particularly serious circumstances, which violated Article 111 of the Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China. The facts are clear and evidence solid and sufficient. The defendant should be held accountable for criminal responsibilities under the abo |