On December 12, President Xi Jinping will attend and address the Climate Ambition Summit 2020 at the invitation of United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Chilean President Sebastián Piñera and Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte. The Summit will be held via video link.

As agreed upon consultation, the 4th Meeting of the China-Belarus Intergovernmental Cooperation Committee will be co-hosted by Guo Shengkun, Co-Chair of the Chinese party of the China-Belarus Intergovernmental Cooperation Committee, Member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, Member of the CPC Central Committee Secretariat, and Secretary of the Political and Legal Affairs Committee under the CPC Central Committee, and Nikolai Snopkov, Co-Chair of the Belarusian party of the China-Belarus Intergovernmental Cooperation Committee and First Deputy Prime Minister of Belarus. The Meeting will be held via video link on December 14.

Xinhua News Agency: You said yesterday that the 14th Senior Officials Meeting of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation was held on December 10 in Beijing. Can you brief us on the outcomes of the meeting?

Hua Chunying: Thank you for following China-Africa relations and FOCAC. FOCAC has 55 members. This Senior Officials Meeting succeeded in gathering diplomatic envoys from 54 member countries and senior representatives from 36 member departments of the Chinese FOCAC Follow-up Committee. Against the background of the pandemic, senior officials met off-line and the meeting was a great success, highlighting the determination of both sides to strengthen solidarity and cooperation, and the resilience and vitality of China-Africa cooperation.

Participating representatives spoke highly of the China-Africa relations and the Extraordinary China-Africa Summit on Solidarity Against COVID-19 as well as the achievements made over the past two decades since FOCAC was founded. The two sides have accorded each other valuable support and assistance to overcome the negative impact of the outbreak, and taken positive steps to implement the outcomes of the Beijing summit and the Extraordinary China-Africa Summit on Solidarity Against COVID-19. The two sides are willing to work together to prepare for next year's FOCAC meeting, deepen the comprehensive strategic partnership, and speed up the building of a closer China-Africa community of a shared future.

We have put up a press release of the 14th FOCAC Senior Officials' Meeting on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. You can check it out in detail.

CRI: On December 9, the virtual China-Afghanistan-Central Asian Countries (CA5) Vice Foreign Ministers' Meeting on Trade and Connectivity was held. Do you have a comment?

Hua Chunying: On December 9, the virtual China-Afghanistan-Central Asian Countries (CA5) Vice Foreign Ministers' Meeting on Trade and Connectivity was successfully held. All sides had an in-depth exchange of views on regional cooperation and reached positive consensus with good effects.

Vice Foreign Minister Luo Zhaohui chaired the meeting and put forward four proposals for cooperation: deepening the cooperation on global COVID-19 response 2.0, expanding economic and trade cooperation, advancing connectivity, and deepening cooperation on the counter-terrorism and security fronts. Afghanistan and CA5 all spoke highly of China's proposals and success in hosting the meeting, which built a new platform for regional countries to exchange experience and deepen cooperation. All participants expressed readiness to foster a new cooperation model adapted to the pandemic situation and deepen coordination between the BRI and national development strategies to maintain the stability of regional industrial and supply chains and unleash the full potential of regional cooperation. They also called on the international community to support the Afghan peace and reconciliation process, step up counter-terrorism cooperation and create an enabling environment for relevant cooperation.

This Meeting on Trade and Connectivity was a new exploration by the seven countries to enhance solidarity and cooperation and jointly deal with the current challenges amid the changing international and regional landscape as well as the COVID-19 situation. it reflects their shared aspiration of working together for sustainable development. China will work with other parties to make good use of this platform and advance regional cooperation.

Bloomberg: This is in regards to a meeting that was scheduled to take place in November. The meeting was between Business Europe and a Chinese think tank by the name of CCIEE. The meeting was canceled and the reason given was that the Chinese side had objected to the participation on the European side of two persons. Can you give any indication as to why that meeting was canceled? What was it about those two individuals that's the Chinese side found objectionable? Would you agree that this sort of incident puts negotiations between the EU and China on a comprehensive investment agreement under a cloud?

Hua Chunying: I'm not aware of the specific circumstance you mentioned. I can tell you that China always attaches high importance to practical cooperation with Europe and supports various exchange activities between the business communities. The channels for exchange between China and EU agencies are always open.

As to whether this incident, if indeed true, will affect China-Europe investment agreement negotiations, I don't see how such a minor hiccup in the preparation for a meeting or forum by two civil organizations could possibly affect the China-Europe investment agreement. Both hope to conclude the agreement at an early date and expressed readiness to bring relevant negotiations to an end at an early date. China also stands ready to work together with the European side to consolidate consensus, accommodate each other's concerns, meet each other halfway, and strive to complete negotiations by the end of this year as required by our leaders, so as to promote economic and trade cooperation.

BBC: This is about the two Canadians Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig. Has there actually been a trial yet or where are we at in the process?

Hua Chunying: On the cases regarding the Canadian citizens you asked about, we have already stated our position. They were prosecuted in June for suspected crimes endangering China's national security. China's judicial organs handle the cases in accordance with law. The Canadian citizens' lawful rights are guaranteed. China will continue to handle relevant matters including consular notification in accordance with the China-Canada consular agreement as well as Chinese laws and regulations.

Reuters: US Federal Communications Commission said on Thursday it began the process of revoking Huawei and China Telecom's authorization to operate in the US as it took further steps to crack down on China's role in US telecommunications to protect the US national security. What's your comment on this?

Hua Chunying: "Promoting national security" is such a lame excuse cited by the US side, the true nature of which is hide its abuse of national security to oppress certain Chinese enterprises.

As I said yesterday, Chinese companies maintain a very good record on network security. Take Huawei for example. Huawei has built more than 1,500 networks in more than 170 countries and regions. There have been no such network security incidents as the Snowden incident and WikiLeaks, and no such cyber surveillance programs as "Prism Gate", "Formula Organization" and "Echelon System". And no country has been able to come up with evidence to prove Huawei products have back doors, including the United States whom we've challenged many times to present evidence. Huawei has long publicly expressed its readiness to sign a "no back door" agreement and to set up cyber security assessment center wherever needed. Any response from the U.S. side? Which American company can make the same commitment as Huawei?

The Patriot Act enacted by the U.S. side after September 11 demands cyber companies to submit user data regularly. This is such a big