Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hua Chunying's Regular Press Conference on May 10, 2021 |
2021-05-10 22:50 |
The second China+Central Asia (C+C5) foreign ministers' meeting will be held in Xi'an, Shaanxi Province on May 12. State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi will host the meeting. Kazakh Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mukhtar Tileuberdi, Kyrgyz Foreign Minister Ruslan Kazakbaev, Tajik Foreign Minister Sirojiddin Muhriddin, Turkmen Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Rashid Meredov, and Uzbek Foreign Minister Abdulaziz Kamilov will attend the meeting in China. China and Central Asian countries are friendly neighbors and strategic partners with profound traditional friendship and close exchange and cooperation in various sectors. In July 2020, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi and C5 foreign ministers held their first virtual meeting, introducing a new platform to deepen mutual trust and cooperation. As this year marks the 30th anniversary of the C5's independence and the centenary of the CPC, and the year 2022 will mark the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and the C5, all hold high hopes for stronger cooperation going forward, bringing new historical opportunities for the development of relations between the two sides. Against such a background, China proposed holding a second C+C5 foreign ministers' meeting, which will be the first face-to-face event under this mechanism, receiving positive feedback and support from the other countries. During the upcoming meeting, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi and C5 foreign ministers will hold in-depth exchange of views on anti-epidemic and BRI cooperation, connectivity, international coordination and other issues of common interest, sign relevant outcome documents and conduct a series of bilateral talks as well as multilateral exchange sessions. It's worth mentioning that Central Asia has been an important node on the Silk Road since ancient times. It is also in this region that President Xi Jinping first put forward the Silk Road Economic Belt initiative. The C5 are all China's important BRI partners. The choice of venue for this meeting, the city of Xi'an, cradle of the ancient Silk Road, carries special significance. We believe this event will be a complete success, contributing to fresh progress in China-C5 relations and BRI cooperation. Shenzhen TV: Russia held a grand military parade in Moscow's Red Square on May 9 to commemorate the 76th anniversary of the Soviet victory in the Great Patriotic War. Russian President Putin said in his address that those who are "obsessed with the delusional theory of their exclusivity" are in fact utilizing aspects of Nazi ideology. He added that Russia consistently defends international law and firmly protects national interests and the security of its people. Do you have any comment? Hua Chunying: We noted that Russia successfully held a grand military parade to commemorate the 76th anniversary of the Soviet victory in the Great Patriotic War. We expressed sincere congratulations. This year marks the 76th anniversary of the victory of WWII. China and Russia, as the main theaters in Asia and Europe during the war, made huge and painful sacrifices for and tremendous historical contributions to the final victory. Over the past few years, a certain country has been pursuing the erroneous policy of unilateralism and protectionism, clinging to the mindset of zero-sum game and hyping up differences of ideology and political system in an attempt to create cliques and divisions and pursue bloc politics. Against such a backdrop, China and Russia always stand side by side to support each other on issues concerning respective core interests, firmly reject hegemony and bullying and jointly uphold international equity and justice. In the face of the once-in-a-century pandemic and changes, China will continue to work with Russia and the rest of the international community to defend the victory of WWII and hard-won peace, firmly safeguard the UN-centered international system and the international order based on international law, adhere to the common value of peace, development, equity, justice, democracy and freedom held by all, and build a community with a shared future for mankind. CNR: Recently, WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros announced that Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine was listed for emergency use. The vaccine is the first developed by a non-Western country to be included in the Emergency Use Listing (EUL). It is also the first time the WHO has given emergency use approval to a Chinese vaccine for any infectious disease. Do you have any comment? China earlier announced that it would provide 10 million doses to COVAX. What will you do in the future? Hua Chunying: As Dr. Tedros said, the Sinopharm vaccine received WHO validation for safety, efficacy and quality. China will continue to work with the international community to promote vaccine equity and accessibility in the developing world and contribute to mankind's early victory over COVID-19. China has announced to provide 10 million doses of vaccines to COVAX mainly to meet the urgent need of developing countries. We will honor words with actions. We are keeping close communication with the WHO on this. Al Jazeera: As Ramadan continues, Israeli police illegally broke into the holy Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem for no good reason and attacked Palestinians with rubber bullets, leaving hundreds wounded. As the clash roils on, Israel's provocations have drawn concerns and condemnation from many countries. Do you have any comment? Hua Chunying: China is concerned about the escalating tension between Israel and Palestine over the past couple of days. We call for calm and restraint to avoid more injuries from the clash. In the meantime, we hope that relevant parties of the international community will work for an early resumption of peace talks between Israel and Palestine according to relevant UN resolutions and on the basis of the two-state solution. China is ready to play a constructive role in this. Xinhua News Agency: We noted that Cuban Ambassador to China Carlos Pereira, speaking at the Seminar on Poverty Alleviation, Development and Progress of Human Rights in China held in the city of Ningde, Fujian Province on May 8, commended China's achievement in eradicating extreme poverty while fighting COVID-19 as a brave victory. For over 60 years, Cuba has been suffering from a US blockade tantamount to genocide, Ambassador Pereira said, adding that Cuba rejects politicization of or double standard on human rights. Do you have any comment? Hua Chunying: |