Archive for ‘territorial integrity’

24/05/2020

China and US must find ways to get along and avoid new cold war, says Foreign Minister Wang Yi

  • Countries must respect each others’ systems and be wary of US political forces who want to ‘hijack relations’, Wang tells press conference at ‘two sessions’
  • Beijing is not looking for confrontation and wants to work with Washington to fight coronavirus, minister says
Foreign Minister Wang Yi said China did not want to replace or change the US. Photo: Xinhua
Foreign Minister Wang Yi said China did not want to replace or change the US. Photo: Xinhua

China and the US should try to avoid a new cold war and find new ways to cooperate despite their differences, China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Sunday.

“We need to be alert to efforts by some political forces in America to hijack China-US relations and who try to push the two countries towards a so-called ‘new cold war’.

“This is a dangerous attempt to turn back the course of history,” Wang told a press conference on the sidelines of the annual parliamentary meetings known as the ‘two sessions’.

Ties between the two countries have further worsened due to escalating tensions over the handling of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Voices calling for decoupling have been on the rise in the US, with some arguing that the two countries are edging towards a new cold war akin to that against the Soviet Union.

Wang called for the two countries to respect each other’s political systems and to find a way to get along despite their differences.

The two nations should step up cooperation on global pandemic control, and coordinate on macro policies to deal with the economic impact.

“China has no intention of changing the United States, much less replacing it. The US should give up the wishful thinking that it can change China.”

“For the benefit of the two peoples, as well as the future and well-being of humankind, China and the US should and must find a way to coexist peacefully despite the differences in system and cultures of the two societies.”

Wang said China will not seek confrontation with the United States, but China is determined to protect its sovereignty, territorial integrity and development.

Source: SCMP
15/10/2019

China calls on Turkey to halt military incursion in Syria and ‘return to right track’

  • Beijing joins global condemnation of attack launched by Ankara on Kurdish fighters after US President Donald Trump decided to pull out troops
  • Foreign ministry spokesman says issue should be resolved with ‘political solutions’ and the operation may result in a revival of Islamic State
Turkey launched the attack on Kurdish fighters in northeastern Syria last week. Photo: Xinhua
Turkey launched the attack on Kurdish fighters in northeastern Syria last week. Photo: Xinhua

China has urged Turkey to stop the military offensive it began in northeastern Syria last week and “return to the right track”.

Beijing is the latest to join global condemnation of the cross-border attack launched by Ankara on Kurdish fighters last Wednesday following US President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw US troops from the region.

Foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang on Tuesday called for a ceasefire.

“The Chinese side has always opposed the use of force in international relations and has advocated for adherence to the Charter of the United Nations, and to resolve problems through political and diplomatic channels,” Geng said during a regular press briefing, when asked about Beijing’s position on the situation.

“Sovereignty, independence, unification and territorial integrity should be respected and protected,” he said. “We urge Turkey to halt military action and to return to the right track, resolving the issue with political solutions.”

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang called on Turkey to “work with the international community in fighting against terrorism”. Photo: AP
Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang called on Turkey to “work with the international community in fighting against terrorism”. Photo: AP

Geng also said the “anti-terrorism situation in Syria is still severe”, and the military operation could result in a comeback by Islamic State.

“We urge Turkey to take responsibility and work with the international community in fighting against terrorism,” he said.

Explained: why are Syria’s Kurds accusing the US of betrayal?
Trump’s move has drawn sharp criticism from around the world. Critics say he has abandoned the allies that helped fight against Isis, and that withdrawing troops could pave the way for a resurgence of the jihadist group whose violent takeover of Syrian and Iraqi land five years ago was the reason US forces went in.

The US president said about 1,000 US troops who had been partnering with local Kurdish fighters to battle Islamic State in northern Syria were leaving the country. He said they would remain in the Middle East to “monitor the situation” and to prevent a revival of Isis – a goal that even Trump’s allies say has become much more difficult as a result of the US pull-out.

Turkey says the offensive aims to remove the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces from the border area and create what it calls a “safe zone” to relocate 1 million Syrian refugees.

Facing mounting criticism, Trump on Monday announced sanctions would be imposed

 on Turkey, halted bilateral trade negotiations and called for an immediate ceasefire.
Vice-President Mike Pence also said Trump was sending him to the Middle East because the president was concerned about instability in the region.
Beijing has long worried that conflict in the region could spill over to Chinese soil after thousands of Uygurs – the Turkic-speaking Muslim minority from far western China – travelled to Syria to train and fight as jihadists.
Source: SCMP
03/07/2019

Xi, Turkish president hold talks, agreeing to deepen strategic cooperation

CHINA-BEIJING-XI JINPING-TURKISH PRESIDENT-TALKS (CN)

Chinese President Xi Jinping holds a welcome ceremony for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan before their talks in Beijing, capital of China, July 2, 2019. Xi held talks with Erdogan at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Tuesday. (Xinhua/Yin Bogu)

BEIJING, July 2 (Xinhua) — Chinese President Xi Jinping held talks with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the Great Hall of the People on Tuesday, pledging more efforts to promote strategic cooperation between the two sides and work for sound bilateral ties.

Noting China and Turkey are both major emerging markets and developing countries, Xi said enhancing strategic cooperation is of great significance.

He called on the two sides to deepen political mutual trust, beef up strategic communication, respect each other’s core interests and major concerns on issues pertaining to national sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity, and consolidate the political foundation underlying the development of China-Turkey strategic cooperative relationship to keep bilateral ties on a healthy and stable track.

On anti-terrorism security cooperation, Xi said China appreciates Erdogan’s reiteration on many occasions about not allowing anti-China separatist activities instigated by any force in Turkey, and highly values the repeated emphasis by the Turkish side on supporting China’s anti-terrorism efforts, noting that China is ready to strengthen cooperation with Turkey in the field of international anti-terrorism.

Speaking of synergizing development strategies and expanding pragmatic cooperation, Xi called Turkey an important partner in jointly building the Belt and Road.

“China is willing to move faster in dovetailing the Belt and Road Initiative with the Middle Corridor project, steadily promote cooperation on trade, investment, science and technology, energy, infrastructure and major projects and actively seek cooperation in small and medium-sized programs and those that benefit the people, to deliver concrete benefits to more enterprises and the people,” the Chinese president said.

Xi also called for expanding people-to-people exchanges and tourism cooperation for better mutual understanding between the two peoples, to solidify the popular support for China-Turkey friendship.

In the face of major shifts in the international situation, China and Turkey should firmly uphold the international system with the United Nations at the core and the international law as the basis, safeguard multilateralism and international fairness and justice, as well as the multilateral trading regime with World Trade Organization at the core, Xi said.

He urged the two sides to deepen the strategic cooperative relationship, guard the common interests of China and Turkey as well as developing countries at large and jointly forge a new type of international relations featuring mutual respect, fairness and justice, and win-win cooperation.

“We should keep in contact and coordination in regional affairs and jointly advance political settlements for hotspot issues, to contribute to regional peace, stability and development,” Xi said.

Noting that the time-honored Turkey-China friendship which can be traced back to the time of ancient Silk Road is consolidated today, Erdogan said the close bilateral ties are significant for regional peace and prosperity.

Turkey stays committed to the one-China policy, Erdogan said, stressing that residents of various ethnicities living happily in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region thanks to China’s prosperity is a hard fact, and Turkey will not allow anyone to drive a wedge in its relations with China. He also expressed the readiness to deepen political mutual trust and strengthen security cooperation with China in opposing extremism.

Voicing firm support for the Belt and Road Initiative, the Turkish president said he hopes the two sides can step up cooperation in areas such as trade, investment and 5G networks as well as exchanges in educational, cultural and scientific research sectors.

Prior to the talks, Xi held a welcoming ceremony for Erdogan.

Source: Xinhua

31/05/2019

Taiwan question brooks no foreign interference: spokesperson

BEIJING, May 30 (Xinhua) — Taiwan is a part of China and Taiwan question is China’s internal affairs that brooks no foreign interference, said Wu Qian, a spokesperson with the Ministry of National Defense, on Thursday.

Wu made the remarks in response to the United States’ recent frequent provocations on Taiwan-related issues, including the passing of the “Taiwan Assurance Act of 2019” by the U.S. House of Representatives.

The one-China principle is a universal consensus of the international community and the important political foundation for the China-U.S. relationship, Wu said.

The recent moves by the U.S. side have severely damaged the development of the relationships between the two countries and the two militaries, undermining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, Wu added.

The Chinese People’s Liberation Army has firm determination, full confidence and sufficient capacity to thwart any separatist activities and safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity, Wu said.

Source: Xinhua

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