Space Travel News
SINO DAILY
What we learned from Chinese foreign minister's press briefing
What we learned from Chinese foreign minister's press briefing
By Jing Xuan TENG, Matthew WALSH
Beijing (AFP) March 7, 2024

China's foreign minister gave a rare press conference to foreign media on Thursday, outlining Beijing's positions on major global issues as it holds annual political meetings known as the Two Sessions.

Here is a breakdown of Wang Yi's key points:

- Gaza -

China has historically been sympathetic to the Palestinian cause and supportive of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Beijing has backed calls at the UN for a ceasefire since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas in October, with President Xi Jinping saying there must be an "international peace conference" to resolve the fighting.

Wang reiterated his government's demands for an "immediate ceasefire", and called the humanitarian crisis unfolding in Gaza "a tragedy for humankind and a disgrace for civilisation".

"The international community must act urgently, making an immediate ceasefire and the cessation of hostilities an overriding priority, and ensuring humanitarian relief an urgent moral responsibility," he said.

- Ukraine -

On Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Wang repeated Beijing's "fair stance" on the conflict while also hailing ties with its ally Moscow.

Many Western nations have blasted Beijing's position, arguing that its refusal to criticise Russia has given Moscow political cover to wage an unprovoked war of aggression.

Wang repeated that China sought peace talks and voiced concerns over escalation, warning that "without the start of peace talks, misunderstandings and misjudgments will build up, leading to a greater crisis".

But he heaped praise on ties with Russia, saying the two sides had created a "new paradigm for great power relations" under the leadership of their respective leaders, Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin.

- Taiwan -

China, which split with Taiwan at the end of a civil war in 1949, considers the island a renegade province with which it must eventually reunify and has never ruled out using force to do so.

Beijing has ramped up military activity around Taiwan in recent years, with tensions rising in recent weeks after two members of a Chinese fishing crew died during a boat chase involving the Taiwanese coast guard.

As the Two Sessions kicked off on Tuesday, the government work report said China would again "resolutely oppose separatist activities aimed at 'Taiwan independence'" in 2024.

Wang on Thursday doubled down on Beijing's tough stance, saying that "anyone on the island of Taiwan who tries to go for Taiwan independence will inevitably be liquidated by history".

- United States -

Wang reserved harsh words for China's relations with the United States, hitting out at what he called Washington's attempts to "suppress" Beijing.

Ties between the world's two largest economies have come under strain in recent years amid disputes over trade, technology, human rights and other issues.

Wang said Washington's "desire to heap blame under any pretext has reached an unbelievable level" and criticised its "misunderstanding of China".

"The methods used to suppress China are constantly being renewed, and the list of unilateral sanctions is constantly being extended," Wang added.

"If the United States always says one thing and does another, how can it maintain its credibility as a major country?"

- European Union -

Wang struck a more conciliatory tone towards the European Union, a major trading partner in the throes of its own debate over trade ties with China.

He said there was "no conflict of interest" between Beijing and Brussels, but criticised the bloc's depiction of China as a partner but also a competitor and institutional rival.

"Facts have proven that this triple positioning is not factual or feasible, but it has brought unnecessary interference and obstacles to the development of China-EU relations," Wang said.

Somewhat aptly, he compared the policy to "a car driving towards an intersection, only to find the red, green and yellow lights on at the same time".

Electric vehicles are at the centre of a growing dispute between Beijing and the EU, with the bloc probing the impact of Chinese EV subsidies on European carmakers.

Beijing has launched its own enquiries into EU products including brandy but has denied the investigations are retaliatory.

- South China Sea -

Beijing's increasingly frequent confrontations in the disputed South China Sea, especially with the Philippines, have raised concerns that hostilities will escalate in the region.

Chinese coast guard boats were accused on Tuesday of causing two collisions with Philippine ships on a resupply mission and firing water cannon at one of them, with Beijing in turn saying Manila was acting as Washington's pawn.

"We will legitimately defend our rights in accordance with the law," Wang said, warning that "we do not allow our goodwill to be abused".

Related Links
China News from SinoDaily.com

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters
Tweet

RELATED CONTENT
The following news reports may link to other Space Media Network websites.
SINO DAILY
Hong Kong court lowers bar for sedition convictions
Hong Kong (AFP) March 7, 2024
Hong Kong's appeal court lowered the bar for sedition convictions on Thursday in a ruling expected to affect ongoing trials of news outlets and the government's new national security law. The sedition offence, formerly a little-used relic of Hong Kong's British colonial era, was dusted off as Beijing launched a crackdown on dissent in the financial hub following 2019's democracy protests. It was used to convict radio DJ and democracy activist Tam Tak-chi in 2022 in the first sedition trial sinc ... read more

SINO DAILY
SINO DAILY
Study reveals potential for life's building blocks from Mars' ancient atmosphere

Little Groundwater Recharge in Ancient Mars Aquifer, According to New Models

Three years later, search for life on Mars continues

Mining Into Mineral King: Sols 4110-4111

SINO DAILY
NASA and SpaceX complete docking system tests for Lunar Starship Lander

ILOA receives first lunar surface and descent images from ILO-X

To the Moon and back: NASA's Artemis II crew rehearses splashdown

As mission ends, US lunar lander could still 'wake' back up

SINO DAILY
New moons of Uranus and Neptune announced

NASA's New Horizons Detects Dusty Hints of Extended Kuiper Belt

NASA's Juno Mission Measures Oxygen Production at Europa

Solved at Pitt: What are Saturn's rings made of?

SINO DAILY
Scripps Research scientists reveal how first cells could have formed on Earth

Hold on to your atmospheres: how planet size affects atmospheric escape

CUTE's groundbreaking design paves the way for future small-scale space missions

Earth as a test object

SINO DAILY
SpaceX eyes March 14 for next Starship test launch

MAPHEUS 14 high-altitude research rocket takes flight

HyImpulse readies SR75 rocket for historic maiden launch in Australia

NASA tests limits of updated engines for future Artemis missions

SINO DAILY
Chang'e 6 and new rockets highlight China's packed 2024 space agenda

Long March 5 deploys Communication Technology Demonstrator 11 satellite

Shenzhou 17 astronauts complete China's first in-space repair job

Tiangong Space Station's Solar Wings Restored After Spacewalk Repair by Shenzhou XVII Team

SINO DAILY
DART impact might have reshaped Hera's target asteroid

NASA's Planetary Radar Images Slowly Spinning Asteroid

Emirates mission to the asteroid belt complets PDR

Can astronomers use radar to spot a cataclysmic asteroid?

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.