EXCHANGES

“since the United states has promised that it does not seek to change China’s system, it should respect the Chinese people’s choice of socialism with Chinese characteristics, and should stop smearing and attacking China’s political system and domestic and foreign policies. since the United states has promised not to seek a new Cold War with China, it should abandon the Cold War mentality, refrain from a zero-sum game approach, and stop forming exclusive groupings. since the United states has promised not to support “Taiwan independence,” it should stop hollowing out or distorting the one-China policy, cease the “salami slicing” on the Taiwan question, and refrain from playing the “Taiwan card” to obstruct China’s peaceful reunification. The United states should also remove the additional tariffs imposed on China as quickly as possible and stop the unilateral sanctions on Chinese businesses.”

– State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi made the remark during the talks with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Bali on July 9, 2022.

“Under the strategic guidance of President Xi Jinping and President Vladimir Putin, China-Russia relations continue to grow at a high level. China is ready to strengthen strategic coordination with Russia, expand practical cooperation across the board, continue to deepen cooperation within multilateral frameworks such as the United Nations, the shanghai Cooperation Organization, BRlCs, and the G20, and steer the global governance system towards greater impartiality and equity.”– Vice Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu said in his meeting with Russian Ambassador to China Andrey lvanovich Denisov on July 5, 2022.

Xi, Mattarella Send Congratulatory Letters to Exhibition of Ancient Roman Civilization

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Italian President Sergio Mattarella sent congratulatory letters to the opening ceremony of an exhibition on the origin of Italy on July 10.

China and Italy are outstanding representatives of Eastern and Western civilizations respectively; this exhibition displays the richness of Italian culture through a variety of precious antiques, Xi said in his letter to the exhibition featuring ancient Roman civilization.

He hoped that this will be an opportunity for the China-Italy Year of Culture and Tourism to promote exchanges and mutual learning between the two civilizations, strengthen bonds between people of the two countries, and inject new vitality into bilateral ties.

He said that China is willing to work with the international community to promote equality, mutual learning, dialogue, and inclusiveness among civilizations to replace estrangement with exchange, clashes with mutual learning, superiority with coexistence, and to build a community with a shared future for mankind.

Mattarella said in his congratulatory letter that cultural cooperation is an important part of Italy-China friendship. Against the background of the COVID-19 pandemic, Italy is holding an exhibition of ancient Roman civilization and a series of Italy-China Year of Culture and Tourism activities in China, which fully prove the depth of bilateral relations.

At present, the international community is facing many challenges, and only unity and cooperation can lead to fair and lasting solutions, Mattarella said.

Wang Yi Attends the G20 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting

State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi attended the G20 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting on July 8, 2022 in the Indonesian resort island of Bali, which was chaired by Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi. Attendees included foreign ministers of member states and guest states of the G20, UN Secretary-General António Guterres, and responsible officials of other international organizations.

In the speech which he delivered at the meeting, Wang called for upholding true multilateralism, conducting win-win cooperation, and achieving inclusiveness and connectivity within the framework of the G20.

The G20 members should be partners based on mutual respect and consultation on equal footing, he said.

The G20 members should strengthen their coordination on macro-economic policies to push for inclusive recovery and growth of the global economy, he noted.

They should jointly maintain stable international supply chains to ease the global inflationary pressure, Wang indicated, calling for boosting the multilateral trading system to foster an open, transparent, and non-discriminatory international trade environment.

In his speech, Wang stressed that China will continue to urge peace talks and promote dialogue on the Ukraine issue, and always stands on the side of peace.

Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said that it is expected that through the foreign ministers’ meeting, all G20 members will build bridges for communication, adhere to peace and justice, promote friendship and cooperation, and oppose unilateralism and isolation.

The G20 members agreed that it is necessary to give full play to the important role of the G20, strengthen multilateralism, reduce trust deficit, and prevent global divisions.

Wang Qishan Attends Inauguration Ceremony of New Philippine President

At the invitation of the Philippine government, Vice President Wang Qishan, as the special representative of President Xi Jinping, attended the inauguration ceremony of new Philippine President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos in Manila, the capital of the Philippines, on June 30, 2022 and met with him. On June 29, Wang Qishan met with the outgoing President Rodrigo Duterte in Manila.

When meeting with Marcos, Wang conveyed President Xi Jinping’s cordial greetings and best wishes to President Marcos. China always prioritizes the Philippines in its neighborhood diplomacy, and looks forward to working with the new Philippine government to carry forward friendship, enhance mutual trust, and continue cooperation so as to usher in a new “golden age” of China-Philippines relations, Wang said.

Wang put forward a four-point proposal on developing bilateral relations during the next stage. First, staying committed to the course of China-Philippines ties steered by the heads of state. Second, staying committed to synergizing development strategies, and further fostering new growth drivers of pragmatic cooperation between China and the Philippines in the new era. Third, staying committed to properly handling disputes, and jointly safeguarding peace and tranquility in the South China Sea. Fourth, staying committed to upholding international justice, and jointly promoting peace and development in Asia, fairness and justice in the world, and the well-being of all mankind.

Marcos said that the new Philippine government attaches great importance to relations with China, and stands ready to engage in Belt and Road cooperation to a greater extent, join hands with China to meet regional challenges, and elevate bilateral relations to new heights.

When meeting with Duterte, Wang said that over the past six years, steered by President Xi Jinping and President Duterte from a strategic perspective, bilateral relations have been improved, cemented, and upgraded, marking a highlight in the history of bilateral relations. The two sides have established a new positioning of the China-Philippines comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership, upheld good-neighborliness, friendship and cooperation, adhered to properly handling differences, and stayed committed to working together for common development — thus embarking on a new journey of deepening cooperation in various fields.

Duterte stressed that he cherishes the friendship with President Xi Jinping, and once again thanked President Xi Jinping and the Chinese government for their sincere help to the Philippines and its people, and expressed readiness to continue contributing to the friendly cooperation between the Philippines and China.

“As a friend and neighbor, China has been closely following the current difficulties and challenges faced by sri Lanka and providing assistance for its socioeconomic development to the best of our capacity. Over the past months, the Chinese government announced a total of RMB 500 million worth of emergency humanitarian assistance to sri Lanka. Yesterday, the second batch of emergency humanitarian food assistance provided by China was delivered to sri Lanka. Besides, through governmentto-government and subnational channels and through friendly organizations, China has provided multiple batches of various types of assistance to people across the sectors of sri Lanka to improve their livelihood.”

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin indicated at a regular press conference on July 15, 2022.“lt is important to point out that the current vulnerability in the global PV industrial and supply chains mainly stems from the U.s. allegation of “forced labor” in Xinjiang and the so-called Uygur Forced Labor Prevention Act. The U.s. is illegally suppressing and unilaterally sanctioning China’s PV industry without justification. This is seriously against the law of the market and WTO rules and detrimental to the international trade order and the stability of global PV industrial and supply chains and global climate response. The U.s. needs to immediately stop spreading lies and stop enforcing this malicious legislation.”

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian pointed out at a regular press conference on July 8, 2022.