At the invitation of Liu Guozhong, member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, Vice Premier of the State Council and Chinese Co-Chair of the China-Belarus Intergovernmental Cooperation Committee, First Deputy Prime Minister of Belarus and Belarusian Co-Chair of the committee Nikolai Snopkov will travel to China on July 11 to co-host the fifth meeting of the committee.

CCTV: The US State Department updated its China Travel Advisory, claiming that China is expanding security scrutiny of citizens and businesses of other countries, and there may be entry and exit bans and wrongful detentions. What is your comment?

Mao Ning: China is a country committed to the rule of law. The decisions to conduct security reviews over foreign companies by competent Chinese departments are made in accordance with the laws and the facts. China welcomes the people and businesses of all countries to come to China and do business here, and we are committed to protecting their safety and lawful rights and interests in China in accordance with the law, including their freedom of entry and exit.

Speaking of entry and exit review and wrongful detentions, in recent years, the US has put up hurdles and even harassed and interrogated under various excuses Chinese nationals entering the US. From time to time, Chinese students bound for the US have been refused entry and sent back. In 2021, the US refused to issue visas for at least 2,000 Chinese students majoring in science, technology, engineering or mathematics. From January to October 2022, the number of visas issued for Chinese students bound for the US dropped by 38% year-on-year. Recently, the US has smeared China’s efforts to repatriate corrupt fugitives and recover criminals’ illegal proceeds, and even prosecuted and detained Chinese nationals and people of Chinese descent in the US. The US has scapegoated China on fentanyl-related issues, resorting to “sting operations” and extra-territorial abduction against Chinese nationals, and prosecution against Chinese entities and individuals.

We urge the US to stop its wrongdoing at once, stop disrupting practical cooperation between the two countries, stop arbitrary detentions and abuse of process against Chinese businesses and individuals, and earnestly protect the legitimate and lawful rights and interests of Chinese businesses and nationals in the US.

CCTV: US President Joe Biden issued a statement on July 7 announcing that “the US has destroyed the final munition in chemical weapons stockpile, bringing us one step closer to a world free from the horrors of chemical weapons”. On that day, the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) confirmed that the US completed the destruction of its declared chemical weapons stockpile. What’s China’s comment?

Mao Ning: The core objective of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) is to fully ban and completely destruct chemical weapons, which is also the obligation of States Parties to the CWC. It was stipulated in the CWC that States Parties shall complete the destruction not later than 10 years after the entry into force of the CWC in 1997. The US is the last state to complete the destruction of its declared chemical weapons stockpile, far behind the time limit set in the CWC. The US’s announcement of destroying the final munition in its chemical weapons stockpile is a long-overdue explanation to the world.

Meanwhile, we need to see that efforts of achieving “a world free of chemical weapons” still face multiple challenges. The destruction of Japan’s abandoned chemical weapons (ACWs) in China has been delayed for multiple times, which becomes a serious threat to the personal and property safety of the Chinese people and the safety of the ecological environment. If Japan’s ACWs in China cannot be completely and thoroughly destructed, the goal of “a world free of chemical weapons” will not be achieved. We once again urge Japan to earnestly step up to its historical responsibility and international obligations and completely and thoroughly destroy the ACWs at an early date.

AFP: Paraguayan President-elect Santiago Pena plans to visit Taiwan this week to strengthen the country’s friendship with Taipei. Does China have any response to this planned visit?

Mao Ning: There is only one China in the world and the government of the People’s Republic of China is the sole legal government representing the whole of China. Taiwan is an inalienable part of China’s territory. Standing up for the one-China principle is the right thing to do. It has the overwhelming support of the international community and represents the trend of the world. We believe relevant country will recognize the trend of the world sooner or later and make the right decision consistent with the trend of history.

TASS: US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan recently confirmed that the US has decided to send Ukraine cluster munitions, even as UN Secretary-General António Guterres reportedly opposes the use of them. Do you have any comment?

Mao Ning: We noted the significant amount of attention the US decision has drawn internationally. Many countries have been very explicit about their opposition to it. The irresponsible provision of cluster munitions is highly likely to cause humanitarian issues. Humanitarian concerns and legitimate military and security needs should be addressed in a balanced manner, and the transfer of cluster munitions should be treated with prudence and restraint.

China always believes that dialogue and negotiation is the only viable way out of the Ukraine crisis. Parties concerned should not add fuel to the flame and escalate the tensions, which will make the Ukraine crisis even worse.

China Daily: We noted that the World Investment Report 2023 recently released by the UN Conference on Trade and Development shows that FDI flows attracted by China rose by 5 percent, to a record USD 189.1 billion in 2022. What’s your comment?

Mao Ning: Despite the challenges faced by the world economy, FDI inflows to China continues to grow. It shows yet again the magnetic pull of the Chinese market and the global confidence in China’s economic outlook.

Since early this year, China has received a large number of senior executives of multinational corporations. Foreign businesses have largely expressed interest in further exploring market opportunities and increasing presence in China. This is the result of not only China’s mega-market, well-developed industrial system and rich talent pool, but also improvement in China’s business environment and investment facilitation.

China is both a beneficiary and a contributor to economic globalization and investment facilitation. Last week, negotiations at WTO over the draft text of an agreement on Investment Facilitation for Development were successfully concluded. It will be the world’s first multilateral investment agreement and further propel global investment growth. China played an important role in the negotiations by submitting 15 official proposals and providing pragmatic solutions on a number of occasions to address difficult issues.

China will, through its own development, provide the world with more opportunities for market access, investment and growth and continue to work with the rest of the world to foster an open world economy. 

Beijing Daily: Yesterday, the Eco Forum Global Guiyang 2023 under the theme of “Building Guiyang Consensus: Pursuing Modernization of Harmony between Humanity and Nature” was successfully concluded. Representatives attending the forum highly commended China’s achievements on the economic and environmental fronts and acknowledged China’s contribution to global climate governance. Do you have any comment on this?

Mao Ning: Over the weekend, the Eco Forum Global Guiyang 2023 was successfully held. Over 3,200 representatives from 42 countries and regions attended the event and 14 common understandings in four aspects were reached.  Several research outcomes were released, including a blue paper on climate change for the year 2023, and the event also facilitated multiple cooperation projects related to green development.

China sees lucid waters and lush mountains as humanity’s invaluable assets. Ecological conservation is an important priority and we are committed to green and low-carbon development. This week is the 33rd National Energy Conservation Week and July 12 marks this year’s national low-carbon day in China. To advocate a simple, moderate, green and low-carbon lifestyle and get everyone involved in actions to conserve energy and reduce carbon emissions is key to achieving green and low-carbon development and enhancing ecological conservation, and also part of China’s vigorous effort to respond to climate change and promote harmony between humanity and nature.

Dragon TV: According to reports, Japan’s Nuclear Regulation Authority on July 7 issued the certificate to TEPCO on the Fukushima facility of discharging nuclear-contaminated water into the ocean. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said that there is no change in the plan of starting to discharge the water into the ocean this summer. Japanese media said earlier that the Japanese government is very likely to start the ocean discharge in August. What’s China’s comment?

Mao Ning: China has repeatedly stressed that Japan has not addressed international concerns over the legitimacy of the ocean discharge plan, the reliability of the purification facility, the integrity of the monitoring plan and so on. Many doubt the safety of the ocean discharge plan. The IAEA’s review report has its limits and is narrowly focused. It does not address the above-mentioned concerns. Japan should not view the report as a “greenlight” for the ocean discharge. IAEA Director General Grossi stated on multiple occasions that the IAEA will not endorse Japan’s decision on ocean discharge.

The whole world is paying close attention to what potential impact the Fukushima nuclear-contaminated water may have on the marine environment, food safety and people’s health. The Japanese government, however, cares only about when it can ditch that trouble and little about how much work, resources and risk-taking it will involve for other countries to deal with the impact of Japan’s discharge of nuclear-contaminated water.

Despite overwhelming domestic and international opposition, Japan seems bent on proceeding with its discharge plan. This is selfish, irresponsible and unpopular. China once again urges Japan to call off its ocean discharge plan and find a responsible way to deal with the issue.

Global Times: Uzbekistan had a successful early presidential election on July 9 and preliminary results show that President Shavkat Mirziyoyev has been reelected. Do you have any comment and how does China envision the future of its relations with Uzbekistan? 

Mao Ning: China congratulates Uzbekistan on a successful presidential election and President Mirziyoyev on his reelection. President Xi Jinping has sent a congratulatory message to President Mirziyoyev upon learning the news. We believe that under the leadership of President Mirziyoyev, the country will achieve even greater success towards building a “New Uzbekistan”.

China and Uzbekistan are friendly neighbors with a shared future. The bilateral relations have remained strong and enjoyed robust growth over the past 31 years since the establishment of diplomatic ties. China deeply values this bilateral relationship and stands ready to work with Uzbekistan for high-quality and all-round mutually-beneficial cooperation and jointly build a China-Uzbekistan community with a shared future.