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Statement by the Spokesperson of the Embassy of China in Belgium on "Suspected Alibaba Project Involvement in Espionage"
2021-05-07 14:12

The Chinese side has noticed that some Belgian parliamentarians, institutions, and the media have recently returned to their old tunes. They baselessly suspected that Alibaba’s Liege Airport logistics project cooperates with the Chinese government’s espionage activities and poses a threat to citizens’ privacy and national security. We express our strong dissatisfaction and resolute opposition to this practice of slandering Chinese companies on conjured up charges.

The Chinese government has always required Chinese companies to strictly abide by local laws and regulations when conducting business in foreign countries, and will not require Chinese companies to engage in activities that violate local laws and regulations. China and Belgium are all-round partners of friendly cooperation, and China has never posed any threat to Belgium. The cooperation in various fields between the two sides is based on mutual respect, mutual benefits and win-win results. Both the two countries and the two peoples have benefited a lot from it. We have noticed that individual Belgian parliamentarians and institutions regard normal exchanges and cooperation between China and Belgium as a risk factor threatening its security, and make unprovoked insinuations that Chinese institutions and personnel are engaged in so-called “espionage” activities in Belgium. Such false remarks are a copy of the “China Threat Theory”, which will not only mislead the Belgian people, but also negatively affect the image and reputation of Chinese companies and personnel.

It should be pointed out that maintaining national security in the form of legislation is an international practice. China’s National Intelligence Law not only stipulates the obligation of organizations and citizens to support, assist, and cooperate with national intelligence work in accordance with the law, but also stipulates that national intelligence work should be carried out in accordance with the law, respect and protect human rights, and safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of individuals and organizations. At the same time, other laws in China also make many provisions to protect the legitimate rights and interests of citizens and organizations, including data security and privacy rights. The outside world should fully and objectively understand the relevant content of the National Intelligence Law, instead of taking it out of context, and making one-sided and wrong interpretation.

Some people in the world often talk about China’s National Intelligence Law, exaggerate the so-called security risks of Chinese companies, practice double standards, and confuse the public. In essence, they are weaving excuses for suppressing Chinese companies and intervening in economic behavior by political means. It is hoped that relevant parliamentarians, institutions and media will abandon ideology and prejudice against China, treat practical cooperation in various fields between China and Belgium in an objective and fair manner, and provide a fair, just and non-discriminatory investment and operation environment for Chinese companies in Belgium.

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