Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Tuesday that the EU's tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles are drawing attention around the world, and China always insists on resolving differences through dialogue and consultation.
It is hoped that Germany will continue to play an important role in this regard, Xi said in his meeting with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on the sidelines of the G20 Leaders' Summit held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Xi said that he and Scholz had frank, in-depth and fruitful exchanges during Scholz's visit to China this April. Over the past six months, the two countries have achieved significant results in the fields of green development, sustainable transportation and agricultural cooperation with Africa, and China-Germany relations continue to glow with new vitality and dynamism, Xi said.
Noting that transformation of a scale not seen in a century is accelerating across the world today and global development is at a critical crossroads, Xi pointed out that as the second and third largest economies in the world, China and Germany are both major countries with significant influence, and the two sides need to consolidate the comprehensive strategic partnership from a long-term and strategic perspective and continue to write cooperative stories of mutual achievement.
Xi noted that China's policy toward Germany maintains a high degree of stability and continuity, and is willing to work with Germany to respect each other's core interests and major concerns, seek common ground while shelving differences, and learn from each other.
China and Germany share highly integrated economic interests, and bilateral cooperation is an opportunity for shared development and common future, Xi said, noting that China regards Germany as an important partner in advancing Chinese modernization, and will continue to provide broad market opportunities for German companies.
China and Germany should focus on upgrading cooperation through digitalization, intelligence and low-carbon action, and work together to explore third-party markets to achieve win-win cooperation, Xi said.
China regards Europe as an important pole in a multi-polar world, Xi said, adding that Beijing is committed to cooperating with Europe to jointly meet challenges and promote the sustained, steady and sound development of China-EU relations.
Since his last visit to China, Scholz said, the Germany-China relationship has made positive progress. Under the current complex international situation, it is of great importance for Germany and China to strengthen communication and cooperation, he added.
The German side hopes to further develop the comprehensive strategic partnership with China, strengthen bilateral and multilateral dialogue and cooperation in the spirit of equality, frankness and mutual respect, properly resolve differences, achieve mutual benefit and win-win results, and contribute to world economic recovery, growth and common prosperity, he said.
Scholz also voiced hope that the EU and China will solve the issue of electric vehicles as soon as possible through dialogue and negotiation, noting that the German side is willing to make positive efforts in this regard.
The two sides also exchanged views on the Ukraine crisis, the situation in the Middle East and other hotspot issues.
Chinese President Xi Jinping left Brasilia on Thursday after attending the 19th G20 Leaders' Summit and paying a state visit to Brazil.
Brazilian senior officials bid farewell to Xi at the airport.
On the way to the airport, representatives of overseas Chinese, Chinese institutions and students waved the national flags of China and Brazil on both sides of the road, congratulating Xi on the complete success of the visit.
Central China’s Henan police recently cracked a case in which three people were suspected of intentionally staging traffic accidents to defraud insurance payouts. While committing the crime, one suspect was accidentally killed.
A suspect surnamed Hu bought a second-hand SUV and devised a plan to scam insurance money.
Hu, supposed to take the role of a passer-by in the hoax, recruited two others to stage a single-vehicle traffic accident. An accomplice surnamed You acted as the driver, while another Hu served as the informant.
In their sham story, You drove the SUV and crashed it into a poplar tree about 50 centimeters in diameter at a downhill corner.
Unexpectedly, however, You, the driver, was killed instantly due to a driving error.
During the investigation, police uncovered several anomalies. For example, at the scene of the accident, the SUV’s airbags were not opened, and there were no signs of braking on the road.
Further investigation revealed that Hu, posing as a passer-by, owned a garage and engaged in second-hand car trading, with the insurance payouts directed to one of his accounts.
They intentionally staged 11 automobile accidents since 2019, defrauding insurance companies of over 900,000 yuan ($120,000).
The Chancay Port will strongly consolidate Peru's position as a gateway that connects land and sea, Asia and Latin America, said Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday. Xi made the remarks when attending the opening ceremony of the Chancay Port via video link with his Peruvian counterpart Dina Boluarte.
The Chancay Port is not only a good deep-water port, but also the first smart port and green port in South America, which, when completed, will also bring Peru huge revenues and create a large number of jobs, Xi said.
In his talks with Boluarte on Thursday, Xi said that China is ready to work with Peru to build a new land-sea corridor between China and Latin America with Chancay Port as a starting point.
The corridor, to connect the Inca Trail with the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, will open up a road of common prosperity and happiness for Peru and other Latin American and Caribbean countries, Xi said.
Chinese President Xi Jinping’s written speech at the APEC CEO Summit in Lima, Peru on Friday, in which he called for jointly promoting a universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalization, boosted confidence and opened the door further for cooperation, Chinese and foreign business leaders said.
In the speech, Xi said the entire Asia-Pacific is deeply woven into the fabric of economic globalization, and is now an interdependent community with common interests and a shared future.
On the other hand, the world is in a new period of turbulence and transformation, said Xi, warning that the grave challenge of economic globalization is like sailing up a river – we either forge ahead or drift downstream.
The attempt to block economic cooperation under all sorts of pretexts and break up the interdependence of the world is nothing but backpedaling, Xi said.
Tougher times call for greater confidence, said the Chinese president. "We should see to it that economic globalization generates more positive outcomes and is taken to a new phase that is more dynamic, inclusive and sustainable."
The speech immediately drew positive feedback from business leaders at the APEC CEO Summit on Friday, with many lauding its emphasis on fostering cooperation.
“As APEC chair 2024, we are happy to host not only a very important delegation from China here in Peru, but also we are glad to have heard the message delivered this morning, the message of President Xi,” Julia Torreblanca, chair of APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) 2024, said during an interview facilitated by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade on Friday.
Torreblanca added that the speech paves the way for collaboration and cooperation, which aligns with ABAC and APEC's core principles, and strengthens commercial ties across the Asia-Pacific region.
On Tuesday, prior to the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting in Lima, ABAC, which was created by the APEC Economic Leaders to provide the business perspective on specific areas of cooperation to APEC Leaders, Ministers and Senior Officials, called on APEC Leaders to take decisive actions to boost sustainable and inclusive growth, while noting that challenges have become borderless.
Also responding to the speech on Friday, Fernando Zavala, chairman of APEC CEO Summit 2024, praised the speech for its “amazing” emphasis on fostering cooperation between China and Latin America and cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region.
“I think the theme of what we heard today is that let’s remove barriers… to promote trade and promote entrepreneurs,” Zavala told reporters.
In the written speech, Xi also said that "we should help developing countries with their capacity building in science and technology and promote global flow of knowledge and technologies."
“President Xi's remarks on leveraging advances in science and technology for the benefit of all humanity are deeply encouraging,” Han Bicheng, founder and CEO of BrainCo, a Zhejiang-based brain-computer interface company, told the Global Times following the APEC CEO Summit in Lima on Friday.
Han said that “as an emerging technology firm, it is an honor to join the delegation of Chinese entrepreneurs attending the APEC CEO Summit in Peru,” highlighting the immense potential for cooperation in Latin America and the Asia-Pacific region, while committing to leveraging the company’s technologies to support people with disabilities.
Chinese President Xi Jinping on Saturday met with US President Joe Biden on the sidelines of the 31st APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting in Lima, Peru. The Chinese President said that the Taiwan question, democracy and human rights, China's path and system, and China's development right are four red lines for China, which must not be challenged or crossed.
Xi told Biden that over the past four years, China-US relations have gone through ups and downs, but the two sides have also been engaged in dialogue and cooperation, adding the relationship has remained stable on the whole, Xinhua News Agency reported.
Under the stewardship of the two presidents, the two teams have worked out through consultations a number of guiding principles for China-US relations, and the two presidents have jointly brought China-US dialogue and cooperation back on track, Xi said.
This is the third face-to-face meeting between President Xi and President Biden, and all those three meetings were held during the two heads of state attended the multilateral organization summits, according to Yuyuantantian, a social media account affiliated with CCTV.
In Lima, President Xi insightfully listed seven experiences and inspirations that the two countries should draw from the course of their relations, namely, to have a correct strategic perception, match words with actions, treat each other as equals, not to challenge red lines and paramount principles, conduct more dialogue and cooperation, respond to the expectations of the people, and step forward to shoulder the responsibilities of major countries, according to an overview released by the Chinese Foreign Ministry on the meeting.
Noting that the trajectory of China-US relations has proved the validity of these experiences and inspirations from the past 45 years of diplomatic ties, Xi said when the two countries treat each other as partners and seek common ground while shelving differences, their relationship will make considerable progress.
This meeting was held one year after the last time that the two Presidents met. The two sides reviewed the journey of China-US relations over the past four years, and drew experiences and inspirations from it. Their conversation was candid, in-depth and constructive. It focused on advancing dialogue and cooperation and properly managing differences during the transition period of the US government and on regional and international issues of mutual interest, and charted the course for bilateral relations, according to a handout published by China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Sunday.
China is ready to engage in dialogue, expand cooperation, and manage differences with the United States so as to sustain the hard-won momentum toward stability in China-US relations, Xi said.
From China's perspective, the goal of promoting a stable, healthy, and sustainable development of China-US relations remains unchanged. This meeting also demonstrates that we have not given up on this effort, Gao Fei, assistant president of China Foreign Affairs University, told Yuyuan Tantian.
The Xi-Biden meeting attracted attention of the global media. Global Times reporter observed that at least two hours prior to the meeting, there were Chinese, Peruvian and other global media journalists rushing to the streets near the meeting venue, jostling for prime camera positions and gathering material for their reports.
Four red lines
Xi said that contradictions and differences between two major countries like China and the US are unavoidable, but one side should not undermine the core interests of the other, let alone seek conflict or confrontation.
The four red lines clearly and comprehensively express China's principled stance on China-US relation; and it is said to the entire US government, not just a specific administration, said Lü Xiang, a research fellow at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
Lü said that it is hoped that the US will be refrained from leveraging issues concerning China's core interests due to its own internal political infights, as such actions could backlash for the US.
The path to swiftly achieve political objectives and drive economic growth in the US lies in cooperating with China and stabilizing political relations. Therefore, there remains significant room for China-US cooperation, Li Haidong, a professor at China Foreign Affairs University, told the Global Times, adding that a stable China-US relation benefits the US, regardless of which party assumes office.
Amid the US' strategic competition, China, on one hand, is resolutely safeguarding its sovereignty, security, and development interests; on the other hand, hopes to stabilize the bilateral ties with a responsible attitude, said Wang Dong, an expert on China-US relations at Peking University.
Keep communication
Xi noted the recent US election, and stressed that China's goal of a stable, healthy and sustainable China-US relationship remains unchanged.
He said that China's commitment to mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation as principles for handling China-US relations remains unchanged.
China's position of resolutely safeguarding its sovereignty, security and development interests remains unchanged, and its desire to carry forward the traditional friendship between the Chinese and American peoples remains unchanged, he added.
Xi also stated China's positions on such issues as Taiwan, economic and trade ties, science and technology, cybersecurity, the South China Sea, the Ukraine crisis, and the Korean Peninsula, Xinhua reported.
For his part, Biden stated that the US-China relationship is the most important bilateral relationship in the world, not just for the two peoples, but also for the future of the world. The two governments have a responsibility to the two peoples and the world to see that competition does not veer into conflict, per Xinhua.
The United States does not seek a new Cold War, does not seek to change China's system, does not seek to revitalize its alliances against China, does not support "Taiwan independence," has no intention to have a conflict with China, and does not see its Taiwan policy as a way to compete with China, said Biden, noting that the U.S. side will stay committed to the one-China policy.
The United States is prepared to enhance communication and dialogue with China during the transition period to have a better perception of each other and responsibly manage the differences, said Biden.
Xi's meeting with Biden, who is scheduled to step down in January 2025, represents a review on China-US relations which have largely maintained stable over the past four years under the guidance of head-of-state diplomacy; and the purpose of reviewing these experiences is clearly to solidify the foundation for stable, healthy, and sustainable bilateral ties to move forward, Diao Daming, an associate professor at Renmin University of China in Beijing, told the Global Times on Sunday.
Diao said that four points that "remain unchanged" outlined by Xi signal a clear stance from China regarding future engagements with the US, especially in light of potential shifts resulting from changes in the US government.
Communication between China and the US, at any moment, is beneficial for stabilizing bilateral relations and for conveying positive energy and certainty to the world, said Diao.
César Chaman, editor general of Agencia Andina, told the Global Times on Saturday that a peaceful and stable China-US relationship benefits the whole world, adding that Peruvians do not wish to take sides.
The China Pavilion at COP29 was launched on Monday in Baku, Azerbaijan.
The China Pavilion will host 10 themed days featuring various side activities during COP29, or the 29th session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, scheduled to run from Nov. 11 to 22.
Speaking at a side meeting that marks the opening of the pavilion, Zhao Yingmin, head of the Chinese delegation to COP29 and vice minister of China's Ministry of Ecology and Environment, said China has become an essential participant, contributor, and leader in global ecological civilization in recent years.
China is willing to work with the international community to strengthen political mutual trust, practice multilateralism, enhance global cooperation, and build a prosperous, clean, and beautiful world, he added.
Liu Zhenmin, China's special envoy for climate change, said China has always prioritized addressing climate change and views it as a crucial national strategy. Low-carbon development is a vital part of building a beautiful China, he said.
China's dedication to promoting green and low-carbon development has shown remarkable results and earned widespread international recognition, he added.
Liu expressed optimism that COP29 would enhance confidence within the global community, stressing the importance of upholding the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities and diligently enforcing legal agreements.
He urged developed countries to fulfill their commitments by providing financial support to help developing countries enhance their capacity to respond to climate challenges.
China stands ready to work with the international community to uphold multilateralism, ensure fairness and justice in climate governance, respect market rules and trade freedom, and contribute to the success of COP29 to provide greater stability and certainty in global climate governance, Liu noted.
Saudi Arabia and Iran have engaged in constructive interactions at various levels, further strengthening reconciliation efforts and contributing significantly to regional peace and stability, Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday in response to a question regarding the current relationship between Saudi Arabia and Iran.
During a press briefing on Wednesday, a reporter raised a question about remarks by Saudi netizens who warned Israel not to attack Iran and condemned actions in Gaza, noting that since China helped restore Saudi-Iran diplomatic ties, the relationship between the two countries has been improving.
When asked to comment on the current relationship between Saudi Arabia and Iran, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian responded that since the historic reconciliation between Saudi Arabia and Iran more than a year ago, their relationship has steadily improved. China welcomes this development and commends the efforts by both nations.
Lin said that Saudi Arabia and Iran have engaged in positive interactions at various levels, further strengthening their reconciliation and contributing to regional peace and stability. China will continue to support Saudi Arabia and Iran in moving forward together, enhancing mutual trust, and achieving lasting good-neighborly relations and friendship.
Chinese President Xi Jinping replied to letters from friendly personages from all walks of life in Brazil recently, encouraging them to continuously contribute to the cause of China-Brazil friendship.
With regard to the “Act Declaring the Maritime Zones under the Jurisdiction of the Republic of the Philippines” (hereinafter referred to as the “Maritime Zones Act”) and the “Act Authorizing the President of the Philippines to Establish the Archipelagic Sea Lanes in Philippine Archipelagic Waters” (hereinafter referred to as the “Archipelagic Sea Lanes Act”) announced by the Republic of the Philippines on November 8, 2024, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China solemnly states the following:
I. The Philippine Maritime Zones Act illegally includes China’s Huangyan Dao and most of the islands and reefs of China’s Nansha Qundao (Nansha Islands) and relevant waters into the maritime zones of the Philippines, and attempts to enshrine the illegal award of the South China Sea arbitration in the form of domestic legislation. China strongly condemns and firmly rejects this as the move gravely infringes upon China’s territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests in the South China Sea. China’s territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests in the South China Sea shall by no means be affected by the enactment of the Act.
II. China has sovereignty over Nansha Qundao and the adjacent waters, and Zhongsha Qundao (Zhongsha Islands), including Huangyan Dao, and the adjacent waters, and has sovereign rights and jurisdiction over relevant waters. The aforementioned territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests of China have solid historical and legal basis, and are compliant with international law including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
III. The territory of the Philippines is defined by a series of international treaties, including the 1898 Treaty of Peace Between the United States of America and the Kingdom of Spain (the Treaty of Paris), the 1900 Treaty Between the United States of America and the Kingdom of Spain for Cession of Outlying Islands of the Philippines (the Treaty of Washington), and the 1930 Convention Between His Majesty in Respect of the United Kingdom and the President of the United States Regarding the Boundary Between the State of North Borneo and the Philippine Archipelago. The Philippines’ territory so defined has nothing to do with China’s Huangyan Dao and Nansha Qundao. The Philippines has invaded and illegally occupied Mahuan Dao, Feixin Dao, Zhongye Dao, Nanyao Dao, Beizi Dao, Xiyue Dao, Shuanghuang Shazhou and Siling Jiao of China’s Nansha Qundao, and by doing so has seriously violated international law, including the Charter of the United Nations. It broke its own promise and kept a warship illegally grounded at Ren’ai Jiao of China’s Nansha Qundao for decades, thus infringing upon China’s territorial sovereignty and violating the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC), especially its Article 5 which asks the parties to refrain from action of inhabiting on the uninhabited islands and reefs. Once again China urges the Philippines to immediately withdraw all its personnel and facilities from the aforementioned islands and reefs and immediately tow away the warship illegally grounded at Ren’ai Jiao. The establishment of the so-called “Kalayaan Island Group” beyond its own territorial scope by the Philippines infringes upon China’s territorial sovereignty, and is illegal and invalid.
IV. The Philippines’ unilateral initiation of the South China Sea arbitration without the Chinese government’s prior consent seriously violates UNCLOS and substantially impairs the integrity and authority of UNCLOS. The Arbitral Tribunal handled the case ultra vires and rendered the award in distortion of law; hence the award violates international law including UNCLOS, and is null and void. China has neither accepted or participated in the arbitration, nor does China accept or recognize the so-called award. China opposes and will never accept any claim or action based on the award. China’s territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests in the South China Sea shall under no circumstances be affected by the award.
V. The Philippines’ attempt to whitewash its illegal claims and actions in the South China Sea by adopting the Maritime Zones Act in the name of implementing UNCLOS is illegal and invalid. The Act seriously violates the DOC and will inevitably complicate the situation in the South China Sea. China will firmly respond to any infringement or provocative actions taken by the Philippine side in the South China Sea citing the Act as the ground.
VI. The Chinese side urges the Philippine side to earnestly respect China’s territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests, immediately stop any unilateral moves that may escalate disputes or complicate the situation, and uphold peace and stability in South China Sea through concrete action.
VII. Many provisions contained in the Philippines’ Archipelagic Sea Lanes Act are incompatible with international law and resolutions of the International Maritime Organization (IMO). The Chinese side demands that the Philippine side earnestly abide by international law and refrain from undermining the legitimate rights of all parties under international law, including UNCLOS.
