Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi gives an exclusive interview to Xinhua on China-US ties in Beijing, capital of China, Aug 5, 2020. (ZHAI JIANLAN/XINHUA)
BEIJING - China and its regional counterparts will continue to strengthen cooperation to maintain regional security amid renewed threats and challenges facing the region, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Wednesday.
Some external forces have also intervened in the internal affairs of Asian countries under various pretexts, and even tried to instigate a new round of "color revolution." They fabricated different kinds of lies to smear emerging economies including China and Russia, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said
China, in particular, will strengthen cooperation with Russia in four areas, Wang said.
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Despite the generally sound relations between China and its neighbors, international terrorist groups and the three forces of terrorism, separatism, and extremism tend to resurge in the region, Wang said in an interview with Xinhua after attending the meeting of foreign ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization member countries in Moscow.
Some external forces have also intervened in the internal affairs of Asian countries under various pretexts, and even tried to instigate a new round of "color revolution." They fabricated different kinds of lies to smear emerging economies including China and Russia, he said.
Such bold acts, Wang said, go against the common interests of Asian countries, which will be rejected by the international community and leave a shameful record in human history.
In the face of the new threats and challenges, he proposed that China and other Asian nations enhance security cooperation in three aspects, he said.
Firstly, they will actively carry out a vision of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security, deepen security cooperation in traditional and non-traditional sectors, so as to jointly deal with risks and challenges.
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Wang added that the Asian countries are an interdependent community of shared interests and security, and are willing to make greater efforts to safeguard world peace and security, as well as jointly build a community of shared future for mankind.
Secondly, the Asian countries will constantly elevate the level of their security cooperation and work together to fight the three forces, drug trafficking and transnational organized crime. China is ready to join hands with all nations to push ahead with the China-proposed Global Initiative on Data Security, which is widely seen as conducive to formulating universally-accepted global data security rules and building a global data space featuring peace, security, openness, cooperation and order.
Moreover, the Asian countries firmly support each other to follow a development path that suits its national conditions and is chosen by its own people, and oppose anyone or any force to interfere with other countries' internal affairs using any excuse. China is ready to boost exchanges of experience on governance with all its regional counterparts, so as to safeguard each other's political and government security.
Visiting Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi (left) bumps elbows with French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian in Paris, France, Aug 29, 2020. (GAO JING/XINHUA)
Boosting China-Russia ties
On ties with Russia, Wang said the two countries will strengthen cooperation in four areas: supporting international anti-pandemic cooperation, setting an exemplar of major-country peaceful coexistence, enhancing cutting-edge technological innovations and safeguarding international justice and equity.
The friendship between China and Russia is unbreakable and their strategic cooperation will not change due to the influence of the external environment, said Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi
He and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, following face-to-face talks during Wang’s stay in Moscow, have reached a series of important consensus on strengthening bilateral ties and dealing with international and regional challenges, Wang said.
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On a joint statement by the two ministers, Wang said it has interpreted the common position of China and Russia on almost all international issues, showing the two countries have become the key stabilizers in the current international landscape.
As the world is undergoing changes unseen in a century, accelerated by the onslaught of COVID-19, Wang said that in a bid to maintain and consolidate the sound development of China-Russia ties, the two ministers agreed to strengthen cooperation in the four areas.
First, the two countries will support international anti-pandemic cooperation, and in particular, support the World Health Organization in playing a coordinating role, support various countries in accelerating drug and vaccine research and development, and call for efforts to stop politicizing the pandemic and virus.
Second, China and Russia will set an exemplar of major-country peaceful coexistence, and constructive major-country coordinative relations are indispensable to solve global problems.
Third, the two sides will strengthen cutting-edge scientific and technological innovations. China and Russia have complementary advantages in science and technology, and will implement the projects of the Year of Scientific and Technological Innovation, improve applications of scientific and technological advances, promote two-way exchanges of talents, and encourage investment in high-tech, internet and other fields.
Fourth, they will safeguard international justice and equity. China and Russia will firmly safeguard the core position of the United Nations in international affairs, defend international laws and the basic norms governing international relations, and actively reform and improve the global governance system.
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Noting such tests as certain country's unilateral bullying, wantonly interference in other countries' internal affairs, and containment and suppression of China and Russia, Wang said that the two countries' friendship is unbreakable and their strategic cooperation will not change due to the influence of the external environment.
Jointly building Belt and Road
In the post-pandemic era, China will also continue to promote foreign exchanges and cooperation and better synergize the Belt and Road Initiative and various countries' development strategies, Wang said.
Noting that China will open itself even wider to the world in an all-round way, Wang Yi said China is willing to expand the import of high-quality agricultural products from relevant countries
China will continue to push forward bilateral and multilateral foreign exchanges and cooperation in the post-epidemic era through conventional face-to-face diplomacy as well as e-diplomacy, including telephone conversations, letters, virtual meetings and summits, Wang said.
Wang said that during his trip, China and relevant countries summarized the new features and good experiences of cooperation amid the pandemic.
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All sides have agreed to outline a new roadmap for cooperation in various fields, improve cooperation mechanisms such as joint epidemic prevention and control at border crossings, boost Belt and Road cooperation to maintain common interests and meet complementary needs, and promote connectivity and facilitate personnel exchanges by resuming flights and increasing direct flights, he said.
Noting that China will open itself even wider to the world in an all-round way, Wang said China is willing to expand the import of high-quality agricultural products from relevant countries.
China supports the development of the digital economy in all relevant countries and is ready to strengthen bilateral and multilateral cooperation on 5G, big data, artificial intelligence, the digital economy, e-commerce and information technology, he added.
This undated photo shows a technician testing a sample of a vaccine for COVID-19 at China National Pharmaceutical Group Co in Beijing. (PHOTO/XINHUA)
Community of health
China, Russia, Kazakstan, Kyrgyzstan and Mongolia have agreed to jointly build an anti-pandemic fortress, a Health Silk Road and a community of health, Wang said.
China, along with Russia, Kazakstan, Kyrgyzstan and Mongolia, will strengthen anti-pandemic cooperation, firmly support the WHO in playing a coordinative role and oppose any attempt to politicize the pandemic and attach a geographical label to the virus
The decision was made after he exchanged views with foreign ministers of Russia, Kazakstan, Kyrgyzstan and Mongolia on deepening anti-pandemic cooperation to defeat the virus, Wang said in the interview.
China and the four countries have supported each other since the epidemic broke out, Wang said.
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In a bid to deepen the anti-pandemic cooperation, the ministers have agreed to take measures in four areas, Wang said.
First, China and the four countries will strengthen anti-pandemic cooperation, firmly support the World Health Organization in playing a coordinative role and oppose any attempt to politicize the pandemic and attach a geographical label to the virus.
Second, they will consolidate and expand anti-pandemic achievements.
Wang said China stands ready to continue to provide other countries with assistance within its capacity, such as the purchase of anti-pandemic supplies, expertise training, experience sharing and cooperation in drug development, and to accelerate the building of communication mechanisms with concerned parties on pandemic information.
Third, they will actively promote the cooperation in the development, production and purchase of vaccine.
Fourth, they will make a concerted effort on Chinese traditional medicine cooperation as China, for the sake of people's health, is ready to promote the use of Chinese traditional medicine to meet the needs of various countries, Wang said.
