Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zhao Lijian's Regular Press Conference on October 12, 2021
2021/10/12

 

CCTV: President Xi just attended the leaders' summit of the 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP15) to the Convention on Biological Diversity and delivered an important speech, calling on the international community to strengthen cooperation and build a shared future for all life on Earth. Could you offer more details?

 

Zhao Lijian: This afternoon, President Xi Jinping attended the leaders' summit of the 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP15) to the Convention on Biological Diversity in Kunming, Yunnan and delivered an important speech, demonstrated the demeanor and responsibility of China as the host and a major country, and identified the target and direction for global biodiversity governance in the future. This receives high appraisal and warm response from the international community.

 

At present, there exists an acceleration of the global extinction of species. The loss of biodiversity and the degradation of the ecosystem pose a major risk to human survival and development. Against the backdrop of continuous spreading of COVID-19, how to achieve green recovery and sustainable development is a major question for all.

 

At the leaders' summit, President Xi elaborated with great vision the question of the times on what kind of a shared future for all life on Earth humanity should build. He proposed to build a planet featuring the harmonious coexistence of man and Nature, coordinated advancement of economy and environment and common development of all countries, which sets an ambitious goal for global biodiversity protection.

 

President Xi also gave his answer to the hard question of how to build a shared future for all life on Earth. First, we need to take the development of ecological civilization as our guide to coordinate the relationship between men and Nature; second, we should let green transition drive our effort to facilitate global sustainable development; third, we shall concentrate on bettering people's wellbeing to promote social equity and justice; fourth, we shall take international law as the basis to uphold a fair and equitable international governance system. All these proposals have identified the pathways for global biodiversity governance and contributed China's wisdom and proposition.

 

As President Xi Jinping noted, as long as we press ahead with perseverance, a bright future will beckon. Taking this COP15 in Kunming as a new starting point, China stands ready to work with all parties to take concrete actions and jointly build a shared future for all life on Earth.

 

The Global Times: The "witness cost" of the so-called "Uyghur Tribunal" and the share among the "witnesses" were recently exposed on foreign social media platforms. What is your comment?

 

Zhao Lijian: I have noticed relevant reports, which also show that among the 100,700-pound total expenditure, the biggest share of 43,000 pounds went to an "anonymous witness" with the surname of Wang. The man, claiming to be an ex-police sent to investigate separatist activities in Xinjiang in 2018, has spread a large amount of disinformation on Xinjiang. This man changed his identity in a CNN report and gave himself the surname Jiang. Even CNN admits that it cannot independently verify his statement. At the 57th press conference on Xinjiang-related issues by the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, the spokesperson for the regional government said the man's remarks were lies in plain sight.

 

China has stressed many times that the so-called "tribunal" was funded by the "World Uyghur Congress", a violent, terrorist and separatist organization, and used by a handful of anti-China forces to deceive and mislead the public. It has no legal qualifications and lacks credibility. If the reports you mentioned are true, then it is further proof that the so-called "tribunal" is out-and-out a machine churning out lies. These anti-China forces would even hire liars and buy lies, which indicates that they leave no stones unturned to stir up trouble in Xinjiang and smear China.

 

Lies, even if repeated a thousand times, are still lies. For all the clowns' efforts in plotting and manoeuvring, the farce has attracted a very small audience and the lies have received little echo. This shows the international community no longer believes in the disinformation they spread and has begun to detest such practice. Xinjiang will enjoy even greater development, and the appeals of the international community for an objective and fair-minded perception of China's policy in Xinjiang will grow even stronger.

 

 

Xinhua News Agency: Recently, certain politician in Taiwan has made statements to foreign media to deliberately distort UNGA Resolution 2758, saying it doesn't decide the representation of Taiwan and doesn't even mention Taiwan. He even falsely claimed that invoking this resolution to block Taiwan from joining the United Nations is inappropriate, and Taiwan's participation in the international body is a shared aspiration of all its people. Do you have any comment?

 

Zhao Lijian: The remarks of the politician in Taiwan are just nonsense. China has made clear its position on the Taiwan-related issues concerning the UN General Assembly on multiple occasions. I would like to reiterate the following points:

 

First, there is only one China in the world and the Taiwan region is an inalienable part of the Chinese territory. The government of the People's Republic of China is the sole legal government representing the whole of China. This is a basic fact recognized by the international community. Our position of adhering to the one-China principle will remain unchanged; our attitude of rejecting "two Chinas", "one China, one Taiwan" and "Taiwan independence" is not to be challenged, and our resolve of upholding national sovereignty and territorial integrity is unswerving.

 

Second, the United Nations is an intergovernmental international organization composed of sovereign states. Resolution 2758 adopted by the General Assembly in 1971 has solved once and for all the issue of China's representation in the UN in political, legal and procedural terms. The system, agencies and the Secretariat of the UN should abide by the one-China principle and UNGA Resolution 2758 when dealing with Taiwan-related affairs. As a province of China, Taiwan is not qualified to join the UN at all. Practice over the years fully shows that the UN and the vast number of its member states recognize that there is only one China in the world and Taiwan is an inalienable part of China's territory, and they fully respect China's exercise of sovereignty over Taiwan.

 

Third, the UNGA Resolution 2758 embodies the legal facts recognized by the international community. It is there in black and white and allows no denial or distortion by the Taiwan authorities or anyone. "Taiwan independence" in all forms are doomed to fail. The moves of hyping up this issue by certain individual in Taiwan constitute a flagrant challenge and serious provocation of the one-China principle, and a blatant violation of the UNGA Resolution 2758. We firmly reject such typical "Taiwan independence" rhetoric which will garner no support in the world.

 

We believe that the just cause of the Chinese government and Chinese people to uphold national sovereignty and territorial integrity, oppose secession and achieve reunification will continue to win understanding and support of the UN and its member states.

 

Bloomberg: More than 75% of Canadians said in a recent poll that their government should ban Huawei from taking part in building the nation's 5G networks. That's up from 53% in 2019. Justin Trudeau hasn't ruled out including Huawei in the 5G buildup and is expected to make a decision soon. Does the foreign ministry have a comment on that?

 

Zhao Lijian: I want to stress that the economic and trade cooperation between China and Canada is mutually beneficial and win-win in nature. The sophistication and security of Huawei's 5G products have been recognized by most operators around the globe. The Canadian side should adopt an objective and unbiased attitude, independently make decisions that are in line with its interests, and provide a fair, just, open and non-discriminatory business environment for Chinese companies.

 

 

China News Service: It is reported that Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity said that China has been a strong supporter and contributor to the global biodiversity agenda. "And the Chinese notion of unity, of nature and man, we hope, will be a good example for other countries to follow or to emulate," she added. We noted that during the National Day holiday, many people posted online photos of China's beautiful scenery. What is your view on China's efforts and contributions in protecting the ecological environment and biological diversity?

 

Zhao Lijian: As one of the first parties to sign and ratify the Convention on Biological Diversity, China has been actively implementing the Convention. China has formulated and implemented the China National Biodiversity Conservation Strategy and Action Plan (2011-2030) and a series of policy measures, adopted innovative governance model, taken integrated efforts to promote ecological protection and restoration, identified and hold fast to the red line, and embarked on a path of biodiversity conservation with Chinese characteristics.

 

Thanks to years of unremitting efforts, areas once covered with yellow sand have become green mountains and rivers; China's forest coverage rate and stock volume have both increased for 30 years in a row; 90 percent of vegetation types and terrestrial ecosystems, 65 percent of higher plant communities, and 85 percent of wildlife populations under key protection have been effectively protected; the collection and preservation of biological genetic resources rank among the highest in the world; and the populations of rare animals such as giant panda and crested ibis are increasing. Besides, people's awareness of environmental and biological protection has also been raised. When wild elephants traveled more than 1,000 kilometers in Yunnan this year, they received the care and protection of local governments and people along the way. This has been commended by people across the world. All these bear witness to the positive achievements of China's biodiversity conservation.

 

Biodiversity is an important issue in global environmental governance. While advancing its own biodiversity conservation work, China has actively participated in global biodiversity governance and promoted international cooperation on biodiversity conservation. China has proposed the establishment of the Belt and Road Initiative International Green Development Coalition, conducted exchanges and cooperation with over 100 countries on environmental protection, and carried out a large number of biodiversity cooperation projects. In the meantime, China is actively funding and contributing to global biodiversity conservation. I just briefed you on President Xi Jinping's attendance and important speech at the leaders' summit of the 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP15) to the Convention on Biological Diversity via video link. That important speech has specified the goal and direction for global biodiversity governance in the future.

 

As we speak, the first phase of COP15 is taking place in Kunming. China will work with other countries to elevate global biodiversity governance to a new stage. Looking forward, China will always be a defender, builder and contributor to a harmonious and beautiful homeland for all life, jointly work with the rest of the international community to help build a new system of global biodiversity governance that is more equitable, reasonable and where all pitch in, achieve the vision of harmonious coexistence of man and Nature, and jointly build a clean and beautiful world.

 

China Daily: Iraq's parliamentary elections were held the other day and preliminary results were released on October 11. What is China's comment?

 

Zhao Lijian: China welcomes the smooth new parliamentary elections in Iraq, and hopes that all Iraqi parties can take the elections as an opportunity to strengthen solidarity, aim for new progress in domestic political process, and realize lasting peace and stability as well as prosperity and development in Iraq at an early date.