At the invitation of the Chinese side, Prime Minister of Malaysia Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim will pay a working visit to China from November 4 to 7.

Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting: I have a question about the terrorist attack in Iran. On Saturday, October 26, 2024, a foreign terrorist group supported by and linked with ISIS-Khorasan, carried out a terrorist attack on two vehicles of the patrol unit of the Islamic Republic of Iran Police Command in the city of Taftan in the province of Sistan and Baluchistan. This attack by the Jaish al-Zalm terrorist group unfortunately led to the martyrdom of 10 Iranian policemen. What is the Chinese government’s comment in this regard?

Lin Jian: China condemns the terrorist attack. We oppose terrorism of all forms and support Iran’s effort to keep the country safe and stable.

Reuters: Viet Nam on Thursday said they have protested against China’s alleged detention of Vietnamese fishermen and fishing vessels in the Paracel Islands. Please could the Foreign Ministry confirm this?

Lin Jian: Xisha Qundao is China’s inherent territory. China hopes Viet Nam will earnestly raise the awareness of its fishermen and make sure they will not engage in illegal activities in waters under China’s jurisdiction.

AFP: A question about the reported presence of North Korean soldiers in Russia. Ukrainian President Zelenskyy said he was surprised by China’s "silence" on this issue of the North Korean soldiers. What is China’s response to the Ukrainian President?

Lin Jian: We have noted some reports related to this and responses from various parties recently. The DPRK and Russia are two independent sovereign states, and how to develop bilateral relations is a matter for themselves. China is not aware of the specifics of bilateral exchanges and cooperation between the DPRK and Russia. 

China’s position on the Ukraine crisis is consistent and clear. Let me stress that China hopes that parties will work to ease tensions and remain committed to the political settlement of the Ukraine crisis. This position remains unchanged. China will continue to play a constructive role to this end.

AFP: Still a question on the same topic about the reported presence of North Korean soldiers in Russia. The US said that up to 8,000 North Korean troops have reached Russia’s border region with Ukraine. Do you confirm these claims and is China in contact with North Korea on this issue?

Lin Jian: I am not familiar with this. On the Ukraine crisis, I have shared China’s consistent and clear position just now.

Reuters: Myanmar’s local media reports the head of Myanmar will visit China. Please could the Foreign Ministry confirm this visit?

Lin Jian: I have nothing to share on that.

AFP: Josep Borrell, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, is visiting Japan starting from today. During the visit, the Japanese government and the European Union will sign the Japan-EU Security and Defence Partnership agreement, which according to local media reports, targets China. What is China’s response to the agreement between the EU and Japan?

Lin Jian: Security and defense cooperation between various parties should be conducive to regional peace and stability, and not target any third party or undermine the security interests of other countries. Let me stress that due to historical reasons, Japan’s military and security moves have been closely watched by the international community and its Asian neighbors. We urge Japan to earnestly draw lessons from history, adhere to peaceful development, respect the security concerns of its neighbors in Asia, and stay prudent in military and security areas. We also hope that the EU will not interfere in the disputes on territorial and maritime rights and interests between regional countries, but instead play a constructive role for regional peace, stability, and development.

The Paper: The seventh China International Import Expo (CIIE) will kick off next week, and the preparations are almost completed. According to statistics, the number of participants will hit a new record, with 297 Fortune Global 500 companies, industry leaders and nearly 800 trading groups from various countries set to attend the event. How do you view the significance of this year’s CIIE to China’s effort of expanding high-standard opening up?

Lin Jian: Hosting the CIIE is an important step for China to further open up and a concrete action China took to build an open world economy. The numbers you just mentioned showcase the appeal of China’s mega-sized market, speak volumes about the strong confidence of the international community in China’s economic outlook, and demonstrate the common aspiration of all sides for win-win result through open cooperation.

Since the first CIIE in 2018, the event has been upgraded and expanded into a window for China to forge a new development paradigm and a platform to advance high-standard opening up. The CIIE has an expanding network of friends and growing significance as an international public good. This year’s CIIE provides support for 37 least developed countries to participate in country exhibition and business exhibition, and further expands the exhibition area for African products in the food and agricultural products exhibition, in an effort to help more developing countries take part in the universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalization.

Openness is the core value of the CIIE and a defining feature of today’s development in China. China is striving for high-quality development by advancing high-standard opening up. We stand ready to work with all sides through the CIIE to make the pie of opening up bigger and the list of cooperation longer, so that the opportunities of China’s huge market can be shared by all countries and benefit people across the world.

Bloomberg: Viet Nam said it has asked China to immediately release vessels and fishermen detained in the South China Sea. It has also demanded compensation for losses. Would the Foreign Ministry like to respond to this?

Lin Jian: I answered the relevant question just now. 

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The following question was raised after the press conference: During the meeting with Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico, President Xi Jinping announced China’s unilateral visa-free policy to Slovakia. Could you share with us more details? Besides the 20 other countries whose ordinary passport holders have enjoyed the unilateral visa-free policy, has China rolled out this policy to more countries?

Lin Jian: To further facilitate cross-border travel, China decided to give visa-free treatment to more countries by extending the visa-free policy to ordinary passport holders from Slovakia, Norway, Finland, Denmark, Iceland, Andorra, Monaco, Liechtenstein, and the ROK on a trial basis. From November 8, 2024 to December 31, 2025, ordinary passport holders from these nine countries can be exempted from visa to enter China and stay for no more than 15 days for business, tourism, family visit and transit purposes.