People’s Daily: General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and President Xi Jinping concluded the state visit to Viet Nam yesterday. This is his first overseas trip this year, and also the first leg of the trip to the three Southeast Asian countries, which is closely followed by the international community. Could you share more details with us?
Lin Jian: From April 14 to 15, General Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPC and President Xi Jinping paid a state visit to Viet Nam upon invitation. This is General Secretary and President Xi Jinping’s fourth visit to Viet Nam in 10 years and the first leg of his first overseas trip this year. While in Viet Nam, General Secretary and President Xi Jinping had talks with General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Viet Nam To Lam, met with Vietnamese President Luong Cuong, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Chairman of the National Assembly of Viet Nam Tran Thanh Man, and met with representatives attending Chinese and Vietnamese People’s Friendship Meeting. The two general secretaries jointly witnessed the display of 45 bilateral cooperation documents signed between China and Viet Nam and attended the launching ceremony of the China-Viet Nam railway cooperation mechanism. The two sides issued a joint statement on further deepening their comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership and accelerating the building of the China-Viet Nam community with a shared future that carries strategic significance. The visit is a full success which adds new dynamism to the building of the China-Viet Nam community with a shared future and the socialist cause of the two countries, and provides positive energy for prosperity and stability in the region and beyond.
This year marks the 75th anniversary of China-Viet Nam diplomatic ties and the China-Viet Nam Year of People-to-People Exchanges, which presents an important opportunity to build on what has been achieved and take the relationship into the next chapter. While in Viet Nam, General Secretary and President Xi Jinping proposed six measures to deepen the building of the China-Viet Nam community with a shared future. He said we need to elevate strategic mutual trust to a higher level, build more robust security safeguards, expand higher-quality mutually beneficial cooperation, make the people-to-people bond more broad-based, carry out closer multilateral coordination, and engage in more constructive maritime interactions. Both sides agreed to firmly strengthen friendship, support each other in pursuing the socialist path suited to our respective national conditions, elevate strategic mutual trust to a higher level, build pillars for more practical security cooperation, seize the opportunity of the formation of new quality productive forces in China and new types of productive forces in Viet Nam to conduct more broad-based, in-depth, and comprehensive cooperation, consolidate the public support for the China-Viet Nam community with a shared future, have closer multilateral strategic coordination, properly handle and resolve differences, and act in the larger interest of China-Viet Nam friendship.
China will work with Viet Nam to implement the important common understandings between the top leaders of the two parties and two countries, renew their long-standing friendship featuring “camaraderie plus brotherhood”, act in line with the overarching goals characterized by “six mores”, advance their comprehensive strategic cooperation with high-quality efforts, uphold international fairness and justice, ensure steady and sustained progress in building the China-Viet Nam community with a shared future, and make new and greater contributions to building a community with a shared future for mankind.
TVT Brazil: Yesterday, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter, that China told its domestic airlines to suspend deliveries from Boeing of Boeing jets. The first question is if the Ministry of Foreign Affairs can confirm this decision. And the second one is, even if there isn’t such a decision, the cost of Boeing’s jets became significantly higher with the counter tariffs in response to Trump’s tariffs. With this scenario, is China considering enhancing business with Embraer?
Lin Jian: On your first question, I’m not familiar with what you said. I would like to refer you to competent authorities.
On your second question, I also would like to refer you to competent authorities. More broadly, let me point out that Brazil is an aerospace heavyweight and China attaches high importance to the effort of carrying out practical cooperation with Brazil in aerospace and other areas. We welcome Chinese airliners and the Brazilian side carrying out cooperation based on market principles.
China Daily: We’ve learned that the Chinese government deposited of its instrument of accession to the Agreement on Port State Measures to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization on March 17 this year. The agreement officially applies to China starting from today. This is an important agreement on global fisheries governance. What is your comment?
Lin Jian: China is a responsible country in fisheries. We attach great importance to the conservation and sustainable use of fisheries resources and adopt a zero-tolerance attitude towards illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing. The accession to the Agreement on Port State Measures represents China’s action to practice true multilateralism, and demonstrates the concrete effort of China to advance global ocean governance and uphold international maritime order. China will act in the spirit of a community with a shared future for mankind, faithfully perform its rights and duty in accordance with the agreement, and work with the international community to realize the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
NHK: I also have a question on the issue of tariffs. The White House press secretary quoted the U.S. president saying “The ball is in China’s court, and China needs to make a deal with us. We don’t have to make a deal with them.” What is China’s response to this statement?
Lin Jian: This tariff war was started by the U.S. China has taken necessary countermeasures in order to defend its legitimate rights and interests and international fairness and justice. This is fully justified and lawful. China’s position has been very clear. Tariff and trade wars have no winners. China does not want to fight these wars but is not scared of them. If the U.S. truly wants to resolve the issue through dialogue and negotiation, it should stop using maximum pressure, stop threats and blackmail and seek dialogue with China on the basis of equality, respect and mutual benefit.
China News Service: It’s reported that on April 13 local time, the second round of voting in Ecuador’s presidential election was concluded. Figures released by Ecuador’s National Electoral Council showed that, Daniel Noboa, candidate of the National Democratic Action and incumbent President, received over 55 percent of the vote and won the presidential election. What’s China’s comment?
Lin Jian: China congratulates President Noboa on his reelection and believes that under the leadership of President Noboa, Ecuador will achieve new progress in national economic and social development.
Ecuador is China’s comprehensive strategic partner and this year marks the 45th anniversary of diplomatic ties between China and Ecuador. China attaches high importance to growing its friendly ties with Ecuador and stands ready to work with the new government of Ecuador to move the bilateral ties forward and bring more benefit to the two countries and two peoples.
Beijing Daily: We noted that since the beginning of this year, people-to-people exchanges between China and other countries have been full of highlights. More and more foreign friends, including an Oscar winner and a U.S. social media influencer, have visited China. At the Osaka Expo that kicked off last weekend, the China Pavilion made a stunning debut. Its traditional design and exhibits of modern technology draw droves of visitors lining up. China is increasingly attractive to foreigners. What’s your comment?
Lin Jian: Congratulations on the opening of the China Pavilion at the Osaka Expo. We are glad to see the pavilion get thumbs up from locals there. I noted that the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade has played a leading role in setting up the China Pavilion and the pavilion boasts an exterior design of bamboo scrolls and the aesthetics of traditional Chinese gardens. Moreover, it debuts side by side the lunar soil samples collected by China’s Chang’e probes from the moon’s near and far sides, and displays tech products such as the “Jiaolong” deep-sea submersible experience capsule and next-generation humanoid robots. I believe visitors will be deeply impressed by the traditional cultural elements and modern technological breakthroughs.
From overseas virtual tours to “China Travel,” a growing number of foreigners visit China to get a first-hand experience of the country. Latest data show that in the first three months of this year, China received 9.215 million foreign travelers, up by 40.2 percent year-on-year compared with last year. Among them, 71.3 percent entered China visa-free. This would have been impossible without China’s visa-free transit policy which allows foreign visitors to stay longer and travel more in China. It also relies on China’s streamlined visa application, “Buy Now, Refund Now” for efficient departure tax refunds, and other facilitation measures that make it easier to visit China.
We welcome more foreign friends to visit China in this warm spring!
TVT Brazil: Yesterday, Brazilian media informed that there is an intention of having an extraordinary meeting of BRICS trade ministers to discuss the U.S. tariffs among other topics. Would China confirm this possibility? And could you address the importance of the BRICS addressing this topic on the U.S. tariffs?
Lin Jian: As an important platform of cooperation for emerging markets and developing countries, BRICS advocates openness, inclusiveness and win-win cooperation, with the aim of realizing common development and prosperity. All BRICS countries oppose unilateralism, protectionism and economic bullying, and will work together to uphold the WTO-centered multilateral trading system and safeguard global economic stability. On the meeting you asked, I’d refer you to competent authorities.
