March 7, 2024 (EIRNS)—Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi gave a wide-ranging news conference on the sidelines of the second session of the 14th National People’s Congress of China.
On South China Sea: “China will take justifiable steps to protect its rights in line with the law and respond to unwarranted false-flag operations with swift and legitimate countermeasures in the South China Sea,” China’s top diplomat said. According to him, the Chinese “have lived and worked” in the South China Sea for generations, while islands in that sea have been a Chinese jurisdiction since long ago. Today, the South China Sea is the busiest and the most secure and free maritime route globally,” Wang emphasized. He called on members of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) to solve disputes through dialogue, consultations, and negotiations between the countries involved, reports TASS.
On relations with Russia, he reportedly said the following: “Efforts to maintain and promote Chinese-Russian relations are a strategic choice made by the two sides on the basis of the fundamental interests of the two countries’ peoples,” Wang said. Under the strategic guidance of Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin, the relations of comprehensive partnership and strategic cooperation, standing on the threshold of a new era, “have sustained a high level of functioning,” China’s top diplomat noted. According to him, “the bilateral mutual political trust continues to deepen,” while “the enthusiasm regarding exchanges between people is growing.”
Wang Yi praised the China-Russia partnership and denounced the US efforts “to suppress China,” telling reporters that “the desire to heap blame under any pretext has reached an unbelievable level.”
“In the face of complex turmoil in the international environment, China will persist in being a force for peace, a force for stability, and a force for progress in the world,” Wang told reporters.
