Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning’s Regular Press Conference on June 27, 2024

At the invitation of the government of Panama, President Xi Jinping’s special envoy and Minister of the General Administration of Customs Yu Jianhua will attend Panama’s presidential inauguration ceremony in Panama City on July 1.

AFP: Environmental activists protested outside Chinese embassies in 10 countries this week, demanding that Chinese state-owned banks stop cooperation with French energy company TotalEnergies to terminate the construction of an oil pipeline project in Africa. How does China view their demand? What is your comment on the prospects of the project?

Mao Ning: I am not familiar with the details you mentioned. Let me say broadly that China attaches great importance to environment protection. The cooperation projects in Africa that we take part in are conducive to sustainable local economic and social development.

Shenzhen TV: We noted that China Wildlife Conservation Association announced yesterday that it has signed agreement with Schönbrunn Zoo in Austria on a new round of giant panda conservation cooperation and that a pair of giant pandas Yun Chuan and Xin Bao are bound for San Diego Zoo in the US to begin a new round of China-US cooperation on giant panda conservation. Can you give us more details?

Mao Ning: Schönbrunn Zoo in Austria and San Diego Zoo in the US are both famous zoos in the world. Our giant panda conservation cooperation programs with the two zoos date back to over 20 years ago. Both have been fruitful and contributed a lot to giant panda conservation and research and the affinity between our peoples.

We understand that China Wildlife Conservation Association and Schönbrunn Zoo in Austria officially signed the agreement on the new round of giant panda conservation and research cooperation yesterday. A new pair of giant pandas will be selected from China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda and travel to Austria for a 10-year conservation cooperation project. Yuan Yuan and Yang Yang, the two giant pandas who currently live in Austria, will return to China later this year. The pair Yun Chuan and Xin Bao left China this morning on charter flight for San Diego Zoo. China and the US have made full preparation in line with the requirements and technical standards for giant panda conservation cooperation to ensure their health and safety during the flight. Chinese experts will stay in the US for about three months until the pair end their quarantine period and become accustomed to their new home. There will be various ways for the public to learn about what their life will be like.

We believe that the new round of China-Austria and China-US giant panda conservation cooperation will contribute to the health and well-being of giant pandas, the capacity for protecting giant pandas and other endangered species and efforts to promote global biodiversity conservation and the friendship between the people of China and the rest of the world.

AFP: Italian police said they have busted a cross-border trafficking network which used luxury cars to smuggle Chinese migrants into Italy and forced them to undertake unpaid labor. Did China and the Italian police communicate or cooperate on the case? Can you provide more information? 

Mao Ning: I’m not familiar with what you mentioned. I would like to stress that China’s position on the issue of illegal migrants is consistent and clear. China opposes and fights all forms of illegal migration, and engages in active international cooperation on this front.

Reuters: This is about the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence Conference tomorrow. How many representatives from foreign governments or foreign leaders will attend the conference? And who are they please?

Mao Ning: Thank you for following the commemorative events. The Conference Marking the 70th Anniversary of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence will be held tomorrow. We will release timely information on the event. Please stay tuned.

CCTV: It’s reported that yesterday Bolivian general commander Juan Jose Zuniga led armed forces to storm the presidential palace, Congress and other major national institutions and sought to have “dialogue” with President Luis Arce. President Arce denounced the “irregular movement” of some army units and dismissed Juan Jose Zuniga. Zuniga and the soldiers soon pulled back. The Bolivian government said they have defeated the coup attempt. What’s China’s comment? 

Mao Ning: China noted the reports on the “irregular movement of troops” in Bolivia. As a good friend and good partner of Bolivia, China hopes and believes that the Bolivian government has the capability of handling it properly and maintaining national peace, stability and development, which is in the fundamental and long-term interest of the Bolivian people.

Global Times: It was reported that on June 25, the Japanese government decided at a cabinet meeting and issued relevant order to expand the continental shelf in the waters of the Ogasawara plateau region east of Chichijima in Ogasawara islands. The expansion covers about 120,000 square kilometers. Under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), Japan will have preferential right to the seabed resources in this area. What is China’s comment on this? 

Mao Ning: We noted that back in 2012, the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS) adopted the “Recommendations of the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf in regard to the submission made by Japan on 12 November 2008” relating to the outer limits of the extended continental shelf in Ogasawara. Rather than revising its claims in accordance with the recommendations of the CLCS, Japan has unilaterally expanded its claims, which contravenes the stipulations of UNCLOS and universal practice. It’s important to note that the outer limits of extended continental shelf can only be final and binding when they are delimited on the basis of the recommendations of the CLCS. Otherwise, they shall not be acknowledged by the international community. China believes that any application on the outer limits of extended continental shelf filed by the State Party should strictly abide by the principle of common heritage of mankind enshrined in UNCLOS, and should not infringe on international seabed or harm the overall interests of the international community. 

TVT: Tomorrow marks the 50th anniversary of the relations between China and Venezuela. Last year, the two countries raised the level of their relationship. I would like to ask you what are China’s expectations for the coming years regarding Venezuela?

Mao Ning: Last September, President Xi Jinping and President Nicolás Maduro elevated China-Venezuela relations to an all-weather strategic partnership. Tomorrow marks the 50th anniversary of our diplomatic ties, a milestone that has unique significance for the future of our ties. China stands ready to work with Venezuela, be guided by the important common understandings reached by the two presidents, take stock of the experience drawn from the success of our 50-year bilateral relations, and achieve greater progress in China-Venezuela relations.