China Foreign Ministry Spokesman Wang Wenbin’ held a Press Conference on Sept 1, 2022.

Some excerpts

CCTV: Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said yesterday that the passage of US Navy ships through the waters of the Taiwan Strait is a provocation that makes the situation more complex and unpredictable. “We consider the settlement of the situation in the Taiwan Strait as purely China’s domestic affair with it having the right to take measures to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity”, she said. What’s China’s comment?
Wang Wenbin: We appreciate the remarks by the Russian side. More than 170 countries in the world have made it clear that they are committed to the one-China principle, and support China in safeguarding its sovereignty and territorial integrity. This reflects the prevailing voice of the international community. The US’s acts of provocation will not have people’s support and will only end in failure.?

ITV News: What action will the Chinese government take to address the human rights violations raised by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights?(OHCHR) in the human rights assessment of Xinjiang?

Wang Wenbin: This so-called assessment is orchestrated and produced by the US and some Western forces and is completely illegal, null and void. It is a patchwork of disinformation that serves as a political tool for the US and some Western forces to strategically use Xinjiang to contain China. The OHCHR’s so-called?assessment?is predicated on the political scheme of some anti-China forces outside China. This seriously violates the mandate of the OHCHR and the principles of universality, objectivity, non-selectivity and non-politicization. It once again shows that the OHCHR has been reduced to an enforcer and accomplice of the US and some Western forces in forcing the developing countries to fall into line with them. The fact that this assessment, despite its illegality and zero credibility, did not go so far as to play up false allegations such as “genocide”, “forced labor”, “religious oppression” and “forced sterilization” shows that the lies of the century concocted by the US and some Western forces have already collapsed.?The US and some Western forces seek to destabilize Xinjiang and use it to contain China. This unjust, pernicious political agenda will not have people’s support and will only end in failure.?

Beijing Youth Daily: According to the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), over 18,000 monkeypox cases have been reported in the US, more than any other country. US media have pointed out that people of colour are once again suffering disproportionately in this outbreak. What’s your comment??

Wang Wenbin: I have noted relevant reports. The WHO has provided guidance for national prevention, control and response to the monkeypox outbreak. But regrettably, ethnic minorities in the US have once again become the worst affected groups.

Whether it is the monkeypox outbreak or the COVID-19 pandemic, each public health emergency, like a diagnostic scanner, highlights the deep-seated systemic racial discrimination in the US. While the US government keeps repeating “all men are created equal” and lectures other countries on human rights, racial minorities in the US are being unjustly treated and even callously deprived of their right to life and health. The US needs to stop putting on a facade of human rights champion and actually do something about racial equity and the rights of racial minorities at home.?

China News Service: On August 30, Prime Minister of Pakistan Shehbaz Sharif thanked China for its assistance to his flood-affected country. Disasters caused by the heavy rain have resulted in the death of 1,136 people and more than 33.04 million people are affected by the floods. Can you update us on China’s assistance to Pakistan?

Wang Wenbin: Since the floods hit Pakistan, China has been closely following the situation. We responded immediately and made every effort to provide relief assistance. The spokesperson of the foreign ministry shared relevant information on August 29.

On the same day, President Xi Jinping sent a message of sympathy to the Pakistani President Arif Alvi over the severe floods hitting the country. He noted that as all-weather strategic cooperative partners and “ironclad” friends, China and Pakistan have been sharing weal and woe, rendering each other assistance in times of need. China will continue to provide Pakistan with urgently-needed help and support the Pakistani side’s disaster relief work. Premier Li Keqiang also sent a message of sympathy to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.?

The Chinese government has made active efforts to fulfill its assistance pledge. The emergency cash assistance promised by China has been delivered. The first batch of tents arrived in Pakistan on August 30 and 31 by Chinese Air Force Y-20 aircraft, and the remaining supplies will be transported to the disaster-stricken areas as soon as possible. This first batch of tents were collected from Sichuan. One of the pilots flying the supplies went through the Wenchuan earthquake in 2008. After arriving at the airport in Pakistan, he spoke to the media about the unreserved help of our ironclad brother of Pakistan to China in 2008. His words reflect the shared sentiment of the Chinese people and serve as a vivid illustration of the China-Pakistan community with a shared future.?

Chinese provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government are also acting in various ways to express sympathy or support to Pakistan.?

Going forward, China will continue to extend a helping hand to our Pakistani brothers in light of Pakistan’s needs. The China International Development Cooperation Agency has set up a joint working group with Pakistan on the implementation of follow-up cooperation in emergency relief. A friend in need is a friend indeed; true gold can stand the test of fire. I am confident that the Pakistani people will prevail over the floods at an early date and the brotherly bond between China and Pakistan will be further elevated.?

Reuters: Germany’s defense chief told Reuters that Germany will expand its military presence in the Indo-Pacific by sending more warships and joining drills with allies as it keeps an eye on the enormous build-up of China’s armed forces. How do you comment about this?
Wang Wenbin: The public statement about demonstrating Germany’s military presence in other parts of the world by the German Chief of Staff of the Federal Armed Forces might evoke negative associations in many countries.  I want to reiterate that China always upholds a defense policy is defensive in nature. China develops necessary military capabilities to defend its legitimate national security interests, which is entirely legitimate and reasonable. China always respects countries’ freedom of navigation and overflight enshrined in international law including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. We firmly reject any country’s move to use the freedom of navigation as a pretext to undermine China’s sovereignty, endanger China’s security and attack and smear China.

CCTV: It is reported that?on?August?31,?Japan’s Ministry of Defense?claimed in its annual defense budget request that China continues to threaten to unilaterally change the status quo with force and exert pressure by conducting military exercises around Taiwan. Japan is seeking budget to develop and mass produce cruise missiles, high-velocity ballistic missiles and hypersonic missile warheads. The report also said this plan obviously breaches the Japanese constitution’s constraint on the range of Self-Defense Force’s missiles. Do you have any comment?

Wang Wenbin: The Chinese side has elaborated its position on this issue several times.?Recently, Japan has been hyping up the so-called “China threat” and talking about missile development plans and the so-called “counterstrike capabilities” with the purpose of creating excuses for developing offensive military capability. It reveals Japan’s ambition to breach its commitment to the pacifist constitution and embark on its old path of military expansionism again. This sends a dangerous signal to the world that Japan is seeking to subvert the post-WWII international order. This calls for international vigilance.

As a country responsible for its historical crimes to the Asian neighbors, Japan needs to earnestly reflect on its history of aggression, respect the security concerns of Asian neighbors and?immediately?stop the erroneous practice of hyping up so-called security threats in the neighborhood to find pretext for its military build-up.?

Kyodo News: According to reports, the Arizona Governor had a meeting with Tsai Ing-wen this morning, where the two sides agreed to have semiconductor cooperation. What is China’s comment?
Wang Wenbin: The global industrial and supply chains come into shape as a result of both the law of the market and the choices of businesses. The “Taiwan independence” forces thought they could raise their profile by promoting the so-called notion of “democracy chips”. And they seek to politicize economic and trade issues. Such a design to use democracy as a false pretext to seek independence will not lead anywhere.

O Globo: There’s a report from Washington think tank about military drills hosted by Venezuela with the participation of China, Russia and Iran soon to be held. Can you confirm that?
Wang Wenbin: The International Army Games 2022 “Sniper Frontier” contest was held in Venezuela on August 15. Teams from 13 countries including Russia, China, Indonesia, Cuba and Belarus participated in or observed the competition. The Games serve as an important platform for mil-to-mil experience sharing. China had released information about its participation before the contest was held.

Reuters: American chip designer Nvidia Corp said on Wednesday that US officials told it to stop exporting two top computing chips for artificial intelligence to China. And this move could cripple Chinese firms’ ability to carry out advance work like image recognition. Does the foreign ministry have any comment on this?

Wang Wenbin: What the US has done is typical “sci-tech hegemony”. The US has been stretching the concept of national security and abusing state power. The US seeks to use its technological prowess as an advantage to hobble and suppress the development of emerging markets and developing countries. This violates the rules of the market economy, undermines international economic and trade order and disrupts the stability of global industrial and supply chains. China firmly rejects it.?

The US politicizes, instrumentalizes and weaponizes tech and trade issues, and engages in tech blockade and decoupling in an attempt to monopolize the world’s advanced technologies, perpetuate its hegemony in the sci-tech sector, and damage the closely-knit global industrial and supply chains. Such moves will not succeed.?

https://www.mfa.gov.cn/eng/xwfw_665399/s2510_665401/202209/t20220901_10759263.html