Asia Archives - Page 5 of 6 - Friends of Socialist China

Release of Fukushima wastewater threatens workers

We reprint below an article by Otis Grotewohl, originally published in Workers World, about the Japanese government’s release of wastewater from the Fukushima nuclear disaster into the Pacific Ocean.

Otis notes that, while the government in Tokyo has claimed the process is safe, many people are skeptical, including the Japanese opposition parties, fishermen, local residents and environmental campaigners. Greenpeace Japan states that Tokyo’s decision “disregards scientific evidence, violates the human rights of communities in Japan and the Pacific region, and is non-compliant with international maritime law.”

The Chinese government has announced a ban on imports of Japanese seafood in response to the discharge. Japan, in league with the US and other imperialist powers, is now criticizing China for this ban and for spreading disinformation. “Just as the Japanese government and its Western enablers accuse China of ‘disinformation,’ the capitalist rulers of Washington and Tokyo are waging a major public relations campaign to convince people in the region that seafood from the Pacific Ocean will still be safe to consume after the release of wastewater.”

As Otis points out, the Japanese government’s action is a threat to the health and safety of people in the region, and is being carried out solely in accordance with “the material needs and desires of the employing class.” China meanwhile has taken a clear lead on renewable energy and biodiversity, and is advocating for the interests of ordinary people both in China and throughout the region.

“Anyone concerned with the well-being of humanity and our ecosystem should defend China and stand in solidarity with workers in the Asia-Pacific region who are being threatened with a polluted ocean, poisoned water and contaminated seafood.”

The Japanese government began releasing wastewater from the Fukushima nuclear plant into the Pacific Ocean on Aug. 24. The controversial move has angered workers throughout the region, sparking numerous protests in South Korea, China and Japan.

Following the Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2011 — which destroyed the Fukushima nuclear plant, resulting in three nuclear meltdowns, three hydrogen explosions and a release of radioactive contaminants — the nuclear company Tepco started pumping in water to cool down the reactors’ fuel rods.

Radioactive wastewater has been added to tanks every day since then, and more than 1,000 tanks have been filled. The government of Tokyo argues the process is “no longer sustainable” to maintain and promises people that “after treatment and dilution the ‘water is safe to release.’” (BBC, Aug. 24) Many people in the area are understandably skeptical.

More than a million metric tonnes of water stored at the nuclear plant is expected to be discharged over the next 30 years, and there are mixed feelings among scientists about this. Among those who are most supportive of Japan’s plan is the United Nations nuclear “watchdog” known as the International Atomic Energy Agency. Many more people oppose the plan, especially environmentalists and workers in the fishing industry who are familiar with the Pacific Ocean.

Camp David summit outlines military alliance against China

The following article by Sara Flounders, originally posted on Workers World, provides a critical analysis of US President Joe Biden’s diplomatic “victory” at Camp David, in which he brought together Japan and South Korea to form a security pact with the US. Sara observes that this pact has nothing to do with the maintenance of peace, but is directed towards upgrading the US’s military threat against China and the DPRK, as well as blocking China’s development and regional trade.

The article notes the enormous US military infrastructure which already exists in the region: “US troops have occupied both Japan and South Korea since 1945. There are still 53,700 US troops in Japan on 120 military bases — more bases than in any other country. Some 26,400 US troops are stationed on 73 bases in South Korea, including Fort Humphreys, the largest overseas US military base. This overwhelming US military presence exerts extreme political pressure.” This is on top of the recent creation of AUKUS and the revival and upgrading of the QUAD.

As such, the agreement at Camp David is simply “a further step in Washington’s strategy of inserting tensions, instability and continuing provocations in the region in an attempt to block China’s development and its growing regional trade with its neighbors.”

Sara points out that the US’s anti-China strategy of sanctions and tariffs is actually punishing South Korea and Japan more than China. “By expanding sanctions on China affecting chip technology, software and equipment, Washington disrupts global supply chains and damages the economies of South Korea, Japan and Taiwan.” Indeed the US economy will suffer too. But as far as US strategists are concerned, China’s suffering is a higher priority than US prosperity. Unfortunately for Washington’s cold warriors, however, “though China will feel the impact of sanctions, its economy is larger than those of its Asian neighbors, and its many global trading partners may give it a greater capacity to adjust, including by reinforcing its domestic economy.”

August 22 — U.S. war threats against China heightened this week. On Aug. 18, President Joe Biden framed an aggressive military alliance, with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida dutifully attending, at an ominous summit at Camp David. This trilateral military pact of the United States, South Korea and Japan is directly aimed at China and at the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea).

Both U.S. and Chinese, as well as other international media, all described the meeting as a confirmation of a new Cold War against China.

The military pact of South Korea and Japan with the U.S. intentionally damages both the South Korean and Japanese economies, as China has been the major trading partner of both countries. However, right-wing militarists in office in each country seem willing to act against their own people’s interests.

Azerbaijani president: Belt and Road an important contribution to Central Asia’s development

In this recent episode of the CGTN series, Leaders Talk, Wang Guan, travels to the Azerbaijani capital, Baku, to sit down with President Ilham Aliyev.

He notes that this year is the 100th birth anniversary of the current president’s father, former President Heydar Aliyev, who is, it is noted, not only the founding father of independent Azerbaijan, but also of China-Azerbaijan friendship.

President Aliyev emphasises that his father created a framework for cooperation with China based on mutual respect and friendship. And, as illustrated in photos shown by Wang Guan, during his China visits, Heydar Aliyev also took particular care to visit ordinary Chinese families and to learn about their daily lives.

President Aliyev noted that his father was already well aware of developments in China from the time when he served in the Soviet government. In the history of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU), Heydar Aliyev held the highest position ever attained by someone of Muslim heritage.

The current president considers the relations between China and Azerbaijan to be on a long journey of strategic cooperation. They are based on an alignment of major positions in international relations, for example with regard to sovereignty, territorial integrity and non-interference in internal affairs.

All this also helps to create a favourable backdrop for economic cooperation, particularly within the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), which, in turn, contributes to regional security, stability and development. The progress of the BRI enables Azerbaijan to leverage its geographical location to its advantage, through the development of both the Caspian seaport and international rail links.

Noting that he has met President Xi Jinping on many occasions, both in China and at international gatherings, Aliyev describes his Chinese counterpart as a person of vision and intelligence. This, he notes, contributes to the fact that the number of international friends of China is growing year by year.

Aliyev also praises China for the assistance it provides to other countries, particularly when other countries refuse to do so. For example, China was the only country to supply Covid-19 vaccines to Azerbaijan when they were first developed. His letter to President Xi drew an immediate response, making Azerbaijan one of the first countries to start a vaccination programme during the global pandemic.

With regard to the question of Taiwan, he said that Azerbaijan always supports China’s territorial integrity and reunification. HIs country’s support for the one-China principle is absolutely unchanged and will never be changed.

Turning to negative western perceptions of developing countries like China and Azerbaijan, Aliyev says that the basic reason is his country’s pursuit of independent policies based on the national interest. Besides the western media, President Aliyev also excoriated the role played by supposedly independent NGOs such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, noting that their agendas did not diverge from those of their funders.

The full interview with President Aliyev is embedded below.

Celebrating the first decade of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor

As the tenth anniversary of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s first speeches proposing the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) approaches, China and Pakistan have celebrated the first decade of what is widely considered its flagship project, namely the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), which links the port of Gwadar, in Pakistan’s Balochistan province, with Kashgar in China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, and which highlights energy, transport and industrial cooperation, in particular.

In a July 31 letter to a celebration event held in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, President Xi said that China will work with Pakistan to aim for high-standard, sustainable, and livelihood-enhancing outcomes and further build CPEC into an exemplary project of high-quality Belt and Road cooperation.

CPEC, he continued, has added new impetus to the economic and social development of Pakistan and laid a good foundation for regional connectivity and integration, adding that it is a vivid testament to the all-weather friendship between China and Pakistan, and provides an important underpinning for building an even closer China-Pakistan community with a shared future in the new era.

Stressing that China and Pakistan will continue to improve overall planning and expand and deepen cooperation, Xi said that no matter how the international landscape may change, China will always stand firmly with Pakistan.

Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng participated in the Islamabad celebration, held on August 1, as Xi’s special representative. As well as reading the Chinese President’s letter, he delivered a speech, calling for an upgrading of CPEC to better promote a closer China-Pakistan community with a shared future.

In his speech, Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif said that the remarkable achievements of CPEC’s construction have profoundly transformed Pakistan’s economic and social landscape. Pakistan is willing to learn from China’s development experience, deepen cooperation with China in various fields, and pursue a path of self-reliance and strength, so as to better benefit the peoples of both countries.

Meanwhile, in an August 4 telephone conversation between the two countries’ foreign ministers, Wang Yi said that, no matter how the international situation and Pakistan’s domestic situation change, China will, as always, firmly support Pakistan in defending national sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity, firmly support Pakistan in maintaining unity and stability, in realizing revitalization and development, and will firmly support Pakistan to play a bigger and more active role in international and regional affairs.

His Pakistani counterpart, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said that the Pakistan-China friendship has been passed down from generation to generation and is unshakable and full of vitality.

The following articles were originally published by the Xinhua News Agency.

Xi says China to work with Pakistan to build CPEC into exemplary project of high-quality B&R cooperation

BEIJING, July 31 (Xinhua) — Chinese President Xi Jinping said Monday China will work with Pakistan to aim for high-standard, sustainable and livelihood-enhancing outcomes and further build the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) into an exemplary project of high-quality Belt and Road cooperation.

Xi made the remarks in a congratulatory message to the Decade of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor celebration event held in Islamabad, Pakistan.

Xi pointed out that CPEC is an important pioneering project of the Belt and Road cooperation. Since its launch in 2013, China and Pakistan have been advancing CPEC under the principle of extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits, and have achieved a number of early harvests.

Wang Yi trip serves to strengthen bonds of Global South solidarity

China’s top diplomat, Wang Yi, visited South Africa in mid-July to attend the 13th Meeting of BRICS National Security Advisers and High Representatives on National Security, which was held in Johannesburg. This was one of the important political gatherings to be held in South Africa in the run up to the country hosting the main BRICS Summit later in August. It was also attended by representatives from a number of other countries seeking to adhere to the BRICS mechanism. Wang Yi also visited Kenya and Türkiye on the same trip.

First making a stopover in Ethiopia, Wang Yi held talks with Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Demeke Mekonnen Hassen in Addis Ababa.

Wang Yi said that China and Ethiopia are good brothers sharing weal and woe, good friends supporting each other, and good partners pursuing common development. China has stood with the Ethiopian people at a critical time when Ethiopia safeguards national peace and stability and will continue to stand with the Ethiopian people as the country enters a new stage of restoration of peace and national reconstruction.

Demeke said Ethiopia-China relations enjoy a long history, and Ethiopia is firmly committed to strengthening cooperation with China at the bilateral, regional and multilateral levels. Ethiopia thanks China for providing assistance to the country’s efforts to safeguard national security and stability, expects China to support Ethiopia in consolidating peace, conducting reconstruction and revitalizing the economy, and supports the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative and the Global Civilization Initiative proposed by China.

Wang Yi met with Kenyan President William Ruto on July 22 in Nairobi.

Noting that Kenya-China relations have been developing smoothly since the establishment of diplomatic ties 60 years ago, Ruto said strengthening friendly cooperation with China has become a consensus shared by all sectors in the country.

Ruto highly praised China’s efforts in growing relations with Kenya based on the principle of mutual respect. Kenya is firmly committed to deepening the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership with China, and is willing to strengthen inter-party exchanges, deepen cooperation in such fields as railway, highway, water conservancy, aviation, and renewable energy under the frameworks of Belt and Road cooperation and the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, in order to promote connectivity and regional integration in Africa and achieve win-win results, Ruto said.

Wang Yi said that China approaches relations with Kenya from a strategic perspective, and is willing to work with Kenya to take the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations as a new starting point to align their strategies for revitalization with a focus on development and cooperation, and push their comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership to a new level in the new era.

Full text of Xi Jinping’s address at the SCO summit

We are pleased to republish below President Xi Jinping’s video address to the 23rd meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), delivered on Tuesday 4 July 2023 and first published in English on Xinhua.

President Xi’s address is a powerful reiteration of China’s commitment to peace, multipolarity, multilateralism and the principles of UN Charter, and anyone reading it cannot but be struck by the dramatic contrast between China’s policy of peace and cooperation and the US’s policy of hegemonism.

Whereas the US has re-imposed crippling (and illegal) sanctions on Iran, China and the other countries of the SCO are welcoming Iran as a full member, increasing cooperation on economic development, environmental protection, trade, agriculture, technology and security challenges.

Whereas the US has worked for decades to undermine Afghanistan’s sovereignty, has waged a brutal war against it, and has stolen billions of dollars’ worth of Afghan assets, Xi calls for increased coordination among Afghanistan’s neighbours to increase humanitarian support and protect peace.

Whereas the US is waging a proxy war against Russia, providing ever-more powerful weaponry to Ukraine in an attempt to keep the conflict going as long as possible and to “fight to the last Ukrainian”, China is working with the SCO and other countries to promote dialogue and consultation, and to find a peaceful settlement to the conflict.

Whereas the US is expanding the NATO military bloc, and forming new military alliances such as AUKUS and the Quad, China proposes the Global Security Initiative – based on the principle of common security – and strongly opposes any new Cold War or camp-based confrontation.

Whereas the US attempts to use dollar hegemony to impose its will on other countries, Xi calls for the SCO to oppose unilateral sanctions, to scale up local currency settlement between member states, to expand cooperation on a sovereign digital currency, and create an SCO development bank.

Whereas the US and its allies in the West are engaged in McCarthyite suppression of Confucius Institutes and other forms of cultural exchange, Xi Jinping announces the creation of new scholarships for young scientists and language teachers to study and work in China.

China is standing firmly and consistently for a world of peace, cooperation and mutual benefit, and is working with other countries to build a community with a shared future for humanity. This is a project that all progressive and peace-loving people should promote and support.

Staying True to Our Founding Mission and Advancing Unity and Coordination to Realize Greater Development

Statement by H.E. Xi Jinping
President of the People’s Republic of China
At the 23rd Meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization

Your Excellency Prime Minister Narendra Modi,

Distinguished Colleagues,

I wish to thank India for hosting the meeting of the Council of Heads of State as the current president of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).

At this meeting, we are going to welcome Iran as a full member and sign the memorandum of obligations on the membership of Belarus. This will manifest the vitality of our SCO family. I offer my congratulations to the two countries.

Colleagues,

Ten years ago, in view of the changes of the world, of our times and of the trajectory of history, I opined that mankind, living in the same global village, are increasingly becoming a community with a shared future in which everyone’s interest is closely interlinked. Since then, the concept of a community with a shared future for mankind has gained extensive recognition and support from the international community, and has been transforming from an idea to action and a vision to reality. At the forefront of this trend is the SCO, upholding this very concept and the Shanghai Spirit to build an SCO community with a shared future.

— We have followed our fine tradition of standing together through thick and thin, as passengers in the same boat should do, and we have firmly supported each other in standing up for our respective core interests. We have become trustworthy partners on our paths to development and national rejuvenation.

— We have acted out the concept of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security, accommodated each other’s legitimate security concerns, and responded to both traditional and nontraditional security challenges. Together we have safeguarded peace and tranquility in the region, and fostered a favorable environment for countries in the region to pursue development and prosperity.

— We have embraced the development philosophy of innovative, coordinated, green, open and shared growth, synergized our national development strategies and regional cooperation initiatives, and nurtured new growth areas for our cooperation in economy and trade, connectivity, energy, agriculture, finance, and innovation. This has helped promote coordination in our economic development.

— We have carried forward the spirit of good-neighborliness, and advocated equality, mutual learning, dialogue and inclusiveness between civilizations. We have called for peaceful coexistence and harmonious development of different civilizations, and expanded people-to-people and cultural cooperation. We have enhanced the popular support for our state-to-state relations.

— We have upheld international fairness and justice, and opposed hegemonic, high-handed, and bullying acts. We have enlarged the circle of friends of our Organization, and built partnerships featuring dialogue instead of confrontation, cooperation instead of alliance. This has strengthened the progressive forces for world peace and stability.

Colleagues,

The world today is undergoing both transformation and upheaval; changes unseen in a century are unfolding at a faster pace; human society faces unprecedented challenges. Unity or split, peace or conflict, cooperation or confrontation — these are the questions raised again by our times. My answer is this: the people’s wish for a happy life is our goal, and peace, development and win-win cooperation are the unstoppable trends of the times.

The SCO has been growing stronger in recent years. This means development opportunities as well as unprecedented risks and challenges. As the great Indian poet Rabindranath Tagore put it, “The sea of danger, doubt and denial around man’s little island of certainty challenges him to dare the unknown.” We must rise to the call of our times, keep in mind our founding mission, and stay in unity and coordination to bring more certainty and positive energy to world peace and development. To this end, I wish to make the following proposals:

First, we should keep to the right direction and enhance solidarity and mutual trust. Since its founding over 20 years ago, the SCO has withstood the test of the changing international landscape, and kept moving in the right direction of promoting solidarity, mutual trust, development and cooperation. We have accumulated valuable experience, and achieved hard-won development gains. Facts have shown that as long as we bear in mind the larger picture, shoulder our responsibilities and remain undisturbed by all sorts of distractions, we will be able to protect and promote the security and development interests of our member states.

Closer ties with NATO would be a strategic blunder for India

In the following article, which was originally published in the Morning Star, Keith Lamb argues that Washington’s flattery of India and its encouragement of stronger ties with NATO, citing an alleged “Chinese threat”, is a trap into which New Delhi should not fall. The border dispute between India and China, he notes, is a legacy of British colonial aggression and India’s future lies in greater cooperation with China and the Global South generally. India’s support for the struggle of Mauritius to reclaim the Chagos Archipelago, a territory in the Indian Ocean which remains under illegal British colonial control and is home to a massive US military base, is cited by Keith as an example of how India grasps this imperative on some level. India’s interests, he argues would be well served by further consolidation of the BRICS grouping and greater promotion of regional energy integration and supply chains, not least the long-mooted Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) natural gas pipeline.

After a recommendation by the congressional committee on strategic competition with China, the US claims that India “is one of Washington’s closest allies.” As such, it is now courting India to join Nato to counter Chinese “aggression.”

India must not fall to Washington’s flattery and the trumped-up China threat. Strategically and economically, India’s future lies with greater co-operation with China and the global South, not Nato, which opposes development.

In terms of Chinese “aggression,” the US hypes up the border dispute. This dispute is a remnant of British colonialism annexing Chinese territory.

China’s claims are rational, not expansionist — they exist due to British hegemonic attempts to swallow up both China and India.

Importantly, this dispute is managed unprecedentedly well. The line of actual control is patrolled by non-gun-carrying troops. This peaceful status quo would be ruined by US-led Nato machinations, which continue, under a different guise, the hegemonic project of the British empire.

Colonialism hasn’t finished — it is alive under US leadership which has a greater global military presence than under the British empire. It seeks, through its hard power, to divide the global South and bring it to heel — strategically this is what India’s invitation to Nato represents.

On one level, India understands this, which is why India backs Mauritius’s claim on the British-controlled Chagos Archipelago in the Indian Ocean, which hosts a US military base capable of threatening the Indian subcontinent.

The US talks about developing India and using India as the new “world factory,” but due to hegemonic strategic concerns, a country the size of India will never be allowed to develop to a comparable standard to that of the US

Hegemonism doesn’t seek development — it seeks to exploit and it seeks unipolarity. Those who try to break out of the net of economic domination will be countered.

China is the perfect example of this. It co-operated with the US, but due to its huge size, even a modest standard of development is seen as a threat to unipolarity.

India, if successful, would encounter the same problem — though if it loses its independence to the cancer of Nato perhaps it will never develop beyond being a low-end factory.

Anyone who doubts the resolve of the US and its power to silently smother its Nato “allies” needs to revisit the Nord Stream pipeline bombing allegations.

Europe is now cut away from Eurasia and is more reliant than ever on transatlantic shipping for its trade and energy.

India, though artificially disconnected from Eurasia, due to politics and connectivity, unlike the Nato-led Europe, still has the independence to overcome these issues.

Political co-operation can be achieved through the Brics coalition, which is currently expanding based on the principle of win-win global South development, rather than Nato’s principle of preventing the rise of the global South.

Is Japan once again treading the path of aggressive militarism?

We are pleased to publish the below article about the dangers of revived Japanese militarism, and its historical antecedents, which has been submitted to us by James De Burghe, a British socialist long resident in the People’s Republic of China.

James outlines how Shinzo Abe, a former Japanese Prime Minister assassinated in 2022, imbibed far-right, racist and militarist views from his grandfather, Nobusuke Kishi, who had been in charge of economic policy when the Japanese occupied northeast China. Initially imprisoned as a class A war criminal by the American occupation authorities after Japan’s defeat in World War 2, he was soon released in order to play a key part in setting up the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), which has largely dominated Japanese politics ever since, eventually serving as Prime Minister, 1957-1960.

Abe, who served as Prime Minister from 2006-2007 and again from 2012-2020, followed in the same path as his notorious grandparent, controversially revising school textbooks, declining to apologize for – or even acknowledge – Japanese war crimes, and seeking to repeal or revise Article 9, the supposed ‘peace clause’ of the post-war Japanese constitution.

These revanchist policies are now being pursued with a vengeance under Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, leading to fraught relations with Japan’s neighbors, along with increasing resistance from people at home.

There are alarming signs that Japan is once again drifting towards becoming a fascist-led aggressive militaristic state. The legacy of Nobusuke Kishi has borne fruit through the efforts of his grandson, Shinzo Abe, who was Japanese Prime Minister from 2006–2007 and 2012–2020.

Nobusuke Kishi was the minister who ran Japan’s economic policy in Japanese-occupied Manchuria from 1937 to 1940. He was a convinced supporter of the Yamato race theory that proclaimed Japan as a racially superior nation. Kishi had nothing but contempt for the Chinese as a people, and he regarded them as “dogs – that need to be trained to obey us without question”. His brutal policies led directly to the deaths of thousands of Chinese civilians forced to work a 120-hour week at gunpoint for meagre food rations. There was no attempt to make working conditions safe, and many slave laborers perished through accidents with molten metals. Thousands more perished from starvation and disease or were executed. Kishi believed there was no point to establishing the rule of law in Manchukuo (as the Japanese called north east China when it was under their occupation) – instead brute force was what was needed to maintain Japanese control.

Xi Jinping’s keynote speech at China-Central Asia Summit

The Presidents of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan joined Chinese President Xi Jinping in the northwestern Chinese city of Xi’an, starting point of the historic Silk Road, for the first in-person summit between China and Central Asia on May 18-19. Around the summit, the leaders of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan also paid state visits to China. The President of Turkmenistan already paid a state visit to China in the first week of January.

Among the numerous agreements reached at both the summit and associated bilateral events, when the six heads of state jointly met the press, having concluded their deliberations, they officially inaugurated the China-Central Asia Summit Mechanism. They have agreed to meet biennially, with the venue to be rotated among the participating countries. The next summit will be hosted by Kazakhstan in 2025. And a Permanent Secretariat for the Mechanism is to be established in China.

President Xi Jinping delivered a keynote speech to the summit on May 19. The Chinese leader cited Xi’an as the starting point of the ancient Silk Road and recalled the ‘journey to the west’ by Han dynasty envoy Zhang Qian more than 2,100 years ago.

Outlining some practical achievements since he first proposed the joint building of a Silk Road Economic Belt in 2013, during his first visit to Central Asia as President, Xi went on to note four global necessities related to Central Asia at the present time:

The world needs a stable Central Asia. The sovereignty, security, independence and territorial integrity of Central Asian countries must be upheld.
The world needs a prosperous Central Asia. A dynamic and prospering Central Asia will help people in the region achieve their aspiration for a better life.
The world needs a harmonious Central Asia. Ethnic conflicts, religious strife, and cultural estrangement are not the defining feature of the region. No one has the right to sow discord or stoke confrontation in the region, let alone seek selfish political interests.
The world needs an interconnected Central Asia. With its unique geographical advantages, the region has the right foundation, condition and capability to become an important connectivity hub of Eurasia.

In building a China-Central Asia community with a shared future, Xi stressed the need to stay committed to four principles:

Mutual Assistance: Always give each other unequivocal and strong support on issues concerning our core interests such as sovereignty, independence, national dignity, and long-term development.
Common Development: To forge new drivers of growth in finance, agriculture, poverty reduction, green and low-carbon development, medical service, health, and digital innovation.
Universal Security: Stand firm against external attempts to interfere in domestic affairs of regional countries or instigate color revolutions.
Everlasting Friendship: Carry forward our traditional friendship, and enhance people-to-people exchanges.

Identifying eight key tasks, Xi stressed the need to:

Strengthen institutional building.
Expand economic and trade ties.
Deepen connectivity.
Expand energy cooperation.
Promote green innovation.
Enhance capabilities for development, including through poverty reduction, utilizing science and technology, vocational education and local job creation.
Strengthen dialogue between civilizations.
Safeguard peace in the region.

We reprint below the full text of President Xi Jinping’s speech. It was originally carried by the Xinhua News Agency.

Working Together for a China-Central Asia Community with a Shared Future Featuring Mutual Assistance, Common Development, Universal Security, and Everlasting Friendship

Keynote Speech by H.E. Xi Jinping
President of the People’s Republic of China
At the China-Central Asia Summit

19 May 2023

Distinguished Colleagues,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Friends,

I’d like to welcome you all to Xi’an for the China-Central Asia Summit to explore together ways for closer cooperation between China and the five Central Asian countries.

Carry forward the spirit of Dr Kotnis to strengthen China-India friendship

As part of a tour of South Asian countries in the first week of May, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Qin Gang visited India to attend the Foreign Ministers Meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), which was held in Goa. Whilst there, on May 4, Qin Gang met with the family members of Dr. Dwarkanath Kotnis (known in China as Ke Dihua), along with representatives of friendship organizations with China and young people from both countries.

Dr. Kotnis was one of a team of five Indian doctors, one of whom had previously served with the International Brigades in Spain, who were sent to help the Chinese people in their war of resistance against Japan by India’s Congress party, then led by Jawaharlal Nehru and Subhas Chandra Bose, after China’s Red Army leader Zhu De had written a request to Nehru on the suggestion of Agnes Smedley, the American internationalist who maintained deep ties with the freedom movements in both countries.

In the spirit of the great Canadian communist, Dr. Norman Bethune, who the team had gone to replace following his death from sepsis incurred while operating behind enemy lines, Dr. Kotnis worked tirelessly, sometimes for 72 hours without sleep. He refused any special treatment, taught himself fluent Chinese, and passed on his knowledge by writing two textbooks on surgery (one uncompleted, he was actually struck by a fatal seizure as he was writing), and becoming a teacher and then the head of the Bethune Medical School.

It was while teaching at the school that he met, fell in love with and married Guo Qinglan, a nurse and nursing teacher. Their son, Yinhua, whose name means India-China, was born just four months before Dr. Kotnis’s death. In July 1942, Dr. Kotnis was admitted to membership of the Communist Party of China.

After Dr. Kotnis passed away on December 9, 1942, from epileptic seizures exacerbated by prolonged overwork, Mao Zedong wrote the following calligraphy in his memory:

“Dr. Kotnis, our Indian friend, came to China from afar to assist us in our war of resistance. He worked for five years in Yan’an and north China, giving medical treatment to our wounded soldiers and died of illness owing to constant overwork. The army has lost a helping hand, and the nation has lost a friend. Let’s always bear in mind his internationalist spirit.”

In meeting with Dr. Kotnis’s relatives, Qin Gang carried on a tradition of senior Chinese leaders visiting India, beginning with Premier Zhou Enlai in the 1950s through to President Xi Jinping in recent times.

Qin Gang said that Dr. Kotnis was a great friend of the Chinese people and an outstanding fighter in the anti-fascist war, who devoted his precious youth and life to the Chinese people’s war of resistance against Japanese aggression. His spirit, Qin continued, is a humanitarian one of saving lives, a heroic one of daring to struggle and not being afraid of sacrifice, and an internationalist one of advocating peace, friendship, and a shared future.

One distinct feature of Qin’s meeting, consistent with the change of generations, as well as the fact that May 4 is celebrated as Youth Day in China, in honour of the anti-imperialist May 4 Movement of youth and students in 1919 that contributed significantly to the founding of the Communist Party of China two years later, was the emphasis placed on the need for young people to inherit and carry forward the spirit of Dr. Kotnis so as to firmly safeguard peace and friendship between China and India.

Noting that the young people of both China and India are full of vitality and are the main force for development in their respective countries, Qin Gang called on them to promote people-to-people exchanges and to explore a path for the two major neighbors to coexist in peace, get along in amity and seek rejuvenation together.

He also urged the youths to promote bilateral cooperation for mutual benefit and to boost mutual trust, so as to jointly safeguard the common interests of developing countries and uphold international fairness and justice.

The following articles were originally published by the Chinese Foreign Ministry and the Xinhua News Agency.

Qin Gang Meets with Relatives of Dr. Dwarkanath Kotnis and Representatives of Chinese and Indian Young People

On May 4, 2023 local time, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Qin Gang met with relatives of Dr. Dwarkanath Kotnis and representatives of China-India friendship organizations and Chinese and Indian young people in Goa, India.

Qin Gang and relatives of Dr. Kotnis visited the photo exhibition of Dr. Kotnis’ life. Qin Gang said that Dr. Kotnis, a great friend of the Chinese people and an outstanding fighter in the anti-fascist war, devoted his precious youth and life to the Chinese people’s war of resistance against Japanese aggression. The spirit of Dr. Kotnis is a humanitarian one of saving lives, a heroic one of daring to struggle and not being afraid of sacrifice, and an internationalist one of advocating peace, friendship and a shared future.

Qin Gang trip consolidates China’s ties with South Asian countries

Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Qin Gang spent the first week of May on an important visit to South Asian countries.

On May 1, he met in Beijing with Noeleen Heyzer, the Special Envoy of the United Nations (UN) Secretary-General on Myanmar. Qin Gang said that China and Myanmar are close neighbors linked by mountains and rivers, and China hopes more than any other country that Myanmar will realize stability and development. With internal and external factors intertwined, the Myanmar issue is complex and has no “quick fix”. The international community should respect Myanmar’s sovereignty, and support all parties and factions in Myanmar in bridging differences and resuming the political transition process through political dialogue within the constitutional and legal frameworks. He further noted that the international community should respect the mediation efforts of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and promote the implementation of ASEAN’s Five-Point Consensus on Myanmar.

The following day, Qin Gang arrived in China’s Yunnan province for an inspection tour, in which he stressed the need to maintain stability at the China-Myanmar border, advance the friendship and cooperation between China and Myanmar, and open up new prospects of border-related and Myanmar-related work. Visiting various places and projects, including ‘One Village, Two Countries’ border communities, he took opinions and suggestions from those working at primary-level units and on the front line. He stressed the importance of pushing forward the building of the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor with a focus on industrial capacity cooperation and industrial park construction, to help boost the economic and social development of the two countries, as well as maintaining peace and tranquility in the border area and safeguarding the overall situation of China-Myanmar friendship.

This somewhat unusual public engagement by a Chinese foreign minister reflects the special position of the southwestern province regarding Myanmar, with, for example, the same and closely related ethnic groups and nationalities living on both sides of the border. It might also be considered as an extension of whole process people’s democracy on the diplomatic front.

The same day, Qin Gang began his visit to Myanmar, meeting with Than Shwe, the former Chairman of the Myanmar State Peace and Development Council, in the country’s new capital, Nay Pyi Taw.

Qin Gang said that China respects Myanmar’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, supports Myanmar in advancing its domestic peace process, and stands ready to continue actively providing assistance for Myanmar in safeguarding independence, maintaining political stability and realizing sustainable development. Than Shwe said that the “pauk-phaw” [brotherly] friendship between Myanmar and China was forged by the leaders of the elder generations of the two countries, has been promoted by every generation of their leaders, and is deeply rooted in the hearts of the two peoples.

Also on May 2, Qin Gang met with Myanmar leader Min Aung Hlaing. The Chinese Foreign Minister pointed out that China sincerely hopes for a stable situation and national development in Myanmar, supports Myanmar in exploring a development path suited to its national conditions and with Myanmar’s characteristics, supports Myanmar in continuously advancing its political transition process, and supports all parties in Myanmar to properly handle differences and achieve reconciliation under the constitutional and legal framework. China will continue to provide assistance within its capability for Myanmar’s development, accelerate key cooperation projects of the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor, and carry out projects on agriculture, education and health care, among others, for the benefit of Myanmar people.

China deepens its friendship with Central Asian countries

China and the five Central Asian countries of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan have agreed to hold the China-Central Asia Summit this month. It is expected to be one of the two key multilateral diplomatic events hosted by China this year, the other being a Belt and Road cooperation forum, and will be held in the city of Xi’an, appropriately the starting point of the ancient silk road.

To prepare well for this meeting, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Qin Gang hosted his counterparts from the four countries in the same city, April 26-27.

The first day was given over to bilateral meetings. Qin Gang said that:

China and Kazakhstan have agreed to a shared future defined by lasting friendship, a high degree of mutual trust and sharing weal and woe.
China and Kyrgyzstan have achieved leapfrog development in their relationship and become comprehensive strategic partners true to the name.
China and Tajikistan are ironclad friends.
China-Uzbekistan relations have reached an unprecedented height.
China and Turkmenistan have jointly announced the decision to elevate their relationship to a comprehensive strategic partnership and to practice the vision of a community with a shared future at the bilateral level.

He stressed that China will, as always, firmly support the Central Asian countries in safeguarding national sovereignty, independence, security, and territorial integrity. China also firmly supports the development paths independently chosen by the Central Asian countries in line with their national conditions. China resolutely opposes any external forces interfering in the internal affairs of the Central Asian countries.

The following day, Qin Gang chaired the fourth China-Central Asia Foreign Ministers’ Meeting. He said that China and Central Asian countries are good neighbors, good friends, good partners and good brothers sharing weal and woe and went on to note that the world finds itself in a new period of turbulence and transformation. Unity is strength. The more chaotic the world is and the more complex the situation is, the more we need to stay focused, strengthen unity and enhance cooperation. The two sides should step up the fight against terrorism, separatism and extremism, and jointly strengthen the regional security net. The two sides should firmly oppose interference in the internal affairs of countries in the region by any forces under any pretext, and make Central Asia a clean land for win-win cooperation rather than a battlefield for geopolitical games.

Following the meeting, Qin Gang briefed the press, explaining that the foreign ministers had reached consensus on five key points:

Adhering to good-neighborliness and friendship, and working together to ensure the success of the Xi’an Summit.
Adhering to solidarity and mutual assistance, and enhancing mutual support.
Adhering to mutual benefit and win-win results, and advancing high-quality Belt and Road cooperation.
Adhering to sharing weal and woe, and expanding security cooperation.
Adhering to fairness and justice, and resolutely safeguarding the international order.

The following articles were originally published on the website of the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

Qin Gang Holds Talks Respectively with Foreign Ministers of Five Central Asian Countries

On April 26, 2023, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Qin Gang held talks in Xi’an respectively with Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan Murat Nurtleu, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kyrgyzstan Kulubaev Zheenbek Moldokanovich, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Tajikistan Sirojiddin Muhriddin, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Uzbekistan Saidov Bakhtiyor Odilovich, and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan Vepa Hajiyev. The ministers were in China for the fourth China-Central Asia Foreign Ministers’ Meeting.

Qin Gang said that President Xi Jinping and President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev have agreed to build a China-Kazakhstan community with a shared future defined by lasting friendship, a high degree of mutual trust and sharing weal and woe. Both sides should take this as fundamental guidance to enable the China-Kazakhstan permanent comprehensive strategic partnership to deliver more benefits to the two peoples.

Qin Gang said that China and Kyrgyzstan have achieved leapfrog development in their relationship and become comprehensive strategic partners true to the name. The two sides should harness the role of the China- Kyrgyzstan Intergovernmental Cooperation Committee and strengthen mutually beneficial cooperation. China supports Kyrgyzstan in hosting a successful meeting of the Council of Heads of Government (Prime Ministers) of the Member States of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) this year.

China commits to assisting Afghanistan’s reconstruction and development

On April 12-13, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Qin Gang paid an official visit to Uzbekistan and then attended two important meetings, namely the fourth foreign ministers meeting among neighbouring countries of Afghanistan, followed by the second informal meeting of foreign ministers of China, Russia, Pakistan, and Iran on the Afghan issue.

Coinciding with these events, on April 12, the Chinese Foreign Ministry released an 11-point position paper on the Afghan issue. It noted that: “China respects the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Afghanistan, respects the independent choices made by the Afghan people, and respects the religious beliefs and national customs of Afghanistan. China never interferes in Afghanistan’s internal affairs, never seeks selfish interests in Afghanistan, and never pursues so-called sphere of influence.”

China, it said, sincerely hopes that Afghanistan could build an open and inclusive political structure, adopt moderate and prudent domestic and foreign policies, and engage in friendly exchanges with all countries especially neighbouring countries. “We hope the Afghan Interim Government will protect the basic rights and interests of all Afghan people, including women, children and all ethnic groups.”

China will continue to do its best to help Afghanistan with reconstruction and development, make plans with Afghanistan and fulfil its assistance pledges, promote steady progress in economic, trade and investment cooperation, and actively carry out cooperation in such fields as medical care, poverty alleviation, agriculture, and disaster prevention and mitigation, so as to help Afghanistan realise independent and sustainable development at an early date. China welcomes Afghanistan’s participation in Belt and Road cooperation.

Stressing the need to support Afghanistan in countering terrorism, China hopes that Afghanistan will fulfil its commitment in earnest and take more effective measures to crack down on all terrorist forces including the ETIM [East Turkestan Islamic Movement] with greater determination.

The paper added: “It is a widely held view in the international community that, by seizing Afghanistan’s overseas assets and imposing unilateral sanctions, the US, which created the Afghan issue in the first place, is the biggest external factor that hinders substantive improvement in the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan. The US should draw lessons from what happened in Afghanistan, face squarely the grave humanitarian, economic and security risks and challenges in Afghanistan, immediately lift its sanctions, return the Afghan overseas assets, and deliver its pledged humanitarian aid to meet the emergency needs of the Afghan people.”

It also stressed: “It is a shared view of regional countries that the military interference and ‘democratic transformation’ by external forces in Afghanistan over the past 20-odd years have inflicted enormous losses and pain on Afghanistan. It will be difficult to eliminate the negative impacts for many years to come. To help Afghanistan achieve sustained peace and stability, relevant countries should not attempt to re-deploy military facilities in Afghanistan and its neighbourhood, practice double standards on counter-terrorism, or advance their geopolitical agenda by supporting or conniving at terrorism.”

Interview with Hun Sen: No one can replace China

In this edition of the CGTN series Leaders Talk, Zou Yun travels to the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh to interview Prime Minister Hun Sen just prior to his recent visit to China.

Noting that he will be the first foreign leader to visit China following the Spring Festival, and that he was the first to visit China three years ago during the Covid pandemic, Hun Sen recalls that at that time he, “felt the need to stand in solidarity with the Chinese people” and also to reassure Cambodians living and studying in China.

His expectations this time were particularly focused on deepening economic cooperation, not least through the free trade agreements of both Cambodia and the ASEAN regional bloc with China as well as the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).

Lauding China’s comprehensive contribution to Cambodia’s infrastructural development, Hun Sen firmly stands by his earlier statement, “who can I rely on if not on China?” “I have made it clear and will continue to say it…Who can replace China? They [Cambodia’s critics] do nothing, but question us instead.”

China’s development, he points out, “brings benefits to the whole world.” Some countries, he notes, press Cambodia to follow their political path, but he refuses this. “Though poor and underdeveloped, Cambodia has its dignity…Some countries threaten and impose sanctions on us, but I am confident that China will never do such a thing to us.”

Describing President Xi Jinping as a great leader, Hun Sen says that the Chinese leader’s concepts of a Global Development Initiative (GDI) and a Global Security Initiative (GSI) are “truly visionary.” If they were to be universally adopted, the world will “become a harmonious community without fear of war.”

The full interview is embedded below.

China and Cambodia working together towards a community with a shared future for humanity

Prime Minister of Cambodia Hun Sen paid an official visit to China from 9-11 February. Whilst exchanges of visits by the two countries’ leaders are by no means unusual, this one carried special and symbolic importance on at least three counts:

2023 sees the 65th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries. This relationship was carefully and sincerely nurtured by the elder generation of leaders from the two countries, specifically Chairman Mao Zedong, Premier Zhou Enlai and Samdech Norodom Sihanouk. This year has accordingly been designated as the ‘China-Cambodia Friendship Year’.
This was Hun Sen’s first visit to China in three years and he was the first foreign leader to visit after the Chinese people celebrated the Lunar New Year holiday.
His previous visit occurred at the height of the initial outbreak of Covid-19. Not only was he the first foreign leader to visit China at that time, he even suggested that he visit Wuhan, which was then bearing the full brunt of the outbreak. Hun Sen said that with both that visit and his current one he wanted to send a clear message that the Cambodian people will always stand firmly with the Chinese people. At the most difficult moment of the Chinese people’s battle against the virus, they also received generous support from the Cambodian King and Queen Mother.

A joint statement released at the conclusion of the visit referred to the two countries’ “impregnable ironclad friendship”. “In the face of momentous changes and challenges in the world, the strategic significance of China-Cambodia relations gains further prominence. No matter how the international situation changes, the two sides will unswervingly deepen their close ironclad friendship and develop win-win practical cooperation for mutual benefit.”

The statement reflected the two countries’ common understanding with regard to both their vital national interests as well as the general contours of contemporary international relations. It also surveyed the gamut of China’s extensive range of assistance to Cambodia, such as in infrastructure, including Cambodia’s first Expressway, rail (featuring four-way cooperation also with Laos and Thailand); rural development, clean and green energy, preservation of cultural heritage, and support for Cambodia’s hosting of the 2023 Southeast Asian Games.

It also noted that: “Both sides recognized the common values for all humanity of peace, development, fairness, justice, democracy, and freedom, and stood ready to safeguard the international system with the UN as its core, the international order based on international law, and the basic norms governing international relations embodied in the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, while opposing all forms of hegemonism, power politics, unilateralism, and exclusive bloc politics which targets specific countries. The two countries are committed to building a new type of international relations and promoting global partnerships of equality, openness and cooperation towards a community with a shared future for humanity.”

The following articles were originally carried by the Xinhua News Agency.

Xi meets Cambodian PM Hun Sen

Xinhua, 10 February 2023

Chinese President Xi Jinping met with Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Cambodia Hun Sen on Friday at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing.

Xi pointed out that three years ago, Prime Minister Hun Sen visited China as a token of support and stood firmly with the Chinese people in their fight against COVID-19.

This year marks the first year for China to fully implement the guiding principles of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China and also the 65th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Cambodia, Xi noted.

“It gives me great pleasure to work with you to realize our three-year appointment and open a new era of building a China-Cambodia community with a shared future at the start of spring,” Xi said.

China urges the US to lift its unilateral sanctions on Syria

At Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning’s press conference on February 8, 2023, she made an impassioned plea to the US to lift its crippling and illegal sanctions on Syria in the light of the terrible humanitarian crisis following the recent earthquake in the region. Mao Ning noted that Syria’s problems pre-date the earthquake and that the US has significant culpability in this regard: “The US military is still dominating Syria’s main oil-producing region, plundering more than 80 percent of the oil production, smuggling and burning Syrian food stocks, which has worsened the humanitarian crisis.”

Mao Ning also reported on China’s immediate aid provision in the wake of the earthquake, which includes providing 30 million yuan in emergency humanitarian aid to Syria, and 40 million yuan of emergency assistance and an 82-member Chinese rescue team to Türkiye.

The following article was first published in Global Times.

China urged the US to put aside its geopolitical obsession and immediately lift unilateral sanctions on Syria since Washington’s long-term involvement in Syrian crisis with military intervention and economic sanctions has resulted in a large number of civilian casualties and difficulties in economic development and reconstruction process in the country.

Syria, which has experienced years of war and turmoil and was recently hit by a strong earthquake, is facing a serious humanitarian crisis and both the United Nations, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies have called for emergency assistance to victims in Syria to prevent further deterioration of the humanitarian situation there, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said at Wednesday’s press briefing in response to the US government’s claim that it will not deal directly with the Syrian government.

China-Pakistan friendship “higher than mountains and deeper than oceans”

The special and invariable relationship between China and Pakistan was underlined and reinforced in phone calls between leaders of the two countries in early January.

On January 5, Premier Li Keqiang spoke with his Pakistani counterpart, Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif. Li Keqiang said that the China-Pakistan friendship has stood the test of international vicissitudes and grown from strength to strength. China always sees China-Pakistan relations as a priority in its neighborhood diplomacy, and will continue to support Pakistan in safeguarding national independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity and legitimate rights and interests, upholding domestic solidarity and stability and realizing national development and rejuvenation.

On his part, Shahbaz thanked China for providing tremendous support and assistance for Pakistan in the fight against floods, and highly appreciated China for always standing together with Pakistan when it encounters difficulties. He noted that this has fully demonstrated the “ironclad” friendship between Pakistan and China that is higher than mountains and deeper than oceans.

This was followed on January 9 by a phone call between newly appointed Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang and his Pakistani counterpart Bilawal Bhutto Zardari.

Qin Gang said that China and Pakistan enjoy special friendship and high-level mutual trust. Bilawal once again congratulated Qin Gang on his assuming office as China’s Foreign Minister, saying that the ironclad brotherhood between China and Pakistan is the “North Star” guiding Pakistan’s foreign policy toward China.

The following reports were originally published on the website of the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

Li Keqiang Speaks with Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif on the Phone

Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 5 January 2023

On the afternoon of January 5, 2023, Premier Li Keqiang of the State Council had a phone call at request with Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif at Ziguangge of Zhongnanhai.

The Premier and the Prime Minister first exchanged New Year greetings. Li Keqiang said that the China-Pakistan friendship has stood the test of international vicissitudes and grown from strength to strength. China always sees China-Pakistan relations as a priority in its neighborhood diplomacy, and will continue to support Pakistan in safeguarding national independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity and legitimate rights and interests, upholding domestic solidarity and stability and realizing national development and rejuvenation. Mr. Prime Minister’s successful visit to China not long ago has given a strong boost to the development of bilateral relations. China is ready to have close high-level exchanges with Pakistan, advance practical cooperation in key fields, and work towards the greater development of China-Pakistan relations.

Video: Lao president speaks about close bonds with China

In this episode of the new CGTN series Leaders Talk, Zou Yun interviews Thongloun Sisoulith, President of Laos and Secretary-General of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party.

Describing the inauguration of the Laos-China High-Speed Railway as the dream of the Lao people come true, President Thongloun refers to the long history of brotherly connections between the two countries and peoples, specifically to their helping each other in the fight against foreign aggressors. During the Lao people’s war of liberation, the communist party, army and people of China rendered timely, effective and unconditional support to their Lao comrades, and this friendship, comradeship and brotherhood has continued in the new phase of nation building.

Thongloun recalls his own first visit to China in 1970, when he was a young man in his 20s, working in the Hanoi office of the Lao Patriotic Front. At that time he was escorting 500 students who were to study at the China-Laos Friendship School, which had been established in the city of Nanning in 1967. With Laos facing a brutal US war of aggression, “we sent our kids to China for the Chinese comrades to take care of them.”

Over many subsequent visits to China, Thongloun notes that the Chinese economy has boomed, the country has remained stable, and China has become a pillar of world peace and stability.

He speaks at some length about his impressions of, and personal relationship with, President Xi Jinping, which is clearly characterised by a deep friendship and comradeship. He also talks about the cultural similarities between Laos and China. Noting that China has “many good old revolutionary songs”, he says that he “loves them very much.”

Zou Yun also takes a ride on the high-speed train to get the impressions of some passengers.

The full interview is embedded below.

China hosts state visits from the Philippines and Turkmenistan

China’s diplomatic year began in the first week of January with President Xi Jinping hosting state visits by President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos Jr. of the Philippines from January 3-5 followed by that of President Serdar Berdimuhamedov of Turkmenistan from January 5-6. China’s hosting in this way of two leaders from neighbouring countries, in South East Asia and Central Asia respectively, reflects the strong and increasing emphasis given in its foreign policy to relations with fellow Asian countries, neighboring countries in particular.

Marcos was not only the first foreign leader hosted by China in 2023 – this was also his first visit to China since he assumed his country’s presidency on June 30 2022 and his first official visit to a country outside the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN). However, he is certainly no stranger to the country. In 1974, at the age of 17, he accompanied his mother, Imelda Marcos to a meeting in Beijing with the late Chairman Mao Zedong, one year before his father, the late President Ferdinand E. Marcos established diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic.

His visit this time was a major success, resulting in the adoption of an extensive Joint Statement between the two countries along with 14 cooperation documents across a wide range of sectors. In particular, both sides agreed to continue to properly handle maritime issues through friendly consultation and resume negotiations on oil and gas exploration.

According to their joint statement: “The two leaders had an in-depth and candid exchange of views on the situation in the South China Sea, emphasized that maritime issues do not comprise the sum-total of relations between the two countries and agreed to appropriately manage differences through peaceful means. Both sides reaffirmed the importance of maintaining and promoting peace and stability in the region and the freedom of navigation in and overflight above the South China Sea, and reached consensus on the peaceful resolution of disputes on the basis of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC), the United Nations Charter and the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).”

For his part, President Xi, “expressed readiness to stay in regular strategic communication with President Marcos Jr. and make comprehensive plans for the growth of bilateral ties so that the two countries will stay good neighbors helping each other, good relatives sharing affinity, and good partners pursuing win-win cooperation, delivering more benefits to the two peoples and contributing more positive energy to peace and stability in the region.”

All of this constitutes a significant blow to the efforts of the United States, which has worked overtime to create and exacerbate discord between the Philippines and China over the maritime and other issues with a view to maintaining its own neo-colonial domination over the Philippines alongside its strategic position in the region.

Hosting his Turkmen counterpart, Xi Jinping highlighted the similar values, goals and converging interests shared by the two nations, saying that they should work together in their respective paths toward rejuvenation, enhance their strengths, explore further potential for cooperation and attain common growth. It was the two leaders’ second meeting in a few months, having met in September on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit held in the Uzbek city of Samarkand.

At their meeting this time, they announced that their two countries were elevating their bilateral ties to those of a comprehensive strategic partnership. Turkmenistan is a major producer of natural gas and President Xi noted that cooperation in this sector is the cornerstone of their bilateral relations, with the two countries needing to further explore the potential for cooperation in green energy, natural gas exploitation and technological equipment, and work toward cooperation covering whole industry chains.

Turkmenistan is a key supplier of natural gas to China, with the two nations having developed three gas pipelines in a project known as the China-Central Asia Gas Pipeline. The project supplies natural gas to over 500 million residents in 27 provincial-level regions and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, according to Xinhua News Agency.

Berdimuhamedov told a ceremony in June that the construction of a fourth line of the China-Central Asia Gas Pipeline will take the annual transmission capacity to China to 65 billion cubic meters. The current pipeline delivered over 40 billion cubic meters of natural gas in the January-November period last year, according to its operator.

During their meeting, Xi said the cooperation mechanism between China and the five Central Asian countries is open, transparent, mutually beneficial, equal and pragmatic. China stands ready to work with Turkmenistan to ensure the success of the first summit between China and the five nations, he said.

Xi said China supports constructive cooperation between Turkmenistan and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, and is willing to make joint efforts in practicing true multilateralism. Since its emergence as an independent state, following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Turkmenistan has firmly upheld its independence and practices strict neutrality. It presently attends SCO meetings in the capacity of an official guest. Coinciding with his visit, President Berdimuhamedov contributed an article to the Decision Makers platform of CGTN, where he wrote that:

“Turkmenistan closely monitors the development of China and is pleased with the nation’s achievements. In a very short period of its history, China has emerged as a world pioneer in economic and scientific development, with robust growth in industrial output and the completion of many large-scale social development programs. China has managed to pull off an outstanding achievement ‒ the eradication of absolute poverty. Today, China is taking confident steps towards building a modern socialist country in an all-round way. There is no doubt that the above brilliant achievements are made possible by the political will, strong determination and correct strategic policies of the Communist Party of China, as well as the understanding and support of the Chinese people.”

The following articles were originally published by the Xinhua News Agency, China Daily and CGTN.

China, Philippines cement ties in new year

Xinhua, 5 January 2023

Chinese President Xi Jinping held talks with Philippine President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos Jr. at the Great Hall of the People during the latter’s state visit to China on Wednesday.

Marcos is the first foreign leader hosted by China in 2023. This visit is his first visit to China as president and his first official visit to a country outside the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

“This speaks volumes about the close ties between China and the Philippines and the important place that the two countries take in each other’s foreign policies,” Xi told Marcos.

A journey to retrace history and plan for the future

China and the Philippines are close neighbors facing each other across the sea. In their exchanges over a millennium, good faith and mutual assistance have remained the defining feature of bilateral relations and a precious legacy cherished by the two peoples, Xi said.

Xi Jinping holds talks with Lao and Mongolian presidents

In the last week of November, Chinese leader Xi Jinping hosted his counterparts from two of China’s friendly neighbors.

Thongloun Sisoulith, General Secretary of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party (LPRP) Central Committee and President of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic (LPDR), became the third leader of a socialist country to visit China since the Communist Party of China’s 20th National Congress in October, following visits by the leaders of Vietnam and Cuba.

Meeting Thongloun on November 30, Xi Jinping informed his guest of the passing away of former Chinese leader Jiang Zemin. Thongloun expressed deep condolences, saying that this is a huge loss for the CPC and the Chinese people, and that the LPRP and the Lao people feel the sorrow in the same way. Comrade Jiang Zemin was a close friend of the LPRP and the Lao people. During his visit to Laos in 2000, Jiang Zemin proposed the principle of “long-term stability, good-neighborly friendship, mutual trust and all-round cooperation”, which has played a guiding role in the development of Laos-China relations.

Xi Jinping briefed his Laotian counterpart on the 20th Congress of the CPC and also said that since the LPRP held its 11th National Congress it had focused its efforts on improving itself, pursued a socialist path in line with the country’s own characteristics, striven to maintain political and social stability and sustained economic development. At the same time, it has contributed to maintaining regional peace and stability and safeguarding the common interests of developing countries.

The Laotian leader said that at a time when the world is undergoing complex changes, China is a pillar of safeguarding world peace and stability and is committed to promoting the common development of humanity and building a human community with a shared future.

Two days previously, on November 8, President Ji met with President Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh of Mongolia. Xi pointed out that the two presidents meeting again after two months as promised fully reflects the high level of China-Mongolia relations. In September, the Chinese and Mongolian leaders had met in the Uzbek city of Samarkand, including at the sixth tripartite meeting also attended by Russian President Vladimir Putin. Xi said that following the principle of amity, sincerity, mutual benefit and inclusiveness, China pursues friendship and partnership with its neighboring countries. It attaches great importance to growing the friendship, mutual trust and common interests with Mongolia. Outlining the five principles of Chinese-style modernization, he added that China will not only realize its own prosperity but also contribute to its neighborhood and beyond through its own development. On economic matters, he said that the two countries would actively advance the China-Mongolia-Russia economic corridor as well as the section of the China-Russia natural gas pipeline in Mongolia. China applauds Mongolia’s “Billion Trees” initiative and is ready to discuss with Mongolia the establishment of a cooperation center to combat desertification.

President Khurelsukh said that as permanent neighbors connected by mountains and rivers, Mongolia and China are good neighbors, good friends and good partners. The two sides have rendered each other support and assistance during the pandemic and jointly responded to global challenges, a vivid example of “a friend in need is a friend indeed”. China, he added, is a peace-loving country that has never invaded other countries in its history but has sincerely helped others develop. China’s Global Development Initiative and Global Security Initiative are for humanity’s peace and development. Mongolia fully supports them.

The following articles were originally carried on the website of the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

Xi Jinping Holds Talks with General Secretary of the LPRP Central Committee and Lao President Thongloun Sisoulith

On November 30, 2022, General Secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and President Xi Jinping held talks with General Secretary of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party (LPRP) Central Committee and Lao President Thongloun Sisoulith at the Great Hall of the People. The two sides stressed the need to uphold the principle of “long-term stability, good-neighborly friendship, mutual trust and all-round cooperation” and the spirit of “good neighbors, good friends, good comrades and good partners”, respect and trust each other politically, benefit each other economically, foster mutual understanding and affinity through people-to-people and cultural exchanges, constantly advance the building of a China-Laos community with a shared future, and make positive efforts and contribute to the building of a human community with a shared future.

At the beginning of the talks, Xi Jinping said that Comrade Jiang Zemin passed away on Wednesday in Shanghai due to illness after all medical treatments had failed. Comrade Jiang Zemin was an outstanding leader enjoying high prestige acknowledged by the whole Party, the entire military and the Chinese people of all ethnic groups, a great Marxist, a great proletarian revolutionary, statesman, military strategist and diplomat, a long-tested communist fighter, an outstanding leader of the great cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics, the core of the CPC’s third generation of central collective leadership, and the principal founder of the Theory of Three Represents. Xi Jinping said that Chinese people profoundly mourn Comrade Jiang Zemin and will turn grief into strength to strive in solidarity to build a modern socialist country in all respects and advance the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation on all fronts in accordance with the plan of the 20th CPC National Congress.