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Beijing says G7 ‘maliciously slandered and smeared’ China
BEIJING — China said on Tuesday G7 nations in Japan had "maliciously slandered and smeared" it, after foreign ministers in the group of developed economies criticized a number of Beijing's policies.
"The G7 foreign ministers' meeting disregarded China's solemn position and objective facts, grossly interfered in China's internal affairs and maliciously slandered and smeared China," foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told reporters.
Asked about a joint statement in which G7 diplomats—meeting in Japan's resort town of Karuizawa
—expressed concerns about issues relating to Taiwan, the East China Sea, South China Sea, Xinjiang, and Tibet, Wang singled out hosts Japan and slammed the communique."Between the lines, the relevant statement is full of arrogance, prejudice and sinister intent to oppose and suppress China," Wang said.
"China expresses strong dissatisfaction and firm opposition and has lodged solemn representations with Japan, the host country of the meeting."
The G7 foreign ministers' statement reads in part:
We recognize the importance of engaging candidly with and expressing our concerns directly to China. We acknowledge the need to work together with China on global challenges as well as areas of common interest, including on climate change, biodiversity, global health security, and gender equality. We reiterate our call for China to act as a responsible member of the international community. We stand prepared to work together to build constructive and stable relations through dialogue and to promote global economic recovery and people-to-people exchanges in a mutually beneficial way. It is in the interest of all countries, including China, to ensure transparent, predictable, and fair business environments. Legitimate business activities and interests of foreign companies must be protected from unfair, anti-competitive, and non-market practices, including through illegitimate technology transfer or data disclosure in exchange for market access. We encourage China to uphold its commitments to act responsibly in cyberspace, including refraining from conducting or supporting cyber-enabled intellectual property theft for commercial gain.
We remind China of the need to uphold the purposes and principles of the UN Charter and abstain from threats, coercion, intimidation, or the use of force. We remain seriously concerned about the situation in the East and South China Seas. We strongly oppose any unilateral attempts to change the status quo by force or coercion. There is no legal basis for China’s expansive maritime claims in the South China Sea, and we oppose China’s militarization activities in the region. We emphasize the universal and unified character of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and reaffirm UNCLOS’ important role in setting out the legal framework that governs all activities in the oceans and the seas. We reiterate that the award rendered by the Arbitral Tribunal on July 12, 2016, is a significant milestone, which is legally binding upon the parties to those proceeding, and a useful basis for peacefully resolving disputes between the parties.
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We reaffirm the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait as an indispensable element in security and prosperity in the international community, and call for the peaceful resolution of cross-Strait issues. There is no change in the basic positions of the G7 members on Taiwan, including stated one China policies. We support Taiwan’s meaningful participation in international organizations, including in the World Health Assembly and WHO technical meetings, as a member where statehood is not a prerequisite and as an observer or guest where it is. The international community should be able to benefit from the experience of all partners. We continue to raise our concerns with China on reported human rights violations and abuses, including in Xinjiang and Tibet. We reiterate our concerns over the continued erosion of Hong Kong’s autonomy rights and freedoms, and call on China to act in accordance with its international commitments and legal obligations, including those enshrined in the Sino-British Joint Declaration and the Basic Law.
We call on China to act in accordance with its obligations under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations and the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations.
China recently held three days of military drills around Taiwan in a show of force it described as a rehearsal to "seal off" the self-ruled island.
Even though it has been ruled separately for more than 70 years, China views Taiwan as part of its territory and has vowed to one day seize it, by force if necessary.
"Taiwan is a sacred and inalienable part of China's territory," Wang said.
"The One-China principle is the anchor for peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait. To truly maintain peace... any move towards Taiwan independence must be unequivocally opposed and stopped."
He went on to refer to Hong Kong, Xinjiang and Tibet, which he said were "purely China's internal affairs" and Beijing would "not tolerate interference by any outside force under any name or in any way."
Wang added: "The situation in the East China Sea and the South China Sea remains stable on the whole.
"Relevant [G7] countries should earnestly respect the efforts of regional countries to maintain peace and stability, stop sowing discord between regional countries and provoking confrontation between camps." — Agence France-Presse