At the invitation of Member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi, Beninese Foreign Minister Shegun Adjadi Bakari will pay an official visit to China from March 28 to April 1.
CCTV: On March 26, a terrorist attack on the vehicle of the Dasu Hydropower Project undertaken by a Chinese company in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province of Pakistan left several people dead or injured. What’s the latest update on the investigation and handling of the attack? What action does China plan to take? How will the attack affect China-Pakistan cooperation and bilateral relations?
Lin Jian: We strongly condemn this act of terrorism. We express deep condolences over the lives lost and extend sincere sympathies to the bereaved families. We have previously stated our position on this incident.
Immediately after the attack, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Chinese Embassy in Pakistan activated the emergency response mechanism and swiftly engaged in emergency response and close communication with Pakistan both in Beijing and Islamabad. We asked Pakistan to speed up the hunt for the perpetrators, punish them by law, let justice be done for the victims, and take effective steps to protect the safety and security of Chinese personnel in Pakistan. Pakistan promised to thoroughly investigate the incident, provide timely updates on the progress of the investigation, step up security measures for Chinese personnel, projects and institutions in Pakistan, and ensure the safety of Chinese nationals in Pakistan. Relevant work is proceeding in an orderly way.
We have noted the condemnation on the terrorist attack and condolences over Chinese victims from some countries. This is much appreciated. We reiterate that terrorism is a common enemy of humanity. It’s the shared responsibility of the global community to fight terrorism and stop such tragedies from happening again. China firmly supports Pakistan in fighting terrorism. We are solid in our commitment to the safety and security of Chinese nationals, institutions and projects overseas. China and Pakistan have the resolve and capability to make the terrorists pay the price. Our two countries are all-weather strategic cooperative partners. Our iron-clad friendship is deeply rooted in the two peoples. No attempt to sabotage China-Pakistan cooperation will ever succeed. China will continue supporting Pakistan’s socioeconomic development and efforts to make lives better for its people, and we remain firm in our commitment to working with Pakistan in various fields and delivering more benefit to the two peoples.
Xinhua News Agency: Nauru President David Adeang is paying a state visit to China. Can you brief us on the visit? What important common understandings and results have been achieved during the visit? What’s China’s expectation for the prospects of China-Nauru relations?
Lin Jian: At the invitation of President Xi Jinping, Nauru President David Adeang pays a state visit to China from March 24 to 29. During President Adeang’s stay in Beijing, President Xi Jinping held talks with him and Premier Li Qiang and Chairman Zhao Leji met with him respectively.
President Xi Jinping noted during the talks that all friendships have a bright future, no matter when they began; and all cooperation based on sincerity, no matter its size, will be fruitful. The two presidents had in-depth exchange of views on growing China-Nauru relations and issues of common interests. They reached important common understandings, laid out top design and blueprint for growing the bilateral ties and ushered in a new chapter of the history of China-Nauru relations. After the talks, the two presidents witnessed the signing of bilateral cooperation documents in areas of Belt and Road cooperation, the Global Development Initiative implementation, economic growth and agriculture.
The two sides issued the Joint Statement Between the People’s Republic of China and the Republic of Nauru. The two sides agreed that the resumption of diplomatic relations between China and Nauru on the basis of the one-China principle is in line with the trend of history and the times, and meets the fundamental interests of the two count