China rebukes remarks of interference

Beijing vows to defend national interests amid 'serious concerns' from EU, Japan

China expressed strong dissatisfaction and firm opposition to a joint statement issued by a latest EU-Japan summit, accusing it of interfering in China's internal affairs and harming the country's fundamental interests and sovereignty.

A joint statement following the 27th EU-Japan virtual summit on Thursday attended by European Council President Charles Michel, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said the two sides remain seriously concerned about the situation in the East and South China Seas and strongly oppose any unilateral attempts to change the status quo and increase tensions.

The two sides underscored the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Straits. They also stated that they will consult and coordinate closely on other regional issue including Hong Kong and Xinjiang.

"The remarks made by the EU and Japan have completely gone beyond the norm of developing bilateral relations," China's Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told a daily news conference in Beijing on Friday.

"We express our strong discontent with and firm opposition to the remarks in the joint statement of the EU-Japan summit. China will firmly defend its national sovereignty, security and development interests,"Zhao said.

He described the Japanese government's recent intensified efforts to smear China and interfere in its internal affairs as "causing negative impact on bilateral relations and regional stability".

In a statement on Thursday, a spokesman from the Chinese Mission to the EU said the remarks in the joint statement undermine international peace and stability, damage mutual understanding and trust between countries in the region, harm the interests of third parties, and run counter to what the EU and Japan claim in "working for a more secure, democratic and stable world".

The spokesman said Taiwan, Hong Kong and Xinjiang-related issues are China's internal affairs, and the East China Sea and the South China Sea concern China's territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests.

"All these issues represent China's fundamental interests and brook no interference," the spokesman said.

The virtual meeting also pledged support for holding the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games this summer "in a safe and secure manner" and "as a symbol of global unity in defeating COVID-19". The Tokyo Olympics is scheduled to start in July after a year's delay.

A survey by the Asahi Shimbun, a major Japanese newspaper, released on May 17 showed that 83 percent of Japanese polled said the Tokyo Olympics should be postponed or scrapped. Only 14 percent said the games should be "held this summer".

The virtual meeting focused on key areas which include global issues such as COVID-19, climate change, digital transformation, bilateral relationships, and foreign and security policy.

The EU and Japan announced their intention on Thursday to form a Green Alliance to speed up the transition of both economies to become climate neutral, circular and resource-efficient in the coming decades.

'Sheer fiction'

In another development, the Chinese embassy in Italy on Thursday voiced its strong dissatisfaction and firm opposition to a motion on Xinjiang passed on Wednesday by the foreign affairs committee of the lower house of the Italian Parliament.

In a statement, an embassy spokesman refuted the committee's allegations of forced labor, forced sterilization and religious repression in Xinjiang as "sheer fiction".

"We hope the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Chamber of Deputies to respect the facts, listen to the more than 25 million people in Xinjiang of various ethnic groups, and contribute more to the friendship of the two peoples in China and Italy and promotion of mutually beneficial cooperation," the spokesman said.