TIRANA – “Hong Kong is part of the Chinese sovereign territory. Hong Kong matters are part of China’s internal affairs and that doesn’t allow for any foreign interference,” has said the Chinese Ambassador to Belgium Cao Zhongming.
In an interview with EUobserve on Monday the Ambassador touched upon many issues among which Hong Kong, disinformation, Huawei, EU’s role in the world and what China has learned from Covid19.
Mr. Zhongming noticed that the EU stated support for the “one country, two systems”, and the National People’s Congress adopted the decision for building a legal system and enforcement mechanisms in Hong Kong to fully and faithfully implement the “one country, two systems”.
In a comment on the UK’s stance on the issue, the Ambassador said as long as the UK respects China’s legitimate rights on its own territory and the ‘one country, two systems’, there will be no confrontation between China and the UK on Hong Kong related matters.
Mr. Zhongming refuted labels on China as a threat made by NATO secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg lately. “China is committed to its peaceful development and is not intending to pose a threat to any country on earth,” he said revealing that the growth rate of China’s military budget has gone to a downward trajectory in the last three years, while US urged NATO members to increase their defence budget to 2.0 percent of GDP. “Also, the US military budget was 3 percent of GDP in 2019, and its total budget is four times than that of China,” he said.
He highlighted a pledge by China’s president Xi Jinping who announced that if China develops a vaccine, it will be provided to the world as a public good. “What we also learned from Covid19 is that humanity has never been so closely connected. Viruses don’t discriminate between nationality, colour or gender. No country can stay isolated. Only in solidarity will humanity prevail. That’s why Xi Jinping said that we should build a global community for health for all.”
In the meantime he said that China is hopeful that the US leaves behind this Cold War mentality and zero-sum thinking.
Speaking of the EU’s position in the future, the Ambassador thought the EU should have an in-depth discussion on its position in the international landscape. “The EU has the wisdom to cope with complex issues in an ever-changing international environment. While Europe is gaining more strategic independence, it also gives great importance to multilateralism, rule of law and free trade. For Europe, the best option would be a pragmatic and foreign policy rather than being limited by ideology. As long as the EU stays united, it will remain an important pole in a multi-polar world. China will always welcome a more active role of the EU in the world.”
Regarding accusations by the EU and US against China and Russia of disinformation campaigns, he said China is a victim of disinformation. “I think China always had the same position, opposing disinformation on the internet, certainly after the recent Covid-19 disinformation on China. We are concerned about these kinds of accusations as they create the wrong perception about China and they mislead the European public.” Further on Ambassador Zhongming said the US has been fabricating rumours about the so-called backdoor in the Huawei equipment but has failed to provide any concrete evidence up to today./argumentum.al
