At the first press conference of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, which took place this Saturday in Beijing, The designated spokesman Sun Yeli referred to issues such as the “zero covid” policy established in the Asian country, Taiwan and relations with the United States.
“We do not commit ourselves to renouncing the use of force,” said Sun Yeli at the press conference in which EL TIEMPO was present on Taiwan. He referred to the party’s “basic policy” called ‘Peaceful reunification, one country, two systems’ as the way to solve the problem and the recently published white paper reaffirms it.
He further added: “Achieving the peaceful reunification of the motherland is in the best interests of the Chinese nation, including Taiwan compatriots, and is most conducive to China’s long-term stable development, and it is our first option to solve the problem. He was reiterative in saying that they are “willing to continue working with the greatest sincerity and with the best efforts to achieve peaceful reunification.”
He pointed out that “at present, the separatist forces continually seek provocations as external forces intensify their interests, seriously damaging the fundamental interests of the Chinese nation and the vital interests of their compatriots on both sides of the Taiwan Strait, putting seriously endanger peace and stability.
The spokesman was blunt in saying that the use of force would be the last option to be considered: “The objective is to fundamentally safeguard the prospects for the peaceful reunification of the motherland and promote the process of peaceful reunification. As long as there is a possibility of a peaceful solution, we will all make a hundred times more efforts and non-peaceful means will be the last resort.” And he pointed out: “No one, no power, should underestimate our strong determination, will and ability to defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
Tensions between China and Taiwan increased this year when the Speaker of the US House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, landed in Taipei and left less than 24 hours later on August 2. At the time, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said that “those who play with fire will get burned.” Pelosi was the highest-ranking US official to visit the island in 25 years.
After the event, China claimed that the visit was a “serious violation of its national sovereignty” and announced military exercises and economic sanctions against Taiwan.
Relationship with the United States
Sun Yeli also touched on China’s relations with the United States. He said that “the common interests of China and the United States far outweigh the differences. Healthy and stable relations are in the common interest of the two peoples. In fact, Chinese and American interests have become deeply mixed.”
He added: “Only from the point of view of economic and commercial relations, in 2021, the trade volume reached a record of more than 750,000 million dollars, a year-on-year increase of 28.7 percent. Sino-US economic cooperation supports 2.6 million American jobs.”
Achieving the peaceful reunification of the motherland is in the best interests of the Chinese nation, including Taiwan compatriots, and is most conducive to stable development.
He also insisted that “there are many challenges that require cooperation between the two countries. The international community generally expects China and the United States to play a leading role, shoulder the responsibilities of great powers, stabilize bilateral relations and promote global cooperation.”
“Peace and harmony are concepts that the Chinese nation has pursued for more than 5,000 years, and China pursues development for its people to live a better life, not to challenge others.” And he pointed out: “We oppose the logic of ‘one nation must dominate.’ We have no problems, but we are not afraid either. We don’t abuse others, but we don’t allow others to bully us either. The historical process of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation cannot be stopped by anyone or by any force.”
The ‘covid zero’ policy
This is one of the issues that most worries Chinese citizens, as many hope that there will be some kind of change in the restrictions after the Congress of the Communist Party of China that begins this Sunday. Sun Yeli supported the ‘zero covid’ policy in the country: “Since the beginning of the epidemic, China has always insisted on the supremacy of the people and life, and has put the safety and physical health of the population in the first of all, which is the fundamental starting point and end point of all our prevention and control measures.”
He said that the dynamics of ‘covid zero’ is based on the conditions of the Asian country and following scientific support. “China is a country with a large population, a high aging population, uneven regional development, and a relatively insufficient set of medical resources. That is precisely why ‘covid zero’ was made, to guarantee an extremely low infection and mortality rate. In general, our prevention measures are the cheapest and most effective.”
The 20th Congress of the Communist Party of China will start on Sunday, October 16 at 10:00 am (local time) at the Great Hall of the People and will last until Saturday, October 22. 2,379 invited delegates will attend to elect the new Central Committee and the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection. This congress would give President Xi Jinping a free pass to re-elect himself for the second time as general secretary of the party.
DAVID ALEJANDRO LOPEZ BERMUDEZ
Special envoy of EL TIEMPO
Beijing (China)
In networks: @lopez03david
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