At the invitation of Member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi, Foreign Affairs Minister of Chile Francisco Pérez Mackenna will pay an official visit to China from August 18 to 22.

CCTV: China announced that King Abdullah II of Jordan will pay a state visit to China. Can you brief us on this visit? How does China view its relations with Jordan? What’s China’s expectation on this visit?

Lin Jian: This is King Abdullah II’s ninth visit to China after his enthronement. During the visit, President Xi Jinping will hold talks with him, exchanging their opinions on bilateral relations and international and regional issues of mutual interest. Premier Li Qiang and Chairman Zhao Leji of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress will meet with King Abdullah II respectively. King Abdullah II will also visit Shanghai and Shenzhen.

China and Jordan enjoy traditional friendship. In recent years, under the strategic guidance of President Xi Jinping and King Abdullah II, China-Jordan relations have grown steadily with fruitful cooperation in various fields and ever-deepening friendly exchanges. China will work with Jordan to take this opportunity to jointly enhance political mutual trust, expand mutually beneficial cooperation, promote people-to-people exchanges, and deepen collaboration on multilateral occasions, so as to take China-Jordan strategic partnership to a new height and make positive contributions to regional peace, stability and development. 

Bloomberg: President Donald Trump said that he told the Pentagon to “substantially reduce” joint military exercises between the United States and South Korea. He cited the cost of the drills and his “very good relationship” with the North Korean leader Kim Jong Un were behind his thinking. Can I ask, would China support renewed dialogue between the United States and the DPRK?

Lin Jian: We noticed relevant reports. A peaceful and stable Peninsula and a political settlement of the Korean Peninsula issue are in the interest of all parties. 

The Paper: It is reported that dozens of people have been killed after a magnitude 7.7 earthquake hit the adjacent waters of Flores, Indonesia on August 15. What’s China’s comment? Will China provide any assistance to Indonesia?

Lin Jian: China is following the disaster in Indonesia. We express deep condolences for the lives lost in the earthquake. Our hearts go out to the bereaved families and the injured. China stands ready to provide support and aid in light of Indonesia’s needs.

People’s Daily: To follow up on the announced visit by Chilean Foreign Minister Francisco Pérez Mackenna, how do you see the current China-Chile relations? What does China hope to achieve through the visit?

Lin Jian: Chile, an important country in Latin America and the Asia Pacific, is the first South American nation to establish diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic of China. Over the past half a century or so since then, China-Chile relations have been at the forefront of China’s relations with Latin American and Caribbean nations. In recent years, under the strategic guidance of the heads of state of the two countries, bilateral ties have kept growing, with strengthening political mutual trust, more frequent exchanges at all levels, and deepening cooperation across the board.

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the China-Chile comprehensive strategic partnership. We hope to take the upcoming visit as an opportunity to have in-depth exchanges of views with the Chilean side on bilateral relations and international and regional issues of mutual interest, renew our friendship, expand consensus and deepen cooperation, with a view to bringing China-Chile relations to a new height.

Reuters: Regarding U.S. President Trump ordering the Pentagon to substantially reduce its joint military exercises with South Korea. We wanted to know what’s China’s view of his comments. Does China view it as U.S. vying for influence in North Korea, and that being a threat or a challenge to Beijing’s strategic alliance with Pyongyang?

Lin Jian: I just shared China’s position. A peaceful and stable Peninsula and a political settlement of the Korean Peninsula issue are in the interest of all parties. 

Antara: Still related with the earthquake that struck East Nusa Tenggara in Indonesia, the earthquake was also felt in Bali and several other destinations popular among Chinese tourists. Are there any reports of Chinese tourists being affected by the earthquake? And will the ministry advise Chinese citizens avoid traveling to the earthquake-affected areas for the time being?

Lin Jian: To my knowledge, a few Chinese citizens were injured in the earthquake. The Chinese Consulate General in Denpasar has activated the emergency consular response mechanism to assist the injured.

Xinhua News Agency: It’s reported that Prime Minister of Japan Sanae Takaichi delivered a speech at the Memorial Ceremony for the War Dead held on August 15. What’s China’s comment?

Lin Jian: Sanae Takaichi in her speech avoided the words “remorse” and “lessons learned,” spoke ambiguously about Japan’s war crimes, and attempted to turn back the wheel of history. It once again reveals the motives of Takaichi’s administration to whitewash and reverse the verdict on the history of Japanese aggression. Various parties expressed sharp criticism and widespread opposition over her speech. On the day marking Japan’s unconditional surrender in the Second World War, Sanae Takaichi made a monetary offering to the Yasukuni war shrine. Certain cabinet members and political figures such as Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi visited the shrine. It made Asian neighbors and the international community even more alarmed by what’s Japan really up to. Those with insights in Japan pointed out that a country without sense of remorse can hardly gain trust and what the Defense Minister has done amounts to supporting the war of aggression.

This year marks the 81st anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War and the 80th anniversary of the beginning of the Tokyo Trials. Only by facing up to and learning lessons from the history, can one avoid repeating past mistakes. We once again urge those running the Japanese government to listen to the voice of its people and the international community, deeply reflect on its war crimes, make a clean break with militarism and stop going further down the wrong path.

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The following question was raised after the press conference: Some media in Pakistan have reported that more than 100 Chinese nationals were detained last week for running what they said were “illegal call centers” there. I wondered if you have any more information or any comment on these detentions.

The Chinese government has all along fought telecom fraud and related crimes severely, and asked Chinese nationals overseas to strictly abide by local laws and regulations, and refrain from engaging in any unlawful and criminal activities. In the meanwhile, China has taken active effort to carry out international cooperation against telecom fraud, and is on track to launch an international alliance against telecom and online fraud. We hope parties will work with China to jointly combat criminal activities.