At the invitation of the government of the Republic of Senegal, President Xi Jinping’s Special Envoy and Director of China’s General Administration of Sport Gao Zhidan will attend the opening ceremony of the fourth Youth Olympic Games in Dakar, Senegal on October 31.

At the invitation of Premier of the State Council Li Qiang, Federal Chancellor Christian Stocker of Austria will pay an official visit to China from November 2 to 7.

CCTV: The Chinese side has announced that Sultan Haitham of Oman will pay a state visit to China. Could you share the program of the visit? How does China view the current state of bilateral relations? What are your expectations for the visit?

Guo Jiakun: This will be the first visit to China by Sultan Haitham since ascending to the throne and by an Omani head of state since diplomatic ties were established 48 years ago. As such, it is of great significance for advancing bilateral relations. During the visit, President Xi Jinping will hold talks with Sultan Haitham to have an in-depth exchange of view on China-Oman relations and issues of mutual interest. There will also be a meeting with Premier Li Qiang.

China and Oman enjoy a profound traditional friendship. In recent years, under the strategic guidance of President Xi and Sultan Haitham, our two countries have seen deepening political mutual trust, steady progress in mutually beneficial cooperation, increasingly close people-to-people and cultural exchanges, and good communication in international and regional issues. We hope to work together with the Omani side to take the upcoming visit as an opportunity to bring our strategic partnership to new heights.

China News Service: We notice that the Committee on Disarmament and International Security (First Committee) of the 81st session of the UN General Assembly approved resolutions on “Further practical measures for the prevention of an arms race in outer space” and “No first placement of weapons in outer space.” The vision of a community with a shared future for humanity was again included in the resolutions. Could you share more details?

Guo Jiakun: China advocates the peaceful use and safety of outer space, and promotes the building of a community with a shared future for humanity in the domain of outer space. Since 2017, China has, together with relevant countries, jointly submitted to the First Committee of the UN General Assembly each year the two resolutions on “Further practical measures for the prevention of an arms race in outer space” and “No first placement of weapons in outer space.” China firmly opposes the weaponization of and any arms race in outer space, and calls for negotiations on an international legal instrument to safeguard lasting peace and common security and build a community with a shared future for humanity in the domain of outer space. 

The First Committee of the 81st session of the UN General Assembly once again adopted the above resolutions by an overwhelming majority. This marks the tenth consecutive year that the vision of a community with a shared future for humanity has been incorporated into UNGA resolutions on outer space. It fully demonstrates that the vision conforms to the trend of the times and meets the common expectations of the international community, and has become an international public good of major significance in today’s world. The recently released China’s Position on Strengthening Outer Space Governance is consistent with this vision. China stands ready to work with the international community to jointly build a peaceful, secure, open and cooperative outer space, and to ensure that the outcomes of outer space exploration benefit all humanity.

AFP: The New York Times had an exclusive report yesterday about how a Chinese businesswoman, who was close to NVIDIA Chief Jensen Huang, was found to be giving intelligence to Beijing. This is according to intelligence from American spy agencies. Is China aware of this report, and do you have a comment on this?

Guo Jiakun: Relevant reports are unsubstantiated. They are nothing but smears against China. 

People’s Daily: China just announced the upcoming visit of Austrian Chancellor Christian Stocker. Could you please share more information about the program? How does China see the current China-Austria relations and what’s China’s expectation for the visit?

Guo Jiakun: This will be Chancellor Stocker’s first visit to China since taking office, and the first visit by an Austrian chancellor to China in seven years. Chancellor Stocker will first land in Shanghai, where he will attend the ninth China International Import Expo. During his stay in Beijing, President Xi Jinping will meet with Chancellor Stocker, and Premier Li Qiang and Chairman of the NPC Standing Committee Zhao Leji will hold talks and meet with him respectively.

Austria is a friendly strategic partner of China in Europe. This year marks the 55th anniversary of our diplomatic relations. At present, the two countries enjoy sound momentum of growth in bilateral ties, with close high-level interactions and ever-deepening exchanges and cooperation in various fields. As the two countries mark the 55th anniversary of diplomatic relations, China stands ready to work with Austria to deepen political mutual trust, strengthen mutually beneficial cooperation and carry forward our traditional friendship based on mutual respect and equality, so as to deliver more practical outcomes in bilateral ties and help stabilize and improve China-Europe economic and trade relations at an early date. 

CCTV: The G20 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting will be held in Atlanta, the U.S. South Africa, a founding member of the G20, was once again not invited. What’s your comment? 

Guo Jiakun: As a major platform for international economic cooperation, the G20 plays an important role in strengthening multilateralism, promoting world economic growth, and improving global governance. South Africa is an important member of the G20. China supports South Africa in continuing its participation in G20 activities.

AFP: The Swiss President Guy Parmelin will meet with President Xi Jinping today. Following the meeting, both countries will sign an optimized bilateral free trade agreement. Can China share the expectations you have for this upgraded agreement?

Guo Jiakun: We’ve shared information on President Parmelin’s visit to China. There will be timely updates on the visit. Please stay tuned.

Reuters: We had a story out of Washington that U.S. telecom regulator is voting next month to ban Chinese telecom companies from direct access to U.S. telephone numbers. And also the same U.S. regulator has decided to ban all Chinese labs from testing U.S. electronics like smartphones. Any comment regarding those matters?

Guo Jiakun: The U.S. is overstretching the concept of national security and abusing state power to go after Chinese businesses. China firmly opposes and deplores this. The U.S. move severely hinders normal economic and trade cooperation between Chinese and American businesses and is not in the interest of any party including US companies and consumers. China will do what is necessary to firmly defend its legitimate and lawful rights and interests.