At the invitation of Member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi, Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of Croatia Gordan Grlić Radman will visit China from July 20 to 22.

Xinhua News Agency: To follow up on Croatia’s Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Gordan Grlić Radman’s visit to China, how does China view its current relations with Croatia and what does China expect to achieve through this visit?

Lin Jian: China welcomes Gordan Grlić Radman, Croatia’s Minister of Foreign and European Affairs, to visit China. The two countries have enjoyed traditional friendship. The China-Croatia comprehensive cooperative partnership has maintained steady growth, and Belt and Road cooperation and cooperation between China and Central and Eastern European countries have borne positive results. China attaches great importance to its relations with Croatia. Through this visit, we stand ready to work with Croatia to further align our development strategies, unlock potential for practical cooperation, have closer people-to-people and cultural exchange and dialogue, and open up a new chapter for our comprehensive cooperative partnership.

NHK: This morning, the Beijing No. 2 Intermediate People’s Court sentenced a male employee of a Japanese pharmaceutical company to three years and six months in prison for espionage. The Japanese government called the sentencing “regrettable” and called for the release of the man at the earliest. Japan also said the lack of transparency in judicial procedures impacts the improvement and steady development of bilateral ties and is an obstacle to improving people-to-people exchanges and public sentiment between Japan and China. What’s your comment? 

Lin Jian: China upholds the rule of law. Our judicial authorities handle the case in strict accordance with the law, protect the lawful rights of the person concerned, and provide facilitation for the Japanese side to perform consular duties in accordance with relevant international conventions and the Agreement on Consular Relations between China and Japan. Let me also point out that China supports trade and economic cooperation between China and Japan and provides a favorable environment for the lawful operation of Japanese companies and individuals in China. We welcome foreign companies to carry out economic and trade cooperation in China. Foreign individuals in China who abide by laws and conduct lawful operation have nothing to worry or be concerned about. 

RIA Novosti: Nominee for the role of United States envoy to the United Nations Mike Waltz said on Tuesday that China’s malicious behavior and growing influence in the organization will be “top of mind” for him if he is confirmed for the position. What’s your comment on this? 

Lin Jian: These remarks reflect the typical ideological bias and Cold-War and zero-sum mentality of some U.S. politicians. China firmly rejects this. We urge the U.S. to view China and this bilateral relationship objectively and rationally, and make concrete effort to promote the steady, sound and sustainable development of China-U.S. relations, instead of doing the opposite.

Reuters: Premier Li Qiang raised concerns with Australia’s foreign investment screening rules during a meeting attended by his counterpart Anthony Albanese and business leaders from both countries yesterday. What specific industries is China most concerned about?

Lin Jian: Regarding the event with the business community during Prime Minister Albanese’s visit here, the Chinese side has released a readout. We always believe that economic and trade cooperation serves as the ballast for the relations between China and Australia. China stands ready to work with Australia to provide a fair, open and non-discriminatory business environment for companies investing and operating in each other’s countries and continue to grow our economic and trade ties. 

China News Service: The Meeting of the Council of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Member States was held in Tianjin yesterday. Could you share more information on that?

Lin Jian: On July 15, the Meeting of the Council of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Member States was successfully held in Tianjin. Before the meeting, President Xi Jinping had a group meeting with foreign ministers and heads of permanent bodies of the SCO in Beijing. He stressed that in the face of a turbulent and changing international landscape, the SCO must stay focused, remain confident, act efficiently and play a more proactive role. It needs to remain true to its founding mission, respond to the people’s expectations and shoulder its mission of the times. It should also serve as the torchbearer of the Shanghai Spirit, be a doer in deepening cooperation and a steadfast contributor to building a community with a shared future for mankind, and inject greater stability and positive energy into the world. 

Foreign Minister Wang Yi chaired the meeting and made a five-point proposal for the future development of the SCO: first, staying true to SCO’s founding mission and carrying forward the “Shanghai Spirit”; second, sharing responsibility and laying a solid foundation for security; third, seeking mutual benefit and win-win results and creating engines for development; fourth, upholding amity and good neighborliness and building a beautiful homeland; fifth, staying the course and defending fairness and justice. When jointly meeting the press with SCO Secretary-General Nurlan Yermekbayev after the meeting, Foreign Minister Wang announced that the SCO summit will be held in Tianjin from August 31 to September 1. Participants spoke highly of China’s work as the rotating chair of the SCO, commended the important role of the SCO and expressed their readiness to cooperate and coordinate with China to make the SCO Tianjin summit a full success.

In-depth discussions at this meeting made full political preparations for the upcoming Tianjin summit. We believe that with the concerted effort of all parties, the Tianjin summit will be a gathering of solidarity, friendship and fruitful results, and the SCO will enter a new stage of high-quality development featuring greater solidarity, coordination, dynamism and productiveness.

Reuters: The South China Morning Post reports that China has removed restrictions on Reinhard Buetikofer, the former EU lawmaker it sanctioned in 2021. Is the Foreign Ministry able to confirm it?

Lin Jian: For publicly known reasons, the exchanges between Chinese and EU legislatures have encountered some setbacks over the past few years. Under the current circumstances, both sides recognize the importance of enhancing dialogue and cooperation. As agreed by the two sides, the Chinese side and the European Parliament decided to lift restrictions on two-way exchanges. We believe and hope that as China and the EU fully resume exchanges between the legislatures, there will be deeper exchanges and understanding, and this will provide new driving forces for the sustained, sound and steady growth of China-EU relations.

Antara: Indonesia and the United States have reached a trade agreement under which a 19 percent tariff will be imposed on Indonesian exports to the U.S., while U.S. exports to Indonesia will face no tariff barriers. This is the second such deal between the U.S. and an ASEAN country, following the agreement with Viet Nam. Would the Ministry like to comment on this?

Lin Jian: Our stance has always been that parties need to settle economic and trade disputes through equal-footed dialogue and consultation, and jointly foster a sound environment for international economic and trade cooperation.

RIA Novosti: Yesterday NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte expressed a hope that China, India and Brazil will exert pressure on Russia over possible secondary tariffs that may be imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump over their trade with Moscow. What’s China’s comment on his remarks?

Lin Jian: I’ve made clear China’s position on the relevant issue yesterday. Let me reiterate that China always believes that dialogue and negotiation is the only viable way out of the crisis. China firmly opposes any illicit unilateral sanctions and long-arm jurisdiction. Tariff wars have no winners. Coercion and pressuring will lead nowhere. We hope parties will help create the atmosphere and conditions for a political settlement of the Ukraine crisis, and act in ways conducive to promoting talks for peace.

China Daily: The third China International Supply Chain Expo (CISCE) kicked off today, which is the first time for the expo to be held in summer. Besides, China also hosted the Western China International Fair, the China-South Asia Expo and other events this summer, showcasing China’s active effort of pursuing high-standard opening up. Can you give us more details and your comment?

Lin Jian: This summer witnessed China’s booming effort of striving for high-standard opening up. As you said, the third China International Supply Chain Expo kicked off in Beijing today, featuring multiple highlights, more innovation and greener practices. A total of 651 domestic and foreign enterprises and institutions will participate in the expo, with foreign exhibitors making up 35 percent of the total, half of whom are from Europe and the United States. The expo will showcase the latest innovations and more than 100 items are expected to make their debut at the expo, up by 10 percent compared with the previous CISCE. The expo also set up an innovation chain exhibition area for the first time, enabling laboratories to turn their “golden ideas” into “golden keys” that can drive industrial advancement. The venue of this year’s CISCE will be completely powered by green electricity for the first time and expected to cut CO2 emissions by over 1,100 tonnes.

The CISCE is a major platform for companies from all countries to enhance resource sharing and technology interconnection, and also a new signature event of China’s high-standard opening up. Latest data show that China’s total import and export of goods for the first half of 2025 exceeded 21 trillion yuan, setting a record high for the same period in history. With unilateralism and protectionism on the rise, China’s booming trade has effectively offset the impact of global industrial and supply chains being disrupted and economies decoupling from each other. Looking forward, the trend of deeply integrated global industrial and supply chains and interdependence between companies around the world is unstoppable. China stands ready to continue working with all sides to keep global industrial and supply chains stable and unimpeded and build an open world economy.

Asharq News: The Middle East is facing uncertainty regarding the ceasefire between Iran and Israel. Is China considering playing any role to deescalate tensions or prevent the return to war, especially given that negotiations are yet to be resumed?

Lin Jian: You mentioned the situation in the Middle East. This was discussed at the Meeting of the Council of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the SCO Member States. The situation in the Middle East is still complex and sensitive. China stands ready to work with the rest of the international community to advocate peace, advance a political settlement, and restore peace and stability in the Middle East as soon as possible. This is in the common interest of countries in the region and the international community.