Foreign news
Chinese foreign minister resolutely rebukes G7 statement over Taiwan region
Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Thursday slammed the so-called statement of the G7 foreign ministers and the EU high representative over China’s Taiwan region following U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to the island, saying it “calls white black.”
Wang made the remarks as he attended the China-ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
The joint statement issued on Wednesday, claimed China’s “escalatory response” to Pelosi’s visit risks increasing tensions across the Taiwan Strait while calling on China not to “unilaterally change the status quo by force” in the region.
The Chinese foreign minister refuted the G7’s groundless accusations against China’s reasonable and legitimate initiatives to safeguard its sovereignty and territorial integrity.
“The statement of the G7 foreign ministers calls white black, confuses right and wrong, and makes groundless accusations against China’s reasonable and lawful measures to safeguard sovereignty and territorial integrity. How do they have such rights? Who gives them that right?” said Wang.
He pointed out it is the U.S. who stirs up trouble, provokes crisis and continues to escalate tensions, adding U.S. blatant provocation has set a bad precedent.
“If there is no correction and no countermeasures, will the principle of non-interference in internal affairs still exist? Should international law be upheld? How should regional peace be guaranteed?” Wang asked.
He also called on the international community to oppose any moves challenging the one-China principle, and unite to safeguard peace and stability in the region.
Speaking at a regular press conference on Thursday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying also lashed out at the G7 countries over its so-called statement, saying the hypocrisy and ugliness of the G7 have been fully exposed as they have turned a blind eye to Pelosi’s Taiwan visit before it happened, but have now jumped up to accuse China when it is taking actions of justice.
Hua reiterated that China has the right to safeguard its sovereignty and territorial integrity, saying U.S. acts seriously undermined the one-China principle as well as China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
“The fundamental cause of the current tension across the Taiwan Strait is that the U.S., who in disregard of China’s strong opposition and solemn representations, connived at the visit of the No. 3 official of the U.S. government to China’s Taiwan region aboard a U.S. military aircraft,” she stressed.
Responding to the claim in the G7 statement that “it is normal and routine for legislators from their countries to travel internationally,” Hua said that China always firmly opposes any form of official exchanges between the region of Taiwan and countries who have diplomatic relations with China, and the one-China principle is an important political foundation for the seven countries to establish diplomatic ties with China.
The heads of the legislatures of the seven countries are supposed to follow the foreign policies that the governments acknowledge and commit to, she noted.
Foreign news
China’s first-quarter economy grows by 4.5% as recovery accelerates
China’s gross domestic product (GDP) expanded 4.5 percent year on year in the first quarter of 2023 as economic activities gain traction, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed on Tuesday.
“We are seeing an accelerating recovery in all sectors with stronger momentum, including the improving domestic demand,” said Pang Ming, chief economist and director of Research at JLL Greater China.
The growth rate was higher than analysts’ expectation of 4 percent in a Reuters poll.
The market expectation has significantly improved since the start of the year, said Fu Linghui, spokesperson of the NBS. He added that the economy’s growth rate in the second quarter is expected to accelerate significantly compared to the first quarter because of the low comparison base in the same period last year.
Going forward, Pang cautioned that policy support and targeted easing are still needed to secure sustainable growth amid external uncertainties.
China’s macroeconomic policies should keep domestic demand expansion as a priority in light of generally weak external demand, said Cheng Shi, chief economist at ICBC International.
In the first quarter, the total retail sales of consumer goods rose 5.8 percent year on year. Notably in March, consumer spending surged 10.6 percent year on year, 7.1 percentage points higher than that in the first two months.
There is divergence in the recovery pace among different consumption types, said Wen Bin, chief analyst at China Minsheng Bank. Offline and get-together spending continued to pick up, while the durable goods consumption was lacking, reflecting people’s income and willingness to shop require a further boost, he added.
A recent central bank survey of depositors showed that “tourism” tops the list of the expected increase in expenditure in the second quarter.
The investment in fixed assets grew by 5.1 percent year on year in the first quarter while the total added value of large industrial enterprises grew by 3.0 percent in the same period.
China has set a GDP growth target of around 5 percent for this year. Local governments around the country are gearing up support for the economy including optimizing the business environment, stabilizing employment and promoting consumption.
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