Foreign news
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is really a “lie seller.”

John Okeke
The chief U.S. diplomat, with malicious intentions, has never ceased selling his lies, slandering that China’s economic activities and fanning the so-called China threat. His cliché about China even aroused the dissatisfaction of many foreigners: why the U.S. Secretary of State never talked about the U.S.
Pompeo’s nonsense on China did nothing but merely exposed his evil intentions to damage the win-win cooperation between China and the U.S., even at the loss of the Americans’ interests.
U.S. politicians’ labeling China with so-called predatory economic activities barely won support from the international society.
It’s obvious to all that it is in fact the U.S. that has often provoked trade disputes and imposed economic sanctions against other countries guided by a sense of supremacy.
China, on the other hand, has always adhered to openness, inclusiveness, and win-win cooperation, and sincerely welcomed global partners abroad the express train of China’s development, to create opportunities for common prosperity.
China’s reform and opening up have benefited many other economies around the world—foreign consumers have been granted excess to the high-quality goods from China, and multinational companies have also captured growth opportunities from the vibrant Chinese market, according to a report by McKinsey Global Institute.
Pathetically, Pompeo is caught in a twisted logic, driven by a desire for his own political interests.
“I ran a small business, and we had an operation in China ourselves. We outsourced our supply chains to places like Shenzhen,” Pompeo once introduced his economic engagement with China.
He went on to say that the world is “awakening” to the threat of China and “we must take off the golden blinders of economic ties and see that the China challenge isn’t just at the gates; it’s in every capital, it’s in every borough, it’s in every province.”
Obviously, Pompeo couldn’t wait to achieve his ridiculous political purpose, which is to dress the U.S. up as a victim and thus justify his bullying deeds in violation of international rules.
As the Chinese nation was once oppressed by big powers for a long time, it will never abandon the commitment to justice nor follow the track of seeking hegemony.
China’s opening drive is not a one-man show. Rather, it is an invitation open to all. It is a pursuit not to establish China’s own sphere of influence, but to support common development of all countries. It is meant to build not China’s own backyard garden, but a garden shared by all countries.
Since Chinese President Xi Jinping proposed the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) about seven years ago, around 200 intergovernmental cooperation agreements have been signed and more than 2,000 projects have been jointly carried out under the framework, generating jobs for tens of thousands of people.
No matter what they say, Pompeo and other U.S. politicians couldn’t just erase China’s contribution to the world economic growth.
Although the U.S. Secretary of State has distorted the truth and misrepresented the normal economic cooperation between China and European countries as China’s erosion of the economic sovereign of European countries, facts speak for themselves.
The port of Piraeus in Greece serves as a perfect example of China-Europe cooperation. The 12 years’ operation by Chinese enterprises has not only revitalized the port and made it the 32nd largest port in the world from the 93rd in terms of container throughput, but also created tens of thousands of jobs.
Greece has come to a deep understanding of the true meaning of “friends” through the Piraeus Port cooperation with China, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis noted.
A recent survey indicated that China is one of the top three investment destinations for over 60 percent of companies from the European Union (EU) in China, and the Chinese market is considered very important by most American companies in China, which is a slap in the face for the ridiculous accusations made by Pompeo against China.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) predicted a 4.9 percent decline in the global economy for 2020 and the World Trade Organization (WTO) pointed out that world trade is expected to fall by 13 percent to 32 percent this year.
To cope with the global crisis and safeguard world prosperity and development, countries need to take the road of solidarity and cooperation and pursue openness and exclusiveness.
G20 members have promised to take all measures possible to stimulate economy; participants of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, as well as New Zealand determine to sign the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) by the end of the year; and China and Europe aim to complete investment treaty negotiations within the year.
A consensus has been reached that the most urgent task for all countries is to work together to combat the coronavirus, and to revive the economy and restore development.
The openness and inclusiveness that China has adhered to suit the needs of all countries for securing long-term development and are believed to infuse confidence into the common development of all countries.
The zero-sum game that Pompeo is trying to play on the world stage won’t be supported and whoever attempts to obstruct opening-up and cooperation will surely be abandoned by the people and the times.
Foreign news
French Envoy Seeks Collaboration With NAN To Boost Seamless Relationship

The new French envoy to Nigeria, Marc Fonbaustier, on Wednesday called for collaboration with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) toward strengthening the mutually beneficial relationship between the two countries.
Fonbaustier, who is the French ambassador to Nigeria and the ECOWAS, made the call when he paid a courtesy visit to Malam Ali Muhammad Ali, NAN’s Managing Director, in Abuja.
The ambassador said that his purpose of visiting was to pay tribute to the MD, and to seek collaboration in three areas with a view to promoting stronger, seamless and fruitful partnership between both countries.
He added that Nigeria and its people were hospitable, especially to the foreigners and ambassadors alike.
He added that Nigeria was a country with so much energy, strength, stamina and so many talents.
In Nigeria, with the population of this size, it is inevitable that the elites of the country are very outstanding, “and there may be a Franco/Nigeria moments now”, he jokes.
According to him, France and Nigeria can collaborate more and learn from each other.
“I could feel it particularly during the state visit of President Bola Tinubu which took place in November 2024.
“I was there and I could see the intensity, the strength and the scope of the partnership, and I am here to scale up that partnership in all sectors.
“I am coming here for three reasons, first, to pay a tribute to the NAN MD and his team for the quality of this agency. We can testify that the contents that you publish are very factual, and also very well set up and structured.
“You do fact checking and you really do try to provide the community with quality information. I think, as a French ambassador, I can recognise that as part of a living democracy,” he said.
The French ambassador said the second reason for the visit was to intimate the NAN MD of France’s eagerness to go on partnership with NAN saying he hoped for assurance of a seamless, fluid and easy relationship.
He said that his third reason stemmed from his observation that NAN recently signed some partnership framework agreements with Egypt and China, saying “it may be time to think of balancing this partnership with others”.
“Especially with French, and to talk with Agence France-Presse (AFP) to see if there’s ground for a closer relationship between NAN and AFP.
“Which is also a recognised agency like yours, and I bet you the sky will be the limit to the collaboration, ’’he said.
Responding, the NAN MD informed the envoy that the agency was African’s biggest news content provider on account of its size.
Ali gave the envoy a little details of the agency’s operation and its outreach, saying “as our continent’s biggest news content provider, we have offices nationwide and in selected African countries.
“We have offices in countries such as South Africa, Cote d’ivoire, Addis Ababa, and then we have offices also beyond the shores of Africa. We have in New York and we are the only resident wire service in the United Nations.
“At a time in the past, the agency had 11 foreign offices, including Moscow, and presently, we are trying to re-open some of our shut offices, especially in London.
“We value partnership and understanding that we have with similar news organisation such as Reuters and, incidentally, we have a long standing relationship with AFP which you just raised.
“I know for years we have exchange of news between NAN and AFP but it’s a cooperation that we will like to strengthen and with your greater involvement,’’ he said.
The MD commended the ambassador for reaching out and engaging with some Nigerians communities to douse the tension of the allegation made by the Nigeriens.
He also lauded the envoy’s leadership and visibility to Nigeria and the ECOWAS, “which has helped to douse the perception and misconceptions about France, especially in the Sahel”.
“I think you have helped to reverse some of this perceptions. I thank you for the kind words that you said about the agency and about our management.
“We also see partnership as an important tool in checking the spread of fake news.
“We’ve seen instances where fake news has done great deal of damage, and with the coming of social media it has done even greater damage.
“Our country is facing a lot of challenges, one of which is the increasing insecurity, and the social media has been used by those who do not want to see our country to prosper,” Ali said.
He further said that NAN was a credible news agency that always fact check to correct the wrong narratives by those who are in the business of causing troubles.
He also told the envoy that the agency has its content in the Nigerian indigenous languages, starting with Hausa and it would proceed to Yoruba and Igbo languages later, “then later in future to French.
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