Upon invitation, President Xi Jinping will attend the opening ceremony of the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2015 and deliver a keynote speech.
Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan, Austrian President Heinz Fischer, Indonesian President Joko Widodo, Nepalese President Ram Baran Yadav, Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, Zambian President Edgar Lungu, Governor General of Australia Peter Cosgrove, Kazakhstan's Prime Minister Karim Massimov, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, Qatari Prime Minister Abdullah Bin Nasser Bin Khalifa Al-Thani, Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Löfven, First Deputy Prime Minister of Russia Igor Shuvalov, Thai Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Tanasak Patimapragorn and other foreign leaders will attend the annual conference upon invitation.
At the invitation of President Xi Jinping, Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan, Austrian President Heinz Fischer, Indonesian President Joko Widodo, Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, Zambian President Edgar Lungu and Governor General of Australia Peter Cosgrove will pay state visits to China before or after attending the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2015.
At the invitation of Premier Li Keqiang of the State Council, Kazakhstan's Prime Minister Karim Massimov will pay a working visit to China before attending the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2015.
The Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2015 will be held in Boao, Hainan Province from March 26 to 29 under the theme of Asia's New Future: Towards a Community of Common Destiny. Over 70 official events in macro-economy, regional collaboration, industrial transformation, technical innovation, political security, people's livelihood and other fields are on the agenda. As the host country, the Chinese side hopes that the annual conference will build up solidarity and cooperation among Asian countries and promote economic integration in the region. We also hope that the conference will steam up the building of the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road and increase communication and cooperation between Asia and the rest of the world.
Q: The Bardo Museum, located in central Tunis, the capital of Tunisia was attacked on March 18. What is China's comment on that?
A: The Chinese side is firmly against all forms of terrorism and condemns attacks against innocent civilians. We extend condolences to the victims and sympathy to the Tunisian government, the bereaved families and the injured.
The Chinese side believes that the international community should step up cooperation in accordance with the purposes and principles of the UN Charter as well as other widely-recognized norms governing international relations, and act in unison to tackle the threat of terrorism.
Q: The US has arrested the ex-wife of Qiao Jianjun, a fugitive Chinese official, but Qiao remains at large. Has China officially asked the US to deport relevant people back to China for trial?
A: As we all can see, China and the US are stepping up cooperation on combating corruption, tracking down fugitives and recovering their criminal assets. This fully shows that there is no safe haven for the corrupt, and those who have run away will eventually be brought to justice.
Q: Former Singaporean leader Lee Kuan Yew is now in a critical condition. What contribution do you think he has made to China's reform and opening-up?
A: We are concerned about Mr. Lee Kuan Yew's health condition. Mr. Lee Kuan Yew is the builder and founder of China-Singapore relations who has long been committed to enhancing mutually beneficial cooperation between the two countries and made significant contribution to bilateral relations.
Q: The result of the parliamentary election in Israel showed on March 17 that incumbent Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was re-elected. What is China's comment on the result? What kind of influence will the election have on the peace talks between Palestine and Israel?
A: The Chinese side congratulates Israel on its parliamentary election which has gone smoothly. The Chinese side is ready to work with the new Israeli government to advance the bilateral relationship.
To realize the independent statehood of Palestine and peaceful co-existence of Palestine and Israel through peace talks is the only way leading to the settlement of the Palestine-Israel issue. The Chinese side urges Israel and Palestine to keep peace in mind, work toward the shared goal, show good will to each other, restart as soon as possible and push forward the peace talks and seek a fair, reasonable and enduring solution to the Palestinian issue.
Q: Media reports say that China and Russia plan to sign in May an agreement about the western "Altai" route of the natural gas pipeline. The Spokesperson of the Russian President and the Energy Minister did not rule out this possibility. What is China's comment on this? Are you looking forward to sealing the relevant agreement during President Xi Jinping's visit to Russia?
A: Projects of natural gas cooperation is a crucial part of pragmatic cooperation between China and Russia. We are willing to press ahead with bilateral energy cooperation together with the Russian side and bring benefits to the two peoples. We are looking forward to positive progress of negotiation on relevant project.
Q: Some UK officials say that China's "Fox Hunt" campaign has extended to Britain. Has China provided the UK with a list of corrupt Chinese officials who have fled to the UK? On what level are China and the UK cooperating on this?
A: We are now reinforcing domestic efforts to crack down on corruption, and at the same time cooperating with relevant countries to go after overseas corrupt officials, retrieve their illicit gains, punish the corrupt and leave them no place to hide. We are willing to push for relevant anti-corruption work with countries concerned.
Q: US Deputy Trade Representative Robert Holleyman said yesterday that China's new bank cybersecurity rules have upset foreign companies. The US, Japan and the EU are communicating with and expressing their concerns to China on this issue. What discussions have been made between China and the US, Japan and the EU? Will China make concessions on this issue?
A: China's Internet is developing rapidly with a total of nearly 700 million netizens. China's Internet is open, and so is the Internet market. While developing itself, the Internet also needs regulation. Lots of countries have their own laws and regulations on the security and management of the Internet, China is no exception, and hence domestic laws and regulations should be followed in the development of the Internet. We are willing to carry out international dialogues on the openness, security and cooperation of the Internet.
Q: The China-Japan security dialogue was held in Tokyo today. What results does China expect from this? China and Japan resume the security dialogue which has been suspended for years, and how do you comment on this?
A: The China-Japan security dialogue and the regular diplomatic consultation mechanism are important channels of communication between diplomatic and national defense agencies of the two countries. Through this dialogue and consultation, we hope to exchange views with the Japanese side on bilateral relations, respective national defense and security policies as well as regional and international issues of common interest. Since the security dialogue just concluded, we haven't got further details about the dialogue at this moment and we will release them in due course.
Q: Media reports say that China and Turkey finally reached an agreement on China's exporting of missile defense system to Turkey. Can you confirm this?
A: I am not aware of this.
Q: According to media reports, the Sri Lankan government may have agreed to resume the Colombo port city project. Can you update us on this?
A: It is understood that the Sri Lankan government decides to approve the restart of the construction of the Colombo port city breakwater. We believe that the Sri Lankan side, while safeguarding the fundamental interests of its own development and keeping Chinese companies interested in cooperating with Sri Lanka, can properly deal with relevant issue, protect the rights and interests of Chinese companies and create favorable conditions to advance the mutually beneficial cooperation between China and Sri Lanka.
