China on Tuesday accused the heads of diplomacy of the G7 countries, which meet in Japan, of slander and defamation, after a statement critical of Beijing’s policies.
“The G7 foreign ministers’ meeting ignored China’s position and objective facts,” Wang Wenbin, a spokesman for Chinese diplomacy, told a press conference.
The ministers of the G7 member countries “interfered in China’s internal affairs, slandered and slandered China,” Wang charged, expressing Beijing’s “strong discontent.”
Wang Wenbin was consulted on the final declaration of the heads of diplomacy of the group of seven developed countries (France, Japan, the United States, Canada, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom). The text mentions concerns about Beijing’s policy towards Taiwan, the South China Sea, Xinjiang and Tibet.
The G7 warned Beijing about its territorial claims in the South China Sea, saying they have “no legal basis”. The heads of G7 diplomacy also expressed their opposition to Beijing’s “militarization activities” in those waters.
“Behind the lines, this statement is full of arrogance, prejudice and malicious intent to oppose China and curb ‘its development,'” Wang said.
The spokesman said China had lodged formal protests with Japan, the host of the G7 meeting.
The G7 also deemed it “essential” to maintain peace in the Taiwan Strait, where Beijing launched extensive military exercises, following a meeting between Taiwanese leader Tsai Ing-wen and the Speaker of the US House of Representatives Congress, Kevin McCarthy, in early April.
At the end of World War II, Taiwan became part of the Republic of China under the Nationalist government of Chiang Kai-shek. After the defeat against the Communist Party, in the Chinese Civil War, in 1949, the Nationalist Government took refuge on the island, which maintains, to this day, the official name of the Republic of China, in opposition to the People’s Republic of China, the Chinese mainland. Beijing considers the island part of its territory and threatens reunification by force if Taipei formally declares its independence.
Beijing views Taiwan’s international contacts as initiatives toward the island’s formal independence.
“To truly maintain peace in the Taiwan Strait, we must clearly oppose and stop any initiative to achieve Taiwan independence,” Wang Wenbin said in response to the G7.
On the South China Sea, the spokesman said the current situation is “generally stable” and urged the G7 not to “sow discord among countries in the region” with their statements.
The document also reflects the G7’s “concerns” regarding the “continued and accelerated expansion of China’s nuclear arsenal”, calling for “stability for greater transparency” on atomic weapons.
Source: TSF
