The Paper: The seventh China International Import Expo (CIIE) kicked off in Shanghai yesterday. We noted Chilean cherries cultivated in high-altitude areas of the snow-capped Andes Mountains made their global debut in the CIIE exhibition hall. Besides, many star products from Latin America, including Peruvian blueberries cultivated in the country’s desert areas, have become popular in Chinese supermarkets. What’s your comment?

Mao Ning: Companies from Latin America and the Caribbean who every year travel from the other side of the world with their specialty products to the CIIE are participants, witnesses and more importantly beneficiaries of the event. Thanks to platforms such as the CIIE, Latin American products that you just mentioned as well as Honduran whiteleg shrimp and coffee and Nicaraguan honey and seafood have become more popular in China. The Chilean Fruit Exporters Association reached cooperation agreements with multiple Chinese e-commerce platforms, and the Xiamen-São Paulo cross-border e-commerce air express route was launched to bring more Latin American products to Chinese customers.

The Chinese market is shared by the world. The high-quality Belt and Road cooperation between China and Latin America will further facilitate exchanges that span a hemisphere, and Latin American and the Caribbean countries will find new opportunities and achieve new development in the Chinese market.

Reuters: Yesterday, two Chinese were shot in Pakistan. Does the Foreign Ministry see this attack as an escalation of attacks against Chinese citizens in Pakistan? Will China ask Pakistan to take new security measures and advise its citizens not to travel to Pakistan?

Mao Ning: On the morning of November 5, two Chinese citizens were injured in a shooting in Karachi, Pakistan and were taken to hospital for treatment.

After learning about the incident, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs immediately activated the consular emergency response mechanism and provided instructions to the Chinese Consulate General in Karachi for emergency response. The Consulate General sent officials to visit the injured in hospital at once. We urge Pakistan to do everything it can to save and treat the injured, swiftly investigate the case, hunt down the perpetrator, and take concrete actions to protect the safety of Chinese citizens in Pakistan.

China will maintain close communication with Pakistan on the treatment of the injured, investigation of the case and protection of the safety of Chinese citizens in Pakistan.

Financial Times: President Donald Trump is gaining ground in the US election. He said he would sharply increase tariffs on China. How is China preparing for this possibility of higher tariffs? Could it be more fiscal stimulus if this happens?

Mao Ning: The presidential election of the United States is its internal affair. We respect the choice of the American people. 

As for what you asked about, we do not answer hypothetical questions.

Reuters: Today the Ministry of State Security of China said that Zhang, a former government employee, was sentenced to death for leaking much classified information to an overseas spy agency. Which country’s spy agency is it? Is this the first death penalty China issued after the newly revised Counterespionage Law came into force?

Mao Ning: I’m not familiar with what you mentioned. I’d refer you to competent authorities.

NHK: How will the result of the US presidential election affect China’s foreign policy or China-US relations?

Mao Ning: China’s policy on the US is consistent. We will continue to view and handle our bilateral relations under the principles of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation.

ABC Spanish Daily Newspaper: At this point, President Trump’s victory seems almost certain. If that ends up being the case, will the Chinese side congratulate him?

Mao Ning: We will handle relevant matter following customary practice.

Shenzhen TV: We’ve learned that the International Mangrove Center was officially set up in Shenzhen. Can you share more details?

Mao Ning: The signing ceremony for the Establishment Agreement of the International Mangrove Center was held in Zhenzhen this morning. Representatives from 18 member states, the first batch of member states, officially signed the agreement and unveiled the plaque for the center.

In November 2022, at the opening ceremony of the 14th Meeting of the Conference of the Contracting Parties to the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, President Xi Jinping proposed to set up an international mangrove center in Shenzhen, which received extensive recognition and strong support from the international community. The International Mangrove Center will serve as an important platform and window for joint exploration of mangrove protection and reasonable utilization, and joint effort to advance exchanges and international cooperation on mangroves. It will help set up and improve the international cooperation mechanism on mangroves and coastal blue carbon ecosystems that is open, inclusive, built by all, shared by all and win-win. It will advance the global mangrove protection cause and contribute to the implementation of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the building of our home planet where man lives in harmony with nature.

China will make full use of the platform provided by the International Mangrove Center to deepen exchanges and cooperation with all parties, advance global joint action to protect mangroves, and improve the quality and stability of mangrove ecosystems for the benefit of people across the world.

AFP: Joint naval exercises held frequently by the Philippines, the US and other Western powers are helping rein in “aggressive” Chinese actions in the South China Sea, a Filipino military official said today. What’s your comment?

Mao Ning: China has sovereignty over Nanhai Zhudao and its adjacent waters. We safeguard our sovereign rights in accordance with domestic and international law. We always believe that defense and security cooperation between countries should contribute to regional peace and stability rather than target any third party, still less harm the interests of any third party. Flexing muscles and inciting confrontation in the South China Sea will only escalate the tensions and destabilize the region.

AFP: It’s reported that dozens of senior executives of AstraZeneca China have potentially been implicated in an insurance fraud case. Could you share more details? 

Mao Ning: I’m not aware of what you mentioned.