Diplomats Of China

"Deng Xiaoping was the architect of China’s pragmatic foreign policy, but Qian Qichen was the diplomat who carried it out."

"You have your difficulties, and we have ours. You’re looking for a solution, and we’re also looking for one."

"Peace in the world and stability in the region are in the best interests of China. The only criterion we use in judging international affairs is to see whether they serve world peace, common development and the interests of the Chinese people and the world people as a whole. We advocate a new security concept. We should try to build up mutual trust through consultations and dialogue on an equal footing. We should seek common security. This is the only way to ensure peace and stability. We believe that to seek absolute security for oneself through stronger military alliance and intensified arms race is out of tune with the trend of the times. It won’t lead to an effective security at all. We stand for democracy in international relations. We believe that all countries are equal members of the international community, regardless of their size, strength and wealth. National affairs of a country should be decided by its people while international affairs should be handled by all countries together through consultations on an equal footing. We will take an active part in the process of economic globalization."

"Some in the US, in the name of freedom of press and speech, wantonly smear and attack China. This in itself is spreading disinformation and a travesty of real freedom and democracy."

"China is committed to building a community of health for all. We are the first to pledge to make vaccines a global public good and we are honoring our words with concrete actions."

"The US interest in the fate of the Uyghur people is not motivated by the protection of human rights, but rather geopolitics."

"The inherent mandate of the international human rights cause is to enable every human being, regardless of nationality, ethnicity and cultural background, to enjoy equal freedoms and rights as well as decent food, clothing, health, housing, employment and education. Committed to a people-centered human rights philosophy, China always strives for greater progress in this field. Our objective is to ensure national security, ethnic harmony, social stability, equity, justice, economic and ecological well-being and to deliver tangible benefits to all the Chinese people"

"Over the past few years, a certain country has been pursuing the erroneous policy of unilateralism and protectionism, clinging to the mindset of zero-sum game and hyping up differences of ideology and political system in an attempt to create cliques and divisions and pursue bloc politics. Against such a backdrop, China and Russia always stand side by side to support each other on issues concerning respective core interests, firmly reject hegemony and bullying and jointly uphold international equity and justice."

"The Chinese government has for numerous times proved to you with facts that the so-called genocide in Xinjiang is the biggest lie of the century. I hope you can listen to what we said. In recent years, more than 2,000 government officials, religious personnel and journalists, including resident foreign correspondents in China, from over 100 countries and organizations have visited Xinjiang. What they see is a peaceful and harmonious Xinjiang with steady development, where people of all ethnic groups enjoy freedom of religious belief in Xinjiang. This are the facts and truth about Xinjiang. I also need to tell you that some preventive deradicalization measures in Xinjiang are similar to the counterterrorism and deradicalization measures like “community correction” in France."

"“Double standard” can never be pinned on China because our position is aboveboard. China always believes that all countries’ sovereignty and territorial integrity should be respected, and the purposes and principles of the UN Charter should be jointly upheld. These are our longstanding principles and basic norms governing international relations that should be followed by all countries. At the same time, China believes that one country’s security cannot be at the expense of others’ security; still less should one country flagrantly undermine others’ sovereign security for his absolute security advantage. All countries’ legitimate security concerns should be respected."

"We urge the US side to stop hyping up the so-called China threat, stop seeing China as an imaginary enemy, stop smearing and suppressing China with fabricated pretexts, and stop disrupting and undermining normal China-US exchange and cooperation in all sectors, to root out the poisonous legacy of the former administration and do more to promote the steady development of China-US relations, and mutual trust and cooperation."

"If we look at the US, during its nearly 250 years of history, there were only 20 years when it was not conducting military operations overseas. The pretexts it used can be democracy or human rights or simply a test tube of laundry powder or even fake news. Such a country’s understanding of respect for state sovereignty and territorial integrity is definitely different from ours. The international community can see this very clearly."

"Cyberspace is a shared homeland for humanity and cybersecurity is a common challenge faced by all countries. We hope the US will take a responsible attitude and uphold peace and security in cyberspace through dialogue and cooperation with all parties."

"It is China’s consistent belief that in pursuing international development cooperation, the principle of mutual respect and equality should be upheld, the sovereignty of the country concerned and the will of its people should be fully respected, and there should be no interference in any country’s domestic affairs, no political strings attached, no coercive diplomacy, and certainly no infringement on other countries’ sovereignty and interests for selfish gains."

"China always upholds objectivity and fairness, stands for peace and justice, and decides its position based on the merits of the matter concerned. We believe that all countries should settle international disputes in a peaceful way in accordance with the purposes and principles of the UN Charter. Those who accuse China of violating the principle of respecting state sovereignty and territorial integrity on the Ukraine issue either harbor ulterior motives or are misguided by misrepresentation."

"On regional hotspot issues, China is always committed to promoting peace and negotiation and playing a constructive role in seeking a peaceful resolution of these issues."

"China is rock-firm in safeguarding its sovereignty and security. Reunification of the People's Republic of China is the inevitable trend. Any force that seeks to separate China needs to be clear-minded about this. The 1.4 billion Chinese people will not allow an inch of the territory to be taken away."

"The most important criteria on China's human rights situation is whether the Chinese people are satisfied, not the US politicians' comments. Since the People's Republic of China was founded over 70 years ago, the Chinese people, under the leadership of the CPC, have found a development path in line with the country's national realities and achieved remarkable progress. Its vast land of 9.6 million square kilometers is free from war, terror and displacement. The 1.4 billion Chinese people of all 56 ethnic groups live happily together."

"I must stress that Taiwan is China's territory and the Taiwan question is purely China's internal affair. China will never allow any country to interfere in the Taiwan question in any form. China must and will be reunified."

"We believe that the right to subsistence and development is the most basic of all human rights. In particular, amid the epidemic situation, the right to life is the most important of all human rights."

""Coercion" has become a high frequency word recently. But I wonder on what ground the US accuses China of economic coercion against its allies? The US is particularly well versed in coercion. A practitioner of such behavior, the US has offered the world typical examples of what coercion diplomacy is through its policy and actions in pursuit of strategic goals by means of military threat, political isolation, economic sanctions and technology blockade."

"The US claims that it cares about the human rights of Muslims, but it is the US that killed more Muslims than any other country in the world. Putting aside the long-standing systemic racial discrimination in the US, we know the US has waged wars and carried out military operations in the name of "counterterrorism" in 80-plus countries around the world. More than 800,000 people have died from direct war violence, most of whom were civilians, and tens of millions of people have been displaced."

"We resolutely oppose the Taiwan region to join any free trade initiative or sign any free trade agreement of official nature."

"Those who forget their ancestors, betray the motherland or split the country will never come to a good end and will surely be spurned by the people and judged by history."

"Businesses and financial sponsors associated with supporters of Taiwan independence will be penalized according to law."

"We urge the US to stick to the 'one China' principle and the three joint communiques."

"Should the separatist forces for 'Taiwan independence' provoke us, force our hands or even cross the red line, we will be compelled to take resolute measures."

"Only by resolutely cracking down on "Taiwan independence" secessionists and their related activities can the peaceful development of cross-Strait relations be secured."

"Running counter to the fundamental interests of the Chinese nation and Taiwan compatriots, Taiwan separatists’ attempts to seek ‘Taiwan independence’ are doomed to fail."

"We have the determination and capability to deter separatist activities seeking 'Taiwan independence,' defend China's sovereignty and territorial integrity, and safeguard common interests of compatriots on both sides of the Taiwan Strait."

"In Xinjiang there is no denying there is an increasing level of radicalization. At different stages of radicalization, you need to come up with strategies to de-radicalize the population in Xinjiang."

"10% of the 23 million Taiwanese are in fact of Japanese descent, and most separatists are among them. Once we get Taiwan back, we’ll have to ask everyone’s origins. Those who have a Japanese ancestor will have to pledge loyalty to reunification, otherwise we’ll help them leave."

"In Afghanistan, in Korea, in Iraq, wherever the Americans find themselves in a war – the Australians are on the Americans’ side, as if the Australians do no have any brain power left – as if you only have your muscles."

"Listen to me – the reunification of Taiwan will happen by peaceful means preferably, and by non-peaceful means if necessary. No country will be able to deprive China’s mission of national reunification."

"We can see for sure Trump, for his four years, has been very tough on China. But he has not served the fundamental interests of the American people."

"We need to guard against the danger of overplay of this campaign of common prosperity. I personally do not want to see a situation where, for example, the pursuit of common prosperity will hurt innovation, creativity and entrepreneurship, because that is exactly what China needs now as well as in the years to come."

"Long before Christopher Columbus, the celebrated Chinese navigator Zheng He travelled through the south and westward maritime routes in the Indian Ocean and established relations with more than thirty countries in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East."

"Columbus's fleet in 1492 - which consisted of three small ships manned by 120 sailors - was like a trio of mosquitoes compared to Zheng He's drove of dragons."

"I suddenly remember the distance that I must travel; I spring from bed and look out to see the time. The stars and planets are all grown dim in the sky; Long, long is the road; I cannot stay. I am going on service, away to the battle-ground, And I do not know when I shall come back. I hold your hand with only a deep sigh; Afterwards, tears—in the days when we are parted. With all your might enjoy the spring flowers, But do not forget the time of our love and pride. Know that if I live, I will come back again, And if I die, we will go on thinking of each other."

"[Su Wu] relates how he shed tears during this separation, and urges his wife to remember their first love. He vows to return to her if he survives his ordeal, but if he dies first, then he hopes she will remember him with love. The courtly tone of his message to his wife, and his expression of integrity are mirrored in Su Wu's political life. In captivity he was offered the chance of liberty if he renounced his country, but he refused to become a traitor, for which he was honoured on his return."

"Our common “enemy” should be the major challenges concerning the survival and development of both countries and mankind, such as climate change, energy security, food security, global development gap, pandemics, nuclear proliferation, cyberattacks, emerging technologies getting out of control, regional hotspots. The new “Cold War” should not be used to define the time we live in. Competition and confrontation should not be the keynote of China-US relations."

"History is our best guide. It faithfully records the past journey, and gives us inspiration for the future."

"As Chinese ambassador to the U.S., I warmly and sincerely welcome you and the American people to visit my country. With its long history and a vibrant future, and the perfect blend of art and science, China will not let you down."

"Climate change is a common challenge to mankind, and all countries need to work together to address it."

"The goal of China’s diplomacy today is to work towards world peace and promote global development. We value the role of science and technology in diplomacy."

"When China and the United States work together to address global issues as the ones I just mentioned, and jointly manage the uncertainties of emerging technologies, we can deliver greater benefits to our two peoples and better prepare humanity for an uncertain future. Limitations on that collaboration, including restrictions on Chinese scientists and students, are in the interest of neither side."

"Since the establishment of diplomatic ties more than forty years ago, China-U.S. relations have made historic progress, despite some twists and turns and the many differences in our social systems, histories, cultures, and approaches to development. We are ready to work with the United States to respect each other, peacefully coexist, and pursue cooperation."

"People on both sides of the Taiwan Straits are Chinese. China will not commit to giving up the un-peaceful means for reunification because this is a deterrent"

"The Taiwan issue is the biggest tinderbox between China and the United States. If, you know the Taiwanese authorities, emboldened by the United States, you know, keep going down the road for independence, it most likely will involve China and the United States, the two big countries, in the military conflict."

"Recently, some people in other countries, especially in the United States, are linking Taiwan to Ukraine and playing up the Taiwan question. What I want to point out is that they are totally different. The Taiwan question is China’s internal affairs. Taiwan is an inseparable part of China’s territory, while the Ukraine crisis is a problem and conflict between two sovereign states, Ukraine and Russia. So they are different in nature. There are no comparison to be drawn between them. On Taiwan, China’s position is very clear, and we are committed to achieving reunification of the country."