CCTV: China announced that the 2024 Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) will be held in Beijing from September 4 to 6, could you share with us the detailed program of the Summit?

Lin Jian: The upcoming summit will be the fourth time that the FOCAC meeting is held in the form of a summit. It will be an event to celebrate China-Africa friendship, explore cooperation and chart the course for the future under the theme of “Joining Hands to Advance Modernization and Build a High-Level China-Africa Community with a Shared Future.” The FOCAC Senior Officials Meeting and Ministerial Conference will be held on September 2 and 3 respectively in preparation for the Summit. From September 4 to 6, the forum will hold a series of activities including the opening ceremony, a welcoming banquet and gala performance, high-level meetings, Conference of Chinese and African Entrepreneurs, and bilateral meetings. This will be yet another friendly gathering of the big China-Africa family in Beijing after the 2018 FOCAC Summit.

Mutual respect, treating each other as equals and joint consultation are important features of FOCAC. The two sides are having intensive communication and consultation on the preparation of the Summit and other activities with the aim of carrying forward the spirit of China-Africa friendship and cooperation and making this Summit yet another symbol of China-Africa friendship and solidarity. With the joint effort of China and Africa, the 2024 FOCAC Summit will be a great success, open up new vistas for China-Africa relationship and write a new chapter of building a China-Africa community with a shared future. 

Reuters: The Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China said several international lawmakers attending their summit in Taipei had received phone calls and emails from Chinese officials and that it was an attempt to affect the summit. Do you have a comment on that matter?

Lin Jian: The so-called “alliance” you mentioned is hellbent on attacking China on various issues and spreading lies and rumors about China and has no credibility to speak of. There is only one China in the world, and Taiwan is an inalienable part of China’s territory. The Taiwan question is purely China’s internal affair that brooks no external interference. China firmly opposes official interaction of any form between the Taiwan authorities and countries that have diplomatic relations with China. We urge relevant lawmakers to abandon ideological bias, stop using the Taiwan question to interfere in China’s internal affairs, and act in the interest of bilateral ties, not otherwise.

AFP: My question follows on the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China. The Taiwanese leader Lai Ching-te has addressed that summit. And he said that “a threat from China to any country is a threat to the world.” And he also has urged global democracies to unite against what he calls “authoritarian expansion.” What’s China’s response to these remarks?

Lin Jian: There is only one China in the world, and Taiwan is an inalienable part of China’s territory. The Taiwan question is purely China’s internal affair that brooks no external interference. As I’ve just said, the so-called “alliance” you mentioned is hellbent on attacking China on various issues and spreading lies and rumors about China and has no credibility to speak of.

Let me stress once again that “Taiwan independence” is as incompatible with cross-Strait peace as fire with water. Separatism for “Taiwan independence” is the most serious challenge facing the international order, the most dangerous attempt to alter the status quo that both sides of the Taiwan Strait belong to one and the same China, and the biggest detriment to cross-Strait peace. The Lai Ching-te authorities’ attempts to seek “Taiwan independence” by force will prove to be futile. They are not making Taiwan any safer by squandering money on weapons, but are turning Taiwan into a cash machine for the countries selling the weapons. No matter how they try to beef up “national defense” and pedal the “democracy versus authoritarianism” narrative, they will not stop the trend towards China’s reunification. 

The one-China principle is a basic norm governing international relations and prevailing international consensus. It is where global opinion trends and the arc of history bends. The Lai Ching-te authorities’ attempt to seek independence, make provocations and resist reunification by force will lead nowhere.

Bloomberg: Just now you said that Lai Ching-te has used force to seek independence. I’m just wondering, can you give us one example of a time that he’s used force?

Lin Jian: Just now I mentioned how the Lai Ching-te authorities have been trying to seek “Taiwan independence” by force. They are not making Taiwan any safer by squandering money on weapons. No matter how they try to beef up so-called “national defense,” they will not stop the trend towards China’s reunification. 

Global Times: It’s reported that the Japan-US 2+2 meeting was held in Tokyo on July 28 and a joint statement was issued with concerns regarding China’s ongoing and rapid expansion of its nuclear weapons arsenal. In the meanwhile, the two sides convened the first ministerial meeting on extended deterrence, and demonstrated to the world the importance of the two sides sharing the US nuclear umbrella. US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin stressed that extended deterrence is at the core of the US-Japan Alliance. What’s China’s response?

Lin Jian: China noted the report and expresses grave concern over the statement and comments. China follows a policy of “no first use” of nuclear weapons and a nuclear strategy that focuses on self-defense. China always keeps its nuclear strength at the minimum level required by national security, and never engages in arms race with anyone. For any country, as long as they do not use or threaten to use nuclear weapons against China, they will not find China’s nuclear weapons to be a threat.

Extended deterrence is a Cold War relic. Strengthening US-Japan collaboration on nuclear deterrence will stimulate regional tensions, and heighten risks for nuclear proliferation and conflict. Japan has long characterized itself as a victim of nuclear explosion and an advocate of a nuclear-weapons-free world, but all the while, it has been sitting comfortably under the US’s nuclear umbrella, pursuing extended deterrence, and seeking “nuclear deterrence.” Japan owes the world an explanation for saying one thing and doing another.

China calls on the US and Japan to abandon the Cold War mentality, reduce the role of nuclear weapons in national and collective security policies, and take concrete actions to uphold strategic stability and regional peace and security. We call on Japan to take a hard look at its strategic security policy, earnestly fulfill its obligations as a non-nuclear-weapon state pursuant to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, abide by its Three Non-Nuclear Principles, and refrain from seeking nuclear weapons in any form.

AFP: The Venezuelan electoral council has announced that President Maduro has been reelected. China has already congratulated President Maduro on his reelection. But the US, the EU, the UK, Italy, Spain, Brazil, Peru, Chile, as well as the United Nations have all cast doubt on the accuracy of that election result. So I’d like to ask, does China believe that the Venezuelan election was free, fair and transparent? What is China’s comments on the violent protests going on at the moment in Venezuela?

Lin Jian: On Venezuela’s election, I made clear China’s position yesterday. The Venezuelan people’s choice should be respected. We believe the Venezuelan government and people are capable of handling their inte