CCTV News:On May 31, 2018, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hua Chunying held a regular press conference and answered questions from Chinese and foreign journalists.
Reporter:The White House claims that the US extreme pressure policy in military and economic aspects has successfully brought North Korea back to the nuclear abandonment negotiations. Does China agree with this view? The unstable situation in North Korea is not good for China. The United States will gain a strategic advantage and China will pay the price. Will China provide material assistance to North Korea to protect it from the impact of US sanctions?
Hua Chunying:First of all, I want to say that China’s consistent position is against any country imposing unilateral sanctions on other countries according to its own domestic laws, and we have never thought that sanctions can’t solve the problem. China has always adhered to the denuclearization of the peninsula, maintained peace and stability on the peninsula, and resolved the peninsula issue through dialogue and consultation.
For some time, with the joint efforts of all parties concerned, the settlement of the peninsula problem has finally taken an important step in the right direction. We fully affirm a series of positive actions taken by the DPRK this year, and welcome and support the US side’s willingness to resolve relevant issues through dialogue and consultation. The current situation of dialogue and relaxation on the peninsula is hard-won, and it is worth cherishing by all parties concerned. At present, the preparations for the meeting between the leaders of the DPRK and the United States are being actively promoted. I hope that the two sides can seize the opportunity to further demonstrate sincerity and benign interaction.
You mentioned the issue of China-DPRK relations. I want to say that the denuclearization and long-term stability of the peninsula are in the common interests of the people of all countries in the region and the common expectation of the international community. China has been fully and strictly implementing Security Council resolutions and shouldering its due international obligations. At the same time, as a traditional friendly neighbor of North Korea, China has always maintained normal exchanges with North Korea, including normal cooperation in the economic and trade fields, without violating its international obligations.