On March 14, Global Affairs Canada issued the Joint Statement of the G7 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting and the G7 Foreign Ministers’ Declaration on Maritime Security and Prosperity, which repeat the same old rhetoric, ignore facts and China’s solemn position, grossly interfere in China’s internal affairs, and blatantly smear China. The statements are filled with arrogance, prejudice and malicious intentions to suppress and attack China. China strongly deplores and opposes this and has lodged solemn representations with the Canadian side.

China firmly safeguards its territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests, and resolutely opposes the G7’s misdeeds of harming China’s sovereignty. Taiwan is an inalienable part of China’s territory. The Taiwan question is purely an internal affair of China, which brooks no external interference. The key to upholding peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait lies in abiding by the one-China principle, and firmly opposing the “Taiwan independence” separatism. The Taiwan region’s participation in the activities of international organizations must and can only be handled in line with the one-China principle. Currently, the situation in the East China Sea and the South China Sea is generally stable. The South China Sea is one of the safest and freest maritime passages in the world. I want to emphasize that the Asia-Pacific region is a promising land of peace and development, not a chessboard for geopolitical rivalries. The G7 should earnestly respect regional countries’ efforts for peace and stability, abandon the Cold War mentality, and stop creating bloc confrontation and fueling tensions in the region.

I want to reiterate that China is not a creator of or a party to the Ukraine crisis, and has never provided weapons to any party of the conflict. On the contrary, the G7 members are constantly pouring fuel on the fire, so it is in no position to scapegoat China. China follows a policy of “no first use” of nuclear weapons and a nuclear strategy that focuses on self-defense, and always keeps its nuclear capabilities at the minimum level required for national security, with no intention to engage in arms race with other countries. The G7 has no right to point fingers at other countries on the issue of nuclear arms control. China rejects the unreasonable accusations made by the G7. While the G7 has abandoned the basic principles of maintaining global strategic stability and undermined the international nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation regime, it chose to attack and discredit other countries’ nuclear policies. This will only intensify confrontation and create obstacles for the international nuclear disarmament process.

In addition, China has always adhered to the principle of non-interference in other countries’ internal affairs. China has never interfered in other countries’ internal affairs and has no interest in doing so. The label of “interference in other countries’ internal affairs” shall never be pinned on China. We firmly reject the G7’s groundless accusations of the so-called China’s overcapacity and market distortions. It is precisely the G7 members that have politicized and weaponized economic and trade issues, undermined the international economic order, disrupted the international market and damaged the stability of the international industrial and supply chains. The G7 should reflect on themselves.

China wants to stress to the G7 that a lie even if repeated thousands of times will not become a fact. The world will not be misled by the smearing against China. Suppressing and attacking China is not a “panacea” for resolving G7’s internal disagreements. We once again urge the G7 to abandon Cold War mentality and ideological biases, refrain from going against the overwhelming trend of the world and the times, stop the unwarranted and condescending remarks on and gross interference in other countries’ affairs, so as to avoid creating confrontation and division within the international community.