The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Lu Kang

  • China calls on U.S., North Korea to ease tensions, meet halfway

    China on Wednesday asked the U.S. and North Korea to cherish recent efforts to ease tensions on the Korean Peninsula and meet each other halfway, hours after North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un threatened to cancel a highly anticipated summit with U.S. President Donald Trump.

    “When the peace settlement process on the peninsula is facing an important opportunity, all parties concerned, especially North Korea and the U.S., should meet each other halfway and show kindness.

    “They should show sincerity to each other, and together create favourable conditions and atmosphere for the leaders’ meeting,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman, Lu Kang, said on Wednesday.

    His statement came hours after Jong-Un threatened to cancel his summit with Trump, scheduled for June 12, if the U.S. insisted that North Korea completely abandon its nuclear weapons.

    Read Also: Nigeria, China in $2.5b currency swap deal

    China also hopes the DPRK and the ROK will follow the spirit of the Panmunjom Declaration, understand and respect each other’s reasonable concerns to build trust and improve ties, Lu said.

    Lu called on the parties concerned to avoid taking steps that would escalate the situation.

    He also called for creating favorable conditions for dialogue and consultations.

    NAN

  • China says it respects Mugabe’s decision to resign

    China says it respects Mugabe’s decision to resign

    China said on Wednesday that it respects Robert Mugabe’s decision to resign as Zimbabwe’s president, a week after the African country’s army and Mugabe’s former political allies moved to end his four decades of rule.

    Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang made the remark during a news conference, adding that China’s policy toward Zimbabwe would not change.

    The 93-year-old Mugabe finally resigned on Tuesday, moments after parliament began an impeachment process, prompting dancing in the streets of the capital, Harare.

    China has close ties with Zimbabwe and traditionally also with Mugabe himself, who is reviled in the West as a despot whose disastrous handling of the economy and willingness to resort to violence to maintain power destroyed one of Africa’s most promising states.

    Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang told a news conference that China was happy to see Zimbabwe peacefully and appropriately resolve the issue via talks, and that its policy toward the country would not change.

    Read: Mugabe resigns as President of Zimbabwe

    “China respects Mr Mugabe’s decision to resign. He remains a good friend of the Chinese people,” Lu said, adding that Mugabe had made “historic contribution to Zimbabwe’s independence and liberation”.

    Zimbabwe’s army seized power after Mugabe sacked his former vice president, Emmerson Mnangagwa, who was a favorite to succeed him.

    Mugabe’s move was an apparent bid to smooth a path to the presidency for his wife Grace, 52, known to her critics as “Gucci Grace” for her reputed fondness for luxury shopping.

    Mnangagwa is expected to be sworn in within days and serve the remainder of Mugabe’s term until the next election, which must be held by September 2018.

    Asked about a U.S. call for free elections in Zimbabwe, Lu said China believed it could handle its own affairs and China hoped other countries would not interfere.

    China and Zimbabwe have a close diplomatic and economic relationship, and China had stood with Mugabe’s government in the face of Western economic sanctions, investing in auto, diamond, tobacco and power-station projects.

    In August, Zimbabwe said a Chinese company planned to invest up to two billion dollars to revive operations at Zimbabwe Iron and Steel Company, which ceased production in 2008 at the height of an economic meltdown.
    That year, China vetoed a proposed Western-backed UN resolution that would have imposed an arms embargo on Zimbabwe and financial and travel restrictions on Mugabe and 13 other officials, saying it would “complicate”, rather than ease, conflict.

    Read Also: China launches commercial remote sensing satellites

  • China asks U.S. to cancel weapons deal with Taiwan

    China asks U.S. to cancel weapons deal with Taiwan

    China on Friday strongly opposed a plan to sell weapons worth 1.4 billion dollars to Taiwan, and has asked the U.S. to cancel the deal.

    A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson,, said the sale of military equipment, which the U.S. State Department approved Thursday, threatens U.S.-China diplomatic relations.

    “The U.S. should revoke the weapons deal plan in order to avoid damaging China-US relations and cooperation in important fields,” Lu said.

    China has filed “solemn representations” with the U.S. on the matter and “stresses that no one can shake the Chinese government’s determination to safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity,” he added.

    Beijing regards Taiwan as part of China’s territory and prohibits countries with which it has diplomatic relations from pursuing official ties with Taiwan.

    A U.S. government official said the arms sales to Taiwan reflect no change in the long-standing One China policy, which recognises the People’s Republic of China.

    He said that the sales comply with the Taiwan Relations Act and are based on an assessment of Taiwan’s defence needs.

    The equipment includes technical support for early warning radar surveillance, missiles and torpedoes.

    The official said the sales represent upgrades, including equipment needed to convert current defensive systems from analogue to digital.

    “There is continuity here, the United States has been doing defence sales with Taiwan for 50 years or so, so nothing has changed,” said State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert.

    Taiwan government spokesman Sidney Lin said the sale increases the country’s self-defence abilities and “confidence and ability to maintain the status quo of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.”

    Lai I-chung, a senior political analyst of Taiwan Thinktank, said the approval of the arms sale showed that relations between Taiwan and the U.S. remained steady, according to the Central News Agency.

    Under the 1979 Taiwan Relations Act, the U.S. assures “Taiwan’s ability to maintain a sufficient self-defence capability.”

    The last U.S. arms sales to Taiwan, worth 1.83 billion US dollars, was authorised by the Obama administration in December 2015.

  • China seek peaceful resolution of conflict

    Beijing’s Foreign Ministry has revealed that it is seeking to have a peaceful resolution of the conflict is has with the United States so that the restriction policy of export to china and many potential exports to china are not hindered.

    Describing the China-US trade relations as complimentary business ties with intertwined interest, Director General of China’s Information Department of Foreign Affairs, Lu Kang, noted during a news conference at the International Press Centre, that both country’s cooperation in trade and commerce has a great potential.

    The Information Minister added that China hopes that the US can adjust its outdated restriction policy of export to china so that they can create conditions to address its deficit with China.

    “We hope to work with US to implement the consensus of the two leaders to expand our practical cooperation and handle our trade frictions on basis of mutual respect and cooperation and we will we will preserve the general China-US relations for steady development.”

    On the indulgence of the visit to the disputed eastern section of Chinese boundary, it maintained a clear position that such action will cause a negative barrier on peace and stability due to its high tension and sensitivity of the issue

    He said: “Both parties should remain constraint and be expectant, rather than be provocative and add fume to the flame.

    “Our contact and communication with the major parties of the issue is to avoid wars and conflict. If once started, the consequences will be beyond control.

    Quoting former US vice president Joe Biden, he continued: “Conflict is worse when it is intended than when unintended.  Let us be careful not to play our things to pursue our ulterior political agenda.

    “The situation is highly sensitive and the tension is very high so both parties should de-escalate tension to stop conflict and to avoid conflict is to be constructive in this regard.”

    Kang announced the standardisation of names as the country is carrying out a census of the names of localities and to include such names in ethic languages

     

  • South Korea rejects return of 13 defectors to DPRK

    Seoul’s Unification Ministry on Wednesday said South Korea rejected the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK)’s demand to return its 13 nationals, said to have defected to South Korea, back home.

     

    The ministry said in a statement that the group defection of DPRK nationals to South Korea was made in a sheer accordance with their free will.

     

    It, however, urged Pyongyang to stop unreasonable insistence and threats of provocations.

     

    It called for the DPRK to give up its nuclear and missile programmes that provided no benefit for DPRK people.

     

    The DPRK demanded that South Korea return 13 DPRK nationals who Seoul claimed were defectors to the South, saying that Seoul’s spy agency lured and abducted the 13 individuals who worked at a state-run restaurant in China.

     

    Seoul’s unification ministry said on Friday that the group defected to South Korea, marking the first time that a group of DPRK citizens working at the same overseas restaurant fled to South Korea.

     

    Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman, Lu Kang, confirmed on Monday that 13 DPRK nationals entered and left China legally with valid passports last week.

     

    He made the remarks at a briefing when asked to comment on a report.

  • China ready for Buhari’s visit

    China ready for Buhari’s visit

    President Muhammadu Buhari will pay a state visit to China between Monday to Friday next week at the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang announced on Wednesday.

    “China and Nigeria enjoy a traditional friendship. This year marks the 45th anniversary of China-Nigeria diplomatic ties,” Lu said at a daily press briefing.

    During the visit, President Xi Jinping will hold talks with Buhari, and Premier Li Keqiang and top legislator Zhang Dejiang will have separate meetings with him, exchanging views on bilateral relations and issues of common concern, Lu said.

    The two sides will sign cooperation agreements and jointly hold a forum on production capacity cooperation as well as a reception marking the 45th anniversary of diplomatic ties, said Lu.

    Calling Nigeria “a major strategic partner of China in Africa,” Lu said the two countries have maintained frequent high-level visits, cooperated for strong results and maintained positive communication and coordination in international affairs over the past 45 years.

    “We believe President Buhari’s visit will give new impetus to the all-round development of the China-Nigeria strategic partnership of cooperation,” Lu said.

    Buhari will also visit Shanghai, an economic hub in east China, and Guangzhou, capital of south China’s Guangdong Province.