Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Lin Jian’s Regular Press Conference on October 28, 2024
2024/10/28

At the invitation of Premier Li Qiang of the State Council, Robert Fico, Prime Minister of the Slovak Republic, will pay an official visit to China from October 31 to November 5.

People’s Daily: To follow up on Prime Minister of Slovakia Robert Fico’s official visit to China, could you share with us the program and China’s expectation of the visit? How does China view its current relations with Slovakia?

Lin Jian: China welcomes Prime Minister Robert Fico’s official visit to China. During the visit, President Xi Jinping will meet with him, and Premier Li Qiang and Chairman Zhao Leji will have talks and meet with him respectively. The two sides will have in-depth exchanges of views on bilateral relations and issues of mutual interest.

Slovakia was among the first countries to recognize New China, and the two countries enjoy profound traditional friendship. This year marks the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and Slovakia. Bilateral relations have shown a robust momentum with fruitful exchanges and cooperation in various fields. Through Prime Minister Fico’s visit, China stands ready to work with Slovakia to deepen the traditional friendship and political mutual trust, expand exchanges and cooperation in various fields, promote high-quality Belt and Road cooperation and cooperation between China and Central and Eastern European countries, and elevate the bilateral relations to a higher level. 

Reuters: Do you have any comment on Japan’s election and the possibility of a change in the makeup of its government? Do you think that could lead to any changes in its security policy such as plans to build up its military which Beijing has criticized in the past?

Lin Jian: We noted the election results. This is Japan’s internal affair, and China doesn’t have a comment on that. The sustained, sound and steady development of China-Japan relations serves the fundamental interests of the two peoples. We hope that Japan will work with China in the same direction, act o