Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Guo Jiakun’s Regular Press Conference on May 20, 2026

CCTV: During President Putin's visit to China, what new outcomes have been achieved on facilitating cross-border travel?

Guo Jiakun: To continue facilitating cross-border travel between China and Russia, China has decided to extend visa-free policy to Russia to December 31, 2027. Ordinary passport holders from Russia can be exempted from visa to enter China and stay for no more than 30 days for business, tourism, family/friends visit, exchange and transit purposes.

Under the strategic guidance of the two presidents, China-Russia relations have been moving forward on a high level. China will work with Russia to further facilitate people-to-people exchange, and inject more impetus to the China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination for the new era.

AFP: Russian President Vladimir Putin met China's President Xi Jinping in Beijing today. Can the foreign ministry share any more information on what was discussed? And if the topic of the Ukraine war came up during talks?

Guo Jiakun: This morning, President Xi Jinping held a welcoming ceremony for Russian President Vladimir Putin who is on a state visit to China upon invitation. The two presidents held private as well as formal talks to have strategic communication on a series of major issues. They agreed to continue extending the China-Russia Treaty of Good-Neighborliness and Friendly Cooperation.

President Xi Jinping noted that this year marks the 30th anniversary of the China-Russia strategic partnership of coordination and the 25th anniversary of the signing of the China-Russia Treaty of Good-Neighborliness and Friendly Cooperation. China-Russia relations have reached today's height thanks to continued efforts of both countries to deepen political mutual trust and strategic coordination, expand cooperation in various areas, uphold international fairness and justice, and promote the building of a community with a shared future for humanity.

Amid the changing and volatile international situation, China and Russia are committed to developing the comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination for a new era on the basis of equality, mutual respect, honoring commitments, and mutually beneficial cooperation. Political mutual trust has continued to deepen, cooperation in economy and trade, investment, energy, science and technology, cultural and people-to-people exchanges as well as cooperation at the sub-national level has continued to make progress, and the bond between the people has been consolidated. The relationship has entered a new stage with greater achievements and faster growth. As permanent members of the UN Security Council and major countries in the world, China and Russia will, in light of the strategic and long-term goals, promote higher-standard comprehensive strategic coordination to boost respective development and revitalization and contribute to a more just and equitable global governance system.

China will release timely information on the ongoing visit. Please check back for updates.

China Daily: The second APEC Senior Officials' Meeting concluded in Shanghai yesterday. Can you share with us more information and major outcomes of the meeting?

Guo Jiakun: The second APEC Senior Officials' Meeting and Related Meetings (SOM2) were held in Shanghai from May 11 to 19. Deputy Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu attended and addressed the opening session of the Senior Officials' Meeting. SOM2 builds on past progress by taking stock of APEC cooperation in the first half of this year and gathering early harvests, and aims for new achievements by preparing and collecting outcomes for the leaders' meeting in November. Close to 40 meetings and activities were held, covering trade and investment, economic and technological cooperation, women, telecommunication, food security and other areas. More than 1,000 representatives from member economies, the APEC Secretariat, APEC observers and the APEC Business Advisory Council participated in the meetings. They spoke highly of the positive progress of APEC cooperation since China took on the host of APEC, and reaffirmed their continued support for China in hosting APEC meetings, and their readiness to jointly work for fruitful outcomes in the APEC "China Year."

Amid the changing and volatile international situation, the Asia-Pacific region has overcome external challenges and maintained the momentum of growth, serving as an increasingly important impetus for global growth. The vigor of APEC, the most important mechanism for economic cooperation in the Asia Pacific, has been unleashed. China will follow the development trend of our times, listen to the calls of member economies, and focus on the theme of the 2026 APEC "Building an Asia-Pacific Community to Prosper Together." By envisioning a road map toward an Asia-Pacific community in the APEC Shenzhen Leaders' Declaration, China will highlight the four pillars of trade, connectivity, innovation and development, and work together with all parties to prepare for the outcomes of the leaders' meeting and provide new impetus for peace and development in the Asia Pacific and beyond.

The third APEC Senior Officials' Meeting and Related Meetings will be held in Dalian in August. Friends from the press are welcome to continue following and reporting on the events and progress of the APEC "China Year" in various fields.

People's Daily: To follow up on President Vučić's upcoming visit that China just announced, could you share with us the program of the visit? How do you see the current China-Serbia relations? What is your expectation of the visit?

Guo Jiakun: Serbia is the first European country to agree with China on building a community with a shared future for the new era. It is our important partner in southeast Europe. Under the strategic guidance of leaders of the two countries, China-Serbia relations have been moving forward on a high level in recent years. The two sides have firmly supported each other's core interests and major concerns, cemented political mutual trust, achieved fruitful cooperation, maintained close coordination on multilateral affairs, and enjoyed booming people-to-people exchanges. President Aleksandar Vučić and President Xi Jinping maintain close interactions. This will be President Vučić's first state visit to China. During the visit, President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang will meet with him respectively to exchange views on bilateral relations and international and regional issues of mutual interest. China stands ready to work with Serbia to build on the momentum of the visit to consolidate our iron-clad friendship, expand mutually beneficial cooperation, enrich people-to-people and cultural exchanges, strengthen coordination on multilateral affairs, and strive for more tangible outcomes in building our community with a shared future for the new era to deliver for both peoples.

CGTN: It is reported that Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš wrote in an opinion piece that the Czech government will continue to uphold the one-China policy and promote the normalization of Czech Republic's relations with China. What's your comment?

Guo Jiakun: China and the Czech Republic enjoy profound traditional friendship. Mutual respect, treating each other as equals and mutual benefit are important principles in our relations. It serves the fundamental interests of the two countries and the common aspiration of our two peoples to pursue steady and sound bilateral relations. Since Prime Minister Babiš took office, he has expressed the desire to improve ties with China on many occasions, and reiterated the Czech government's commitment to the one-China policy. China highly commends it. China is ready to work with the Czech side to enhance political mutual trust and conduct dialogue and cooperation across the board to ensure our relations to return to the track of sound and stable development as soon as possible.

Kyodo News: Does the foreign ministry have a response to the incident in Shanghai yesterday where Japanese nationals were injured? Could you share more details?

Guo Jiakun: On May 19, at a restaurant in Shanghai, a person with mental disorder injured one Chinese and two Japanese nationals with a knife. The wounded have been immediately taken to the hospital. The suspect was captured by the police and the case is under further investigation. It's an individual case concerning public safety. Competent Chinese authorities will handle the case in accordance with the law.

EFE: Spain's Deputy Prime Minister Yolanda Díaz visited China from Monday to Wednesday. What concrete outcomes does China see from this visit, and how does Beijing assess the current state of bilateral relations with Spain?

Guo Jiakun: From May 17 to 20, Yolanda Díaz, Second Vice-President and Minister of Labour and Social Economy of Spain, paid a visit to China. She attended the Global Trade and Investment Promotion Summit in Beijing and also visited Shanghai. Vice President Han Zheng and State Councilor Shen Yiqin met with her respectively, reaching many important common understandings. The visit, another important high-level exchange following Prime Minister Sánchez's visit last month, further deepened bilateral cooperation in such areas as trade, investment, labour and social security. China stands ready to work with Spain to advance our comprehensive strategic partnership and deliver more for both peoples.

NHK: To follow up on the question by Kyodo News about the incident in Shanghai yesterday, was it a deliberate attack targeting Japanese nationals?

Guo Jiakun: The competent Chinese authorities have put out a statement. It is an individual case concerning public safety. The attacker has been identified as a person with mental disorder. Relevant authorities are investigating and handling the case in accordance with the law. I must warn against the dangerous tendency by a few media outlets and individuals to make false associations and hype up the incident.

Reuters: The White House said China has agreed to purchase US$17 billion worth of U.S. agricultural products annually through 2028, excluding soybeans. Can the Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirm whether China made such a commitment during the leaders' summit?

Guo Jiakun: The competent Chinese authorities have shared information on the initial outcomes of China-U.S. economic and trade consultations. During President Trump's visit to China, the two presidents had in-depth discussions on China-U.S. economic and trade ties, pointing the direction and providing safeguards for economic and trade cooperation between the two countries. Guided by their common understandings, the two sides will lock in the outcomes expeditiously and work together to ensure their execution, injecting more certainty and stability into bilateral economic and trade cooperation and the world economy. For your specific question, I would refer you to the competent Chinese authorities.

Asahi Shimbun: Taiwan's Lai Ching-te expressed his hope to continue U.S. arms purchases, and said that if he had the opportunity to have a phone call with President Trump, he had a responsibility to express the voice of Taiwanese society. He added that Taiwan is an independent sovereign country. What's China's comment?

Guo Jiakun: Taiwan is an inalienable part of China's territory. It has never been a country and will never be a country. The Lai Ching-te authorities have developed a conditioned response of making every attempt to grab attention, which only time and again revealed their true nature as provocateurs and saboteurs of peace. "Taiwan independence" and cross-Strait peace are as irreconcilable as fire and water. Soliciting external support and pursuing military buildup to seek "Taiwan independence" is doomed to fail. China's firm opposition to U.S. arms sales to China's Taiwan region is consistent and clear. The U.S. needs to earnestly abide by the one-China principle and the three China-U.S. joint communiques, and take concrete actions to uphold the overall China-U.S. relations and peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.

AFP: Taiwan's leader Lai Ching-te said today in a speech that foreign forces cannot decide the future of Taiwan, nor can Taiwan be held hostage by fear, division or short-term interest. What is the foreign ministry's reaction to these comments and Lai's speech today?

Guo Jiakun: There is but one China in the world. Taiwan is an inalienable part of China's territory. The Government of the People's Republic of China is the sole legal government representing the whole of China. The two sides of the Strait belong to one and the same China, and this is the real status quo across the Taiwan Strait. "Taiwan independence" and cross-Strait peace are as irreconcilable as fire and water. "Taiwan independence" separatist forces constitute the biggest destroyer of the status quo across the Strait and the biggest source of disruption to peace and stability in the region. To safeguard peace and stability across the Strait, one must firmly follow the one-China principle and stand against "Taiwan independence" separatist forces. Recently, leaders and political figures from the overwhelming majority of countries in the international community has reaffirmed their commitment to the one-China principle through various ways. Facts show that opposing "Taiwan independence" separatism and supporting China's reunification is where the arc of history bends and public opinion trends.

Lai Ching-te's persistent separatist stance and his true agenda of seeking "Taiwan independence" under the cover of so-called democracy has proved himself as a saboteur of peace, creator of crisis and troublemaker. No matter what "Taiwan independence" separatist forces say or do, the people in the Taiwan region will not be misled; the fundamental reality that the Taiwan question is purely China's internal affairs will not be changed; the international commitment to the one-China principle will not be shaken; and the historical trend that China will and must achieve reunification will not be stopped.

EFE: Yesterday a Spanish court investigating former Spanish Prime Minister Zapatero has referred to alleged influence operations involving companies with links to China and Venezuela. Does the Chinese foreign ministry have any comment on this case?

Guo Jiakun: I'm not familiar with the specifics about the case. The Chinese government always asks Chinese companies to abide by laws and regulations in their operation. That said, we firmly oppose anyone making groundless accusations against Chinese companies.

Bloomberg: Can the ministry share any measures taken by Chinese authorities in response to the Ebola outbreak in central Africa, particularly with regards to the welfare of Chinese citizens?

Guo Jiakun: The past seven decades of diplomatic relations between China and Africa can be defined by mutual support and mutual assistance. We have always stood together with African friends through thick and thin, whether it is combating the Ebola outbreak or fighting the COVID-19 pandemic. We are closely following the ongoing Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda. We will maintain close communication with relevant countries and, in light of the situation and the African side's needs, work with the international community to provide assistance to the best of our capability to help them defeat the outbreak at an early date.

As to your specific question, competent Chinese authorities have issued an announcement. Chinese embassies in relevant countries have also put out consular reminders, advising Chinese nationals there to take greater precautions. There have been no suspected infections among Chinese citizens.