China urges G7 to follow market economy and int’l trade rules: spokesman

China urges the Group of Seven (G7) to adhere to the principles of market economy and international trade rules, Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said on Thursday.

Lin made the remarks at a press briefing in response to a G7 statement that focused on reducing reliance on any single supplier of critical minerals, a move widely seen as a call to cut dependencies on China.

“On keeping the global industrial and supply chains of critical minerals safe and stable, China’s position has not changed. All parties have the responsibility to play a constructive role for this end. China’s standardization and refinement of its export control system is consistent with international practice and is taken to better safeguard world peace and regional stability, and to fulfill China’s non-proliferation and other international obligations. We urge the G7 to earnestly observe the principles of market economy and international trade rules, and stop disrupting the international trade order with the self-made rules of a small group,” said Lin.

China strongly deplores and firmly opposes the statement made by Japan’s Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi 10 years after the so-called “2016 Arbitral Award on the South China Sea”, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said in Beijing on Sunday.

The statement blatantly endorses the illegal “award”, attacks China’s lawful claims and mischaracterizes Japan as a “legitimate stakeholder who uses the South China Sea”, said the spokesperson.

Japan is not a party in the South China Sea and is in no position to pass judgment on China’s territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests in the South China Sea. During World War II, Japan committed innumerable crimes that caused untold suffering on China and its people, including the illegal occupation of islands and reefs in the South China Sea, said the spokesperson.

Now decades later, Japan, in the name of a “stakeholder”, is again attempting to meddle in the South China Sea. This reminds people of Japan’s history of aggression and expansion, and heightens their vigilance against Japan’s neo-militarism agenda, said the spokesperson.

China’s sovereignty over the South China Sea islands and relevant rights and interests in the South China Sea were established in the long course of history, and are solidly grounded in the law. China’s activities in the South China Sea are fully legitimate, lawful and beyond reproach. China’s rights in the South China Sea can by no means be denied by the makeshift “arbitral tribunal”, said the spokesperson.

In rendering the “award”, the “arbitral tribunal” exceeded its authority and abused its jurisdiction. The “award” is naturally illegal, null and void, and has no binding force. It has gravely undermined the sanctity and authority of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, and dealt a serious blow to the international rule of law, said the spokesperson.

China neither accepts nor recognizes the “award”, and opposes and will never accept any claim or action arising from it, the spokesperson added.

By turning a blind eye to the glaring flaws in the “award” while openly endorsing it, Japan has laid bare its double standards and hypocrisy, said the spokesperson.

What Japan really cares about is not the international rule of law, but meddling in and destabilizing the South China Sea. For some time, Japan has been stepping up collaboration with the Philippines and expanding its export of weapons and equipment to the country. Japan has also deployed military forces overseas on many occasions and launched offensive missiles. These actions go far beyond the scope of self-defense, break free from Japan’s Constitution and norms in the international law, and challenge the post-war international order, said the spokesperson.

China urges Japan to stop smearing China, stop sowing disinformation in the South China Sea, and stop undermining peace and stability in the region, said the spokesperson, adding that China will continue firmly defending its territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests in the South China Sea.

Any attempts to challenge China’s lawful rights and interests and undermine peace and stability in the South China Sea are doomed to fail, the spokesperson said.