The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the report on China's arms sales to Syria was completely baseless http://www.sina.com.cn 2012-02-11 14:04 China News Service Weibo According to the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on February 10, 2012, Liu Weimin, spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry presided over a regular press conference and answered questions from reporters on the protection of the safety of Chinese citizens overseas, the Iranian nuclear issue, etc., responding to reports about China selling weapons to Syria, saying that these accusations were completely baseless. Below is the transcript of the press conference published by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs website: Question: Yesterday, the 29 Chinese citizens who were held hostage in Sudan have safely returned home. What are the considerations of the Foreign Ministry in strengthening the protection of the safety of Chinese citizens abroad? Answer: The Chinese government has always attached great importance to protecting the safety of Chinese citizens overseas. In recent years, it has continuously increased investment, focusing on mechanism building and capacity building, achieving significant results. Under this background, the "four-in-one" mechanism of central, local, enterprises, and consulates continues to improve, the ability to deal with emergencies overseas has been strengthened, risk warnings, education campaigns, safety training, and other preventive consular protection measures have become more abundant, and the level of safety protection for Chinese citizens and institutions overseas has significantly improved. China will continue to adhere to the concept of "people-oriented, governing for the people," and make every effort to do a good job in protecting the safety of Chinese citizens overseas. In the past five years, led by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, together with relevant departments, localities, and enterprises, we have guided our embassies and consulates to properly handle more than 120,000 cases involving our citizens due to political unrest, kidnappings, natural disasters, accidents, labor disputes, etc., and carried out repatriation missions more than ten times, effectively safeguarding the safety and legitimate rights and interests of hundreds of thousands of Chinese citizens and enterprises. The abduction of Chinese citizens in Sudan was an isolated incident, but it also reflects the increasingly severe overseas security situation facing Chinese citizens and enterprises going global. To this end, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs reminds Chinese citizens and enterprises again that no matter whether they go abroad for business, travel, study, work, or life, they must take effective measures, enhance their self-protection capabilities, and guard against all kinds of security risks. Question: First, there are reports that China directly or through Iran sold weapons to Syria. What is your comment on this? Second, according to reports, many Myanmar people crossed the Sino-Myanmar border into Yunnan to escape the war. Please introduce the relevant situation and what relief measures have been taken by China? Answer: Regarding the first question, these accusations are completely baseless, and we cannot accept them. The Chinese government has always adopted a cautious and responsible attitude towards military exports. Based on international obligations undertaken by China and domestic laws and regulations, all military exports are strictly managed, forming a complete set of strict management systems. Regarding the second question, some media reports stated that large numbers of Myanmar "refugees" had flooded into the Chinese side of the Sino-Myanmar border. After verification, these reports do not match the facts. Recently, due to sporadic clashes between the Myanmar government army and individual ethnic minority local armed forces, some Myanmar border residents temporarily entered China for safety reasons, returning to Myanmar immediately after the situation calmed down. These people are not refugees, and their numbers are far fewer than reported by the outside world. China and Myanmar are friendly neighbors. When handling this matter, China has always adhered to humanitarian spirit, providing necessary living conveniences to Myanmar border residents entering China. The problem of Myanmar's ethnic minority local armed organizations has a long history and is Myanmar's internal affair. China has always urged all relevant parties within Myanmar to resolve issues through peaceful negotiations and consultations, effectively maintaining peace and tranquility in the Sino-Myanmar border area. Question: Recently, there have been some new developments in the Iranian nuclear issue. Please introduce China's views on promoting dialogue and negotiation. Answer: China has consistently maintained that dialogue and cooperation are the only correct ways to promote the resolution of the Iranian nuclear issue. The urgent task now is for the six countries and Iran to restart the dialogue process, and for the International Atomic Energy Agency and Iran to strengthen cooperation. China has always been committed to promoting peace talks. At the invitation of Bagheri, Deputy Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs Ma Zhaoxu will visit Iran from February 12 to 13 to further exchange opinions with the Iranian side on the Iranian nuclear issue. We are willing to work together with all relevant parties to strive for the resumption of talks between the six countries and Iran as soon as possible.