(28 Feb 2025)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Beijing, China – 28 February 2025
1. Wide of news conference
2. Wide of reporters
3. SOUNDBITE (Mandarin) Lin Jian, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson:
“The US once again uses the fentanyl issue as an excuse to threaten additional tariffs on Chinese products exported to the US. China strongly deplores and firmly opposes this and will take all necessary measures to resolutely safeguard its legitimate interests.”
4. Reporters
5. SOUNDBITE (Mandarin) Lin Jian, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson:
“If the US is bent on using the fentanyl issue as a pretext to impose tariffs, resorts to extortion and pressure and takes what China did as granted, it will not help them solve their concerns but will backfire and severely impact bilateral dialogue and cooperation on counter narcotics.”
6. Wide of reporters
7. SOUNDBITE (Mandarin) Lin Jian, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson:
“Some countries and international organizations ignore the facts and make groundless accusations against the normal law enforcement cooperation between China and Thailand in combating illegal immigration and other cross-border crimes, even fabricating lies about Xinjiang to politicize the issue.”
8. Reporters
9. SOUNDBITE (Mandarin) Lin Jian, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson
“China firmly opposes attempts to use human rights as a pretext to interfere with China’s internal affairs and to use Xinjiang-related issues to disrupt normal law enforcement cooperation between China and the relevant country.”
10. Reporters
11. SOUNDBITE (Mandarin) Lin Jian, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson
“China always supports the relevant party in Turkey in handling differences through political means.”
12. Reporters
13. Wide of news conference
STORYLINE:
China on Friday expressed firm opposition to President Donald Trump’s plans to impose tariffs on Canada and Mexico and double the 10% universal tariff charged on imports from China starting Tuesday.
In a Truth Social post on Thursday, Trump said illicit drugs such as fentanyl are being smuggled into the U.S. at “unacceptable levels" and that import taxes would force other countries to crack down on the trafficking.
Asked about the plan at a daily news briefing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian accused the U.S. of repeatedly using the fentanyl issue as a pretext for its unilateral tariff hikes, warning that the move would “severely impact bilateral dialogue and cooperation on counter narcotics.”
China would “take all necessary measures to resolutely safeguard its legitimate interests,” he vowed.
The prospect of escalating tariffs has already thrown the global economy into turmoil, with consumers expressing fears about inflation worsening and the impact on auto sector and other domestic manufacturers if Trump raises import taxes.
At the briefing, Lin pushed back against criticisms by foreign governments, including the U.S., UK, European Union and Australia, on Thursday’s repatriation of 40 Uyghurs from Thailand, whom human rights groups have warned could face human rights violations upon return to China.
The countries made “groundless accusations” about China’s normal law enforcement cooperation with Thailand and tried to “politicize” the deportation by “fabricating lies about Xinjiang,” Lin said.
Beijing has launched a brutal crackdown on the Uyghurs that some Western governments deem a genocide, with hundreds of thousands of Uyghurs, possibly a million or more, swept into camps and prisons.
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