China on Philippines, Bain&Co. and Germany

(28 Apr 2023) ASSOCIATED PRESS Beijing - 28 April 2023 1. Wide of news conference 2. Wide of journalists 3. SOUNDBITE (Mandarin) Mao Ning, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson: “The Chinese coast guard ship, in order to maintain China's territorial sovereignty and maritime order in accordance with the law, swiftly took measures to avoid the dangerous approach of the Philippine side and to avoid collisions, which were professional and with restraint. It must be stressed that the Philippine ship’s trespassing into the waters of Ren’ai Reef (Second Thomas Shoal) with the press staff on board is a premeditated provocation, aiming to deliberately stir up trouble, blame it on China and play up the incident. China strongly deplores and protests it.” 4. Mid of journalists 5. SOUNDBITE (Mandarin) Mao Ning, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson: “China welcomes foreign companies to invest and do business in China and we are committed to building internationalised, market-oriented and law-based business environment. Of course, China is a country ruled by law, so all companies in China should operate in compliance with law.” 6. Mid of journalists 7. SOUNDBITE (Mandarin) Mao Ning, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson: “The economic and trade cooperation is based on mutual benefit. China is an important actor in the global semiconductor market. It is not constructive to abuse export control measures targeting China on the grounds of reducing dependence. Such acts will only end up hurting others as well as oneself and disrupt the global industrial supply chains. We hope the relevant country will respect market economy laws, uphold rules, proceed from their own interests, and work together with China to safeguard the international economic and trade order and foster an open world economy.” 8. Wide of news conference STORYLINE: China on Friday protested the Philippines’ complaint about a Chinese coast guard ship blocking a Philippine patrol vessel steaming into a disputed shoal in the South China Sea. The high seas face-off between the larger Chinese ship and the Philippine coast guard’s BRP Malapascua near Second Thomas Shoal was among the tense moments it and another Philippine patrol vessel encountered recently in the disputed sea. Commenting on the incident at a daily news briefing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning accused the Philippine ship of intruding into the waters of the reef that China claimed as its own territory and defended Chinese coast guards’ response as “professional and with restraint.” The Philippine coast guard had invited a small group of journalists, including three from The Associated Press, to join the 1,670-kilometer (1,038-mile) patrol for the first time as part of a new Philippine strategy aimed at exposing China’s increasingly aggressive actions in the South China Sea. But Mao described the action as “premeditated provocation” that aimed to “deliberately stir up trouble, blame it on China and play up the incident.” The territorial conflicts involving China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei have long been regarded as an Asian flashpoint and a delicate fault line in the rivalry between the United States and China in the region. Separately, Mao said she was not aware of the report that police questioned Bain & Co.’ staff in its Shanghai office but added that China welcomed foreign investment and all companies here must act in accordance with law. Last month, U.S. corporate due diligence firm Mintz Group said its Beijing office was raided by police who detained five employees. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...