China on Wednesday strongly condemned remarks made by U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who falsely portrayed China as a threat to the Panama Canal, urging the U.S. to cease spreading misleading remarks.
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Tuesday during his visit to Panama that China’s control of critical infrastructure in the Panama Canal area gave China the power to conduct surveillance activities across Panama, making Panama and the United States less secure, less prosperous and less sovereign.
"The U.S. senior official maliciously attacked China, and vilified and sabotaged China-Panama cooperation, which once again lays bare America’s bullying and hegemonic nature. China firmly opposes it," said Lin Jian, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman, at a press conference in Beijing on Wednesday.
"It is so clear for all to see who wants to control the Panama Canal. The U.S. should take a hard look in the mirror to find out who is threatening other countries’ sovereignty, security and development. China calls on the U.S. to stop spreading rumors and making trouble, and stop linking China to the Panama Canal issue with ill intention to find an excuse for America’s attempt to control the canal. Meanwhile, let me stress that compromise and concession does not protect sovereignty or win respect, but will only embolden the bully," Lin added.
China opposes US smears on its role in Panama Canal security: spokesman
China's National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) will work with relevant departments and local authorities to take concrete steps to promote the implementation of the newly passed private sector promotion law, a landmark legislation concerning a vast economic force in the country, said an NDRC official.
China's top legislative body -the National People's Congress - passed the private sector promotion law on Wednesday, establishing a legal backing for the steady and healthy growth of the key sector, including more than 57 million private firms and over 100 million self-employed individuals.
This landmark law is China's first fundamental legislation dedicated to the private sector. It will bolster confidence among the vast community by improving the business environment, fostering innovation, and ensuring fair competition, according to NDRC, the country's top economic planner.
"The private sector promotion law has actively responded to the key concerns in the development of the private sector. Efforts are made to establish and improve relevant systems and enhance the enforceability of the systems, from ensuring fair competition, improving investment and financing environment, supporting technology innovation, focusing on regulated operation, optimizing services and guarantees, and improving rights and interest protection, to strengthening legal accountability, so as to ensure that all forms of ownership can equally utilize production factors by the law, participate in market competition fairly, receive equal legal protection, further unleash their complementary advantages, and pursue common development," said Liu Min, deputy director of Private Sector Development Bureau under NDRC.
Liu added NDRC will continue to work together with relevant departments and local authorities to improve supporting systems and mechanisms and take concrete steps to promote the implementation of the private sector promotion law.
"We will make continuous and increasing efforts to remove barriers to market access and to fair competition, to address the issue of overdue payments to private enterprises, to protect the lawful rights and interests of private businesses and entrepreneurs by the law, to implement various relief policies, to help private enterprises shoulder their responsibilities of the era, so as to help translate legal systems into concrete actions and tangible outcomes that promote the high-quality development of the private sector," said Liu.
Concrete steps to take for firmly implementing China's landmark private sector promotion law: official
