China and members of the Digital Economy Partnership Agreement (DEPA) have held multiple rounds of accession negotiations and achieved "positive progress," a spokesman of the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) said Thursday.
MOC spokesman He Yadong made the remarks at a press conference held in Beijing.
"China filed a formal application to join the Digital Economy Partnership Agreement, or DEPA on November 1, 2021. Agreed by the DEPA Joint Committee, a working group was set up on August 18, 2022 for negotiations on China's accession to the pact. So far, China has held multiple rounds of consultations at all levels with DEPA members to promote positive progress in the negotiations," he said.
"On May 7, the fifth meeting of chief negotiators of the working group took place in Auckland, New Zealand. China had in-depth exchanges of views with Chile, New Zealand, Singapore and South Korea on the progress of the talks and related topics. China will work with DEPA members to keep advancing the negotiations," said He.
China achieves positive progress in DEPA accession negotiations through intense consultations
China's Ministry of Commerce announced on Monday the inclusion of some companies on its unreliable entities list as they sold arms to China's Taiwan region.
The companies include General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, General Dynamics Land Systems, and Boeing Defense, Space and Security. They will be barred from engaging in China-related import or export activities, and are forbidden to make new investments in China, the ministry said.
Senior executives of the companies are prohibited from entering China, while their work permits will be revoked, along with their visitor and residential status, and the related applications they submit will not be approved, according to the ministry.
"Such measures are being taken to safeguard China's national sovereignty, security and development interests," it said.
The ministry also said there was evidence that Caplugs of the United States circumvented the unreliable entities list regulations by transferring goods purchased from China to the unreliable entities.
The ministry urged Caplugs to take measures as soon as possible to ensure that all relevant goods, technologies and services purchased from China are not transferred to the unreliable entities, and that relevant evidentiary material be submitted to the office of the unreliable entities list as per the working mechanism.
Otherwise, the ministry said, the office will take measures against it in accordance with the laws and regulations.
China adds some U.S. companies to unreliable entities list
