China on Wednesday urged Japan to speed up the destruction of abandoned chemical weapons (ACWs), said Guo Jiakun, a spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in response to the disposal process of Japanese ACWs in China.
"Japan's abandoned chemical weapons in China mark one of the gravest crimes that Japanese militarists committed during the war of aggression against China," Guo said at a press conference held in Beijing.
"China has been urging Japan to destroy them completely and thoroughly at an early date in strict accordance with the Chemical Weapons Convention and the MOU between the two countries' governments. To date, Japan has excavated and retrieved over 160,000 ACWs and destroyed nearly 130,000. However, the destruction process is generally seriously lagging behind schedule," Guo continued.
Guo said that the ACWs still pose a serious threat to the safety of the life and property of the Chinese people and the ecological environment even today, despite this year marking the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War, and the 26th anniversary of the China-Japan memorandum on the destruction of abandoned chemical weapons.
"Japan has unshirkable responsibility on historical issues. China urges Japan to take seriously the concerns of China and the international community, deeply reflect on its history of aggression, honor its commitment, increase inputs in all respects, do everything possible to speed up the full chain of the disposal of the ACWs, so that the day will come sooner when the Chinese people no longer have to live on soil tainted by ACWs, and when justice is restored to the international community," said Guo.
China urges Japan to speed up abandoned chemical weapons elimination
China will take further steps to expand high-standard opening-up and create a new landscape of win-win cooperation in 2026, which marks the start of the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030), Commerce Minister Wang Wentao said in a recent interview with China Media Group.
Wang said opening up and cooperation for mutual benefit are integral to Chinese modernization. This year, China will actively expand voluntary opening up.
The country will steadily open up such areas as value-added telecommunications, biotechnology and wholly foreign-owned hospitals, while accelerating comprehensive pilot and demonstration programs for expanded opening-up in the services sector, he noted.
"We will expand the scope and regions of unilateral opening-up and ensure the implementation of zero-tariff treatment on 100 percent of tariff lines for all African countries that have diplomatic relations with China. We will vigorously promote the effective implementation of policies for special customs operations of the Hainan Free Trade Port, further enhance the level of trade and investment liberalization and facilitation, optimize the regional layout and coverage of pilot free trade zones, and support these zones in carrying out more robust institutional opening-up trials in areas such as market access, environmental standards and government procurement, so as to better leverage their role as comprehensive pilot platforms for reform and opening-up," said Wang.
Wang said China will promote the orderly planning of cross-border industrial and supply chains.
Efforts will be made to deepen economic and trade cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative, enhance integration and connectivity across production and supply chains, and encourage cooperation in areas including green development, the digital economy, green minerals, new infrastructure and new energy so as to help build global production and supply chain partnerships that are equal, inclusive and constructive, he noted.
"We will give play to the platform role of overseas economic and trade cooperation zones, expand overseas marketing networks and explore international markets through outward investment, achieve mutual promotion between investment and trade, and advance the integrated development of trade and investment. We will also improve the overseas comprehensive service system and the national-level overseas comprehensive service platform," said the minister.
In addition, China will participate constructively in global economic governance, according to the minister.
In 2026, Wang said, China will pursue flexible and pragmatic approaches to negotiate trade and investment agreements with more willing countries and regions, while strengthening economic and trade cooperation under multilateral frameworks such as BRICS, G20 and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, to further promote mutual benefit and win-win outcomes.
China to expand high-standard opening-up to foster win-win cooperation: minister
