Chinese envoy urges disclosing results of investigation into Nord Stream explosions

China

Chinese envoy urges disclosing results of investigation into Nord Stream explosions

2025-08-27 13:39 Last Updated At：17:37

A Chinese envoy to the United Nations on Tuesday urged disclosure of investigation results into the 2022 Nord Stream pipeline explosions, emphasizing that the international community deserves a clear explanation.

Speaking at a UN Security Council meeting, Geng Shuang, China's deputy permanent representative to the UN, stressed that the Nord Stream pipeline explosions is a serious act of sabotage against transnational energy infrastructure, which has had negative impacts on global energy supply, marine ecological environment, and maritime navigation safety.

The UN Security Council, along with many of its members including China, has repeatedly called for an objective, fair, and professional investigation to uncover the truth and hold those responsible accountable, said Geng.

"UN Security Council members previously debated whether to conduct an international investigation or national inquiries into the incident. At the time, some members strongly advocated giving Sweden, Denmark and Germany time to carry out national inquiries. However, three years have passed, and we still have not received a clear conclusion or the full truth regarding the Nord Stream pipeline explosions. Sweden and Denmark have already ended their investigations without disclosing any substantive information. Germany's probe continues, but official updates remain very limited. For a long time, the public has had to rely on media leaks and speculation to understand the situation, which is abnormal," said Geng.

China has noted reports regarding the recent arrest of a suspect and the related joint letter sent by Germany, Sweden and Denmark to the UN Security Council. However, these actions fall short of addressing the international community's concerns and doubts, said Geng.

Geng stressed that the truth must not be concealed, the investigation must not be politicized, similar incidents must not recur, and the perpetrators must not go unpunished.

On Sept. 26, 2022, unprecedented explosions caused severe damage to the Nord Stream pipelines, including three of the four lines of Nord Stream and Nord Stream 2, the latter of which had not been put into operation.

AmCham Shanghai report shows sharp rebound in business confidence among member companies

The 2026 China Business Report, released on Thursday by the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai (AmCham Shanghai), revealed a significant rebound in business confidence among its surveyed member companies operating in China.

Business confidence bounced back markedly, as 58 percent of respondents expressed optimism about China's five-year business outlook, up 17 percentage points year on year, the report said.

Profitability rebounded to its highest level since 2019, with 78 percent of respondents profitable in 2025, an increase of 7 percentage points from the 2024 level, according to the report.

As business confidence rebounded and more companies reported profits, investment confidence in China also strengthened, resulting in 28 percent of respondents increasing investment in China last year, the highest level in four years.

Improved market sentiment is also reflected in a positive assessment of China's business environment. Fifty-five percent of surveyed companies said the business environment in China is transparent, up 7 percentage points year on year.

Jeffrey Lehman, chair of AmCham Shanghai, attributed the positive change to eased bilateral tensions and shared expectations for more stable and reciprocal economic and trade relationship, as the two leaders of states reaffirmed multiple times in the past year.

"We do our surveys In June, and so in June of 2025, there was a lot of anxiety among our members about the geopolitical situation. After that, we had the meeting of the leaders in Busan. We had the summit in Beijing in May, the agreement between the two countries that they would try to create a constructive relationship of strategic stability based on fairness and reciprocity. And that is very reassuring to our members because that suggests that there will be a stable environment in which they can operate well. If anxiety about geopolitics slips, that means then, that the number one concern is the continuing improvement in the quality of domestic competition," he said.

The report is based on AmCham Shanghai's 2026 China Business Survey of 262 member companies.