Deputy Foreign Minister Wu Zhizhong: Maintaining peace across the Taiwan Strait is in line with international interests. I believe the U.S. arms sales to Taiwan will still be successful.

The Sichuan-Xi meeting has come to an end, and all walks of life are paying attention to the Taiwan issues in the Sichuan-Xi meeting and the currently shelved arms sales to Taiwan. Deputy Foreign Minister Wu Zhizhong said today (26th) that the government continues to strengthen communication and maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait is in line with international interests. He believes that the U.S. arms sales to Taiwan "will still be successful."

The National Policy Research Institute held a symposium on "The Second Sichuan-Xi Meeting and the U.S.-China Game" today, inviting a number of scholars and experts to discuss the topic. Wu Zhizhong, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, was invited to deliver an opening speech.

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Regarding whether the progress of U.S. arms sales to Taiwan will be delayed, Wu Zhizhong said in an interview before the meeting that the government will pay attention to the development of the situation at any time and continue to strengthen communication. The most important thing in the international community is to strengthen preparations and hope that what is promised can happen on time.

Wu Zhizhong pointed out that maintaining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait is absolutely in the national interest of all countries in the world, because allowing China to have too superior military power in the Taiwan Strait is not conducive to regional stability and peace. He believes that the U.S. arms sales to Taiwan "will still be successful."

In his speech at the meeting, Wu Zhizhong emphasized that the only eternal thing is national interest. Today's Taiwan-US relations are not the same as 10 or 20 years ago. Now the United States will provide us with arms sales and military aid, which was not the case 10 years ago. This change is precisely because of changes in national interests. He pointed out that Taiwan's stability and security, sufficient defense capabilities, and ability to contribute to the world are not only the national interests of the United States, but also the objective national interests of all countries in the world.

Wu Zhizhong said that not only does Taiwan have key advantages in the world in high-tech industries such as semiconductors, but the Taiwan Strait is also as important as the Strait of Hormuz, the Suez Canal, the Panama Canal, etc. Blocking the Taiwan Strait is equivalent to blocking the area. Therefore, the right to free navigation in the Taiwan Strait is also the national interest of all countries. In addition, Taiwan is a democratic country and serves as a model for Chinese society. If Taiwan’s democracy disappears, it will be a disaster for world democracy.

Finally, when talking about what Taiwan can do, Wu Zhizhong once again emphasized that Taiwan must work hard every day to strengthen its self-defense capabilities and let China know that every day is not a good day to attack Taiwan. It adopts a "Not Today Policy" and any international treaty is only an assistance, not the only one.