‘Simply not true’: China rejects claims Apec diplomats tried to ‘barge’ in on PNG minister’s office to influence communique
- Sources said the officials’ eleventh-hour attempt to steer the summit’s draft statement was stopped by authorities
- China foreign ministry says the accusations are an attempt to damage relations with PNG
China has rejected allegations that officials at the Apec summit tried to “barge” into the office of Papua New Guinea’s foreign minister to influence a draft communique from the international event.
Three anonymous sources with knowledge of the matter told Agence France-Presse on Sunday police were called when Chinese delegates allegedly “tried to barge in” to Rimbink Pato’s Port Moresby office on Saturday in an eleventh-hour bid to influence a summit draft communique, but were denied entry.
But China’s foreign ministry quickly rubbished the claims, suggesting the report was an effort to damage China-PNG diplomatic ties.
“That’s simply not true. We are having close interactions with Papua New Guinea colleagues ... we are mostly on the same page both on the process as well as substance on the agenda,” said Wang Xiaolong, director general at the department of international economic affairs of China’s foreign ministry.
“I believe the accusers are trying to deteriorate China-PNG relations.”
