Beijing courts Southeast Asian nations in bid to counter South China Sea backlash
- Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi to host meeting in Fujian as part of effort to counter the Biden administration’s efforts to isolate China
- A number of countries have criticised a new law that would allow Chinese coastguards to fire on foreign vessels
Sources said in addition to meeting with four Southeast Asian foreign ministers, Wang will also have talks with his South Korean counterparts in Fujian province.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Hua Chunying said on Tuesday that Singapore’s Vivian Balakrishnan, Indonesia’s Retno Marsudi and Teddy Locsin from the Philippines would visit China from Wednesday to Friday. It is understood Malaysia’s Hishammuddin Hussein visit is scheduled from Thursday to Saturday.
A statement by Singapore’s foreign affairs ministry said Balakrishnan will visit Fujian on Tuesday and Wednesday. The visit “reaffirms the long-standing and substantive relations between Singapore and China, as both countries cooperate to strengthen economic recovery following the Covid-19 pandemic,” it said.
Chinese President Xi Jinping wrapped up a four-day trip to Fujian last week, the first after China’s top legislature approved the country’s next five-year plan, a core part of which is self-sufficiency in technology. Xi visited Nanping, Sanming and Fuzhou, the provincial capital.
Meanwhile, the US has been seeking to rally its allies and Washington has been joined by Japan, Indonesia and the Philippines in speaking out over China’s activities in the South China Sea.