Chinese President Xi Jinping will visit Indonesia and Malaysia; China welcomes UNSC Resolution on Syria; Chinese Foreign Minister calls for early resumption of six-party talks; China and Brazil decide to strengthen bilateral cooperation; Chinese Foreign M
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    • (SEPTEMBER 23-29)

    President Xi Jinping will be attending the 21st Economic Leaders’ Meeting of Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Indonesia from October 2 to 8, 2013. This was announced by the Chinese Foreign Ministry. He will also be visiting Malaysia. At the forum, Xi will deliver a speech on China’s Policy on the Southeast Asian region. 1
    China has welcomed the United Nations Security Council unanimous decision to adopt the Resolution 2118 aiming at removing chemical weapons from Syria. The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) has finalized a plan to destroy the stockpile of Syrian chemical weapons by the mid-2014. 2
    On the sidelines of the UN General Assembly meeting, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi urged the South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se to resume the Six-Party talks at the earliest. China urged that the early resumption of the talks will benefit all the sides.3 In addition to this Chinese Foreign Minister also met his Brazilian counterpart Luiz Alberto Figueired. Both sides agreed to promote bilateral cooperation. 4
    During his speech at the general debate of the 68th UN General Assembly the Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said that, “As China has enjoyed fast development over the years, some people are concerned that China may repeat a beaten track that a country will inevitably become arrogant and seek hegemony when it grows in strength and becomes powerful; and various versions of the China threat have surface.” He added, “However, what happened in the past cannot be applied indiscriminately to today’s China”. He further said that, “China will stay firmly on the path of peaceful development”. 5 This was aimed at pacifying fears that China may become hegemonic with increase in economic and military capabilities.
    During the visit of the President of Laos to China, both sides agreed towards a closer coordination on ASEAN and international affairs. The President of Laos was on a five day visit to China. Chinese President Xi Jinping and Laotian President Choummaly Saygnasone made the remarks at the Great Hall of the People. 6
    Reports noted that in accordance to the decision of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (NPC), the Chinese President Xi Jinping has appointed five new ambassadors. Qiu Xiaoqi was appointed ambassador to the United Mexican States, replacing Zeng Gang. Bian Yanhua was appointed ambassador to the Republic of Tunisia, replacing Huo Zhengde. Yue Bin was appointed ambassador to Georgia, replacing Chen Jianfu. Wei Jinghua was appointed ambassador to the Republic of Bulgaria, replacing Guo Yezhou. Deng Xijun was appointed ambassador to the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, replacing Xu Feihong. 7
    According to the Chinese foreign ministry, China and India are scheduled to hold a two day meeting in Beijing to discuss the border affairs. The fourth Meeting of the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination over the China-India Border affairs is scheduled to take place from September 29-30, 2013. 8
    The Chinese ambassador to UK, Liu Xiaoming said that, “The prospects of China-UK relations are good after going through some difficulties over the past year”. China and UK will be soon resuming dialogue and high-level visits. According to the Chinese Ambassador, both sides are at the moment preparing for high level talks like the China-UK Economic and Financial Dialogue, cultural and educational exchanges and a summit meeting. 9
    In other developments, China negated the claims which were suggesting that it may be hiring hackers to steal the US drone technology. China stated that such claims are “groundless” and “inconducive” to the China-US cyber security efforts. 10
    While addressing the opening ceremony of the 64th International Astronautical Congress (IAC 2013) the Chinese Vice President, Li Yuanchao said there should be peaceful exploration and use of space as it serves the interests of the people and countries all over the world. 11
    Chinese defence minister Chang Wanquan met his Uzbekistan counterpart Kabul Berdiev. Both sides agreed to strengthen the military to military cooperation. China said that it highly values its pragmatic relationship with Uzbekistan and also values its cooperation between the armed forces. The Chinese defence minister also met his Mongolian counterpart Dashdemberel Bat-Erdene in Beijing. The Chinese defence minister said that China is in favour of developing military ties with Mongolia. Such a relationship will also help in maintaining regional peace and stability. 12

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