Phoenix TV: A follow-up to my question yesterday. You made some comments yesterday on reports of former US diplomats posted in China who frankly revealed the US government’s plot to play the “Xinjiang card”. However, the US has not yet given any explanation in response. Do you have any further comment? Second, Spokesperson for the US State Department Ned Price said on June 6 that “Our policy is to seek dialogue, to seek engagement with the DPRK. Any country that puts the responsibility on us for the lack of dialogue, the lack of engagement, is either ill-informed or is propagating falsehoods.” What is your comment?

Zhao Lijian: I think you should ask the US why it has not yet given any explanation.

I also noted some reports saying that a guest to the close-door cocktail reception held by the US Consulate General in Guangzhou for the business community posted the following on social media platform: “People in the chamber of commerce all believe this is insane in private. How could making up stories about Xinjiang do us any good! I travelled to that place (Xinjiang) and it was beautiful every time. There is nothing like genocide, forced labor thing over there, what we do is just “To lie though one’s teeth”. Things used to be not bad when Chinese were nice to us and business went well until Trump changed it. I thought President Biden would make a difference and fix the mistakes soon but nothing obvious changed. When I heard what the consulates said I finally got it. Now we are paying for their dirty and ugly decisions. I am so angry and I have tell the public.”

As a Chinese saying goes, “No wall is completely windtight” (meaning no secret can be kept forever). Those words actually reflect the shared voice of the business community who are coerced by the political plot of the US government. What an embarrassing revelation for the US! You probably did not believe us when we said before that genocide in Xinjiang is a “lie of the century” made up by the US. Now you can see how this lie came about. We once again ask the US to give an explanation, stop its despicable moves of smearing Xinjiang with political manipulation.

On your second question, the US politician is known for blame-shifting. The crux of the current deadlock on the Korean Peninsula issue lies in the absence of US response to the DPRK’s denuclearization efforts in 2018 following the “action for action” principle, and the failure to accommodate the legitimate concerns of the DPRK. The US side should demonstrate sincerity and take real steps instead of shouting empty slogans.