Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Lin Jian’s Regular Press Conference on July 13, 2026

At the invitation of Premier of the State Council Li Qiang, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Thailand Anutin Charnvirakul will pay an official visit to China from July 16 to 20.

CCTV: China announced that President Xi Jinping will attend the opening ceremony of the 2026 World AI Conference & High-Level Meeting on Global AI Governance. Can you share more details?

Lin Jian: With the theme of “Intelligent Partners, Co-create the Future,” the 2026 World AI Conference & High-Level Meeting on Global AI Governance will be held in Shanghai from July 17 to 20. President Xi Jinping will attend and address the opening ceremony, in which he will systemically elaborate on China’s policies, position, visions and propositions on AI development and governance. China has invited government officials and people across industries, universities and research institutes around the world, as well as heads of international organizations to share the moment together in China.

AI technological innovation is undergoing broad-based breakthroughs, demonstrating unprecedented dynamism. Such progress brings both opportunities and challenges to the international community, making AI governance a profound topic of our times.

In recent years, in the field of AI, China has been acting on the four global initiatives and the Global AI Governance Initiative put forward by President Xi. China is committed to providing international public goods, advocating AI for good and for all with real actions, and helping the Global South strengthen capacity-building. Our efforts are highly commended by the international community.

Through this conference, China looks forward to building a platform for various parties to enhance mutual trust, pool consensus, and deepen cooperation so as to promote the sound, safe and orderly development of AI, and make this conference a milestone in the history of AI development.

China News Service: To follow up on your announcement that Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul will pay an official visit to China, can you share the program of the visit? What is your comment on the current China-Thailand relations? What is your expectation for the visit?

Lin Jian: Prime Minister of Thailand Anutin Charnvirakul will attend the 2026 World AI Conference & High-Level Meeting on Global AI Governance in China and pay an official visit to China from July 16 to 20 upon invitation. President Xi Jinping will meet with him and Premier Li Qiang and Chairman of the NPC Standing Committee Zhao Leji will hold talks and meet with him respectively. This will be the prime minister’s first official visit to China after taking office, and the visit fully reflects the high importance both sides attach to China-Thailand relations.

China and Thailand are good neighbors, good friends, good relatives and good partners. Last year when the two countries marked the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations, His Majesty King Maha Vajiralongkorn paid a state visit to China upon invitation. President Xi Jinping and the King reached important common understandings on advancing the building of a China-Thailand community with a shared future, and opening up another golden 50 years of bilateral relations. Under the strategic guidance of the two heads of state, the two sides have deepened political mutual trust, and engaged in fruitful cooperation in areas of trade and investment, digital economy, aerospace, science, education, culture and health. Amid the changing and volatile international situation, China hopes the visit will galvanize efforts to carry forward the traditional friendship and family-like relationship of China and Thailand, deepen comprehensive strategic cooperation, achieve new outcomes in building the China-Thailand community with a shared future, boost the two countries’ respective modernization, and contribute to regional peace, stability, development and prosperity.

RIA Novosti: On Sunday, Iran stated the closure of the Strait of Hormuz amid another wave of exchanges of strikes with the U.S. The Persian Gulf Strait Authority (PGSA) said earlier that Iran will review requests for vessel transit through the Strait once the situation in the region stabilizes. What’s your comment on the latest development?

Lin Jian: The Strait of Hormuz is a strait for international navigation. Resuming safe and free passage in the Strait at an early date serves the interests of all sides. A proper settlement is needed to address issues concerning the passage through the Strait of Hormuz. The shared concerns in the international community need a proper response. China stands ready to maintain communication on this with relevant countries and the international community.

The Paper: It has been reported that at the 137th session of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) Council, representatives of the U.S. and Panama condemned China’s punishing measures against Panamanian-flagged vessels out of political reasons and called on the IMO to strengthen its framework for protection to prevent politicization of maritime trade. What’s China’s comment?

Lin Jian: According to statistics of the competent Chinese authorities, since the beginning of this year, Panamanian-flagged vessels have registered multiple casualties meeting or exceeding the statutory accident classification threshold in Chinese waters, more frequently than vessels of any other flag state. Panamanian-flagged vessels made up less than 20 percent of all foreign vessels calling at Chinese ports since January, but have caused around 50 percent of the accidents and consequent deaths and missing persons. Port state control inspections, as an important measure to ensure maritime safety and prevent marine pollution, are port states’ principal regulatory instrument for the safety supervision of foreign-flagged vessels. To ensure safety and order of maritime traffic, China lawfully and responsibly conducts port state control inspections as required by international regulations on visiting vessels. This is fully consistent with international conventions.

RIA Novosti: The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan today begins his visit to China. Could you please provide details on this visit?

Lin Jian: China and Kazakhstan are friendly neighbors and permanent comprehensive strategic partners. Under the strategic guidance of President Xi Jinping and President Tokayev, China-Kazakhstan relations have experienced leapfrog development, with consolidating political mutual trust and deepening cooperation in various fields. Last year, during their meetings in Astana and Tianjin, the two presidents have drawn a new blueprint for the development of our bilateral relations.

During Foreign Minister Kosherbayev’s visit in China, the two foreign ministers will have an in-depth exchange of views on implementing the important common understandings of the two presidents and promoting China-Kazakhstan relations and international and regional issues of mutual interest, so as to inject more positive energy into building a China-Kazakhstan community with a shared future. For more about the visit, we will release information in a timely manner. Please stay tuned.