Q: Some comments said China's concessional loans to south Pacific countries will lead them into a "debt trap" and threaten their national sovereignty. What is your comment on that?

A: China never interferes in the internal affairs of the PICs and fully respects the independent decisions made by the peoples of PICs. China provides assistance to PICs with no attached political conditions, which covers infrastructure, agriculture, fisheries, education, health and other economic and livelihood areas. China has implemented more than 100 aid projects, delivered more than 200 batches of in-kind assistance, and trained about 10,000 talents in various fields. Since the start of COVID-19, China has provided PICs with nearly 600,000 doses of vaccines. The all-round cooperation between China and PICs has benefited all the people of PICs and brought a real sense of achievement and happiness to the people. No island country was ever trapped in debt problem or security threat because of assistance from China. No one knows this better than the people of PICs.