Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Lu Kang's Regular Press Conference on June 28, 2018

应保加利亚总理博里索夫、德国总理默克尔邀请，国务院总理李克强将于7月5日至10日对保加利亚进行正式访问并出席在索非亚举行的第七次中国—中东欧国家领导人会晤、赴德国主持第五轮中德政府磋商并对德国进行正式访问。 

　　明天上午10:00，外交部将在蓝厅举行中外媒体吹风会，介绍李克强总理出访相关情况，欢迎广大记者朋友踊跃参加。 

At the invitation of Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Premier of the State Council Li Keqiang will travel to Bulgaria for an official visit and the Seventh Summit of Heads of Government of China and Central and Eastern European Countries in Sofia and then travel to Germany for the fifth round of China-Germany inter-governmental consultation and an official visit from July 5 to 10.

At 10:00 a.m. tomorrow morning, the Foreign Ministry will hold a briefing here for Chinese and foreign press on Premier Li Keqiang's travel. We welcome your participation.

　　问：我们注意到，落实《南海各方行为宣言》第十五次高官会已经结束。你能否介绍会议取得哪些具体成果？同时，我们也注意到，仍有几个域外国家不停地表示担心南海的航行自由受影响。中方对当前南海总体形势作何评估？ 

　　答：6月25日至27日，中国与东盟国家在中国湖南省长沙市举行落实《南海各方行为宣言》第十五次高官会和第二十四次联合工作组会。外交部副部长孔铉佑作为中方高官率团出席。会议就落实《宣言》、推进海上务实合作以及“南海行为准则”磋商等议题深入充分交换意见。各方肯定了当前南海形势总体稳定的良好势头，重申全面、有效落实《宣言》的重要性，一致同意在业已形成的“准则”框架基础上进一步推进“准则”磋商，尽快形成单一磋商文本草案，作为下步商谈的基础。会议还审议更新了2016—2018年工作计划。 

　　在此次会议期间，各方表示，将继续坚持通过谈判协商和平解决南海争议，坚持通过地区规则框架管控分歧，坚持通过合作增进信任、防止海上意外事件，坚持共同维护南海和平稳定。 

Q: The 15th Senior Officials' Meeting on the Implementation of the DOC has concluded. What specific outcomes have been reached during the meeting? We know that some countries outside this region are worrying about navigation freedom in the South China Sea. What is your take on the current situation there?

A: Senior officials from China and the ASEAN countries held the 15th Senior Officials' Meeting on the Implementation of the DOC and the 24th Joint Working Group Meeting on the Implementation of the DOC in Changsha, China's Hunan Province from June 25 to 27. Vice Foreign Minister Kong Xuanyou led a delegation to the meeting as China's Senior Official. All participants had an in-depth and thorough exchange of views on the implementation of the DOC and advancement of practical maritime cooperation and consultations on the COC. All parties acknowledged the sound and stable situation that the South China Sea is enjoying at the moment, reaffirmed the importance of the comprehensive and effective implementation of the DOC, and agreed to move ahead the COC consultations based on the already established COC framework so as to produce a unified draft document at an early date which will act as the basis for next-stage talks. At the meeting, officials also updated the DOC implementation plan for 2016-2018.

All participants agreed that we will peacefully resolve the South China Sea disputes through negotiations, control differences within the framework set out by regional rules, enhance mutual trust and prevent unexpected incidents on the sea through cooperation, and jointly maintain peace and stability in the South China Sea.