Lithuanian Media Publishes a Signed Article by Ambassador Shen Zhifei Entitle "Development: the Best Guarantee to National Security"

2019年4月23日，驻立陶宛大使申知非在立主流媒体立陶宛论坛网发表题为《发展是最好的安全保障》的署名文章。全文如下：

　　春回大地，万象更新，中欧关系发展也迎来“暖春”。前不久，中国国家主席习近平成功访问意大利、摩纳哥和法国。近期，第二十一次中国—欧盟领导人会晤和第八次中国—中东欧国家领导人会晤成功举办，分别发表了内容丰富、具有实质意义的《中欧联合声明》和《中国—中东欧国家合作杜布罗夫尼克纲要》，见证签署了多项合作协议。中国与欧盟一道，发出维护多边主义和开放型世界经济、反对贸易保护主义和单边主义的坚定声音。中欧双方领导人表示，此次会晤对中欧双方的一次“双赢”。欧洲理事会主席图斯克表示：“在当前纷繁复杂的国际形势下，欧中谈判达成这份联合声明，这是我们共同努力的结果，是我们共同的胜利。”欧盟委员会主席容克说：“欧盟的立场十分清楚：我们对中国有信心，我们对中欧关系有信心，我们愿意手拉手合作。”立陶宛总理斯克韦尔内利斯出席中国—中东欧国家领导人会晤，中立签定立陶宛小麦输华议定书，双方农业合作取得新进展。立各界予以积极评价。

On April 23rd, 2019, the Lithuania Tribune, published a signed article by H. E. Mr. Shen Zhifei, Chinese Ambassador to the Republic of Lithuania, entitled "Development: the Best Guarantee to National Security". The full text is as follows:

At this fascinating time of lush green, China-EU relations have ushered in another "warm spring". Last month, Chinese President Xi Jinping paid fruitful visits to Italy, France and Monaco. Earlier this month, the 21st China-EU Summit and the 8th Summit of Cooperation between China and Central and Eastern European Countries concluded with full success, as demonstrated in the China-EU Joint Statement and Dubrovnik Guidelines for Cooperation between China and Central and Eastern European Countries and a dozen of cooperation agreements signed. Both sides staked out the position of maintaining multilateralism and open world economy while opposing trade protectionism and unilateralism. European Council President Donald Tusk commented "We managed to agree a joint statement, which sets the direction for our partnership based on reciprocity. This was our common effort and it is our common success." European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker remarked "We believe in China and we believe in our partnership. And we are ready to work together and at the same time be more ambitious in standing up for our interests and values." Lithuanian Prime Minister S. Skvernelis attended the 16+1 Summit and witnessed the signing of Protocol on Lithuanian wheat exports to China, which pushed China-Lithuanian agricultural cooperation to a new height.

　　然而，我也注意到立陶宛少数网络媒体刊载的关于中欧关系、“16+1合作”的负面评论。《中国谜题：如何理解崛起中的超级大国》、《中国巨龙悄然潜行：北京雄心》等文章中，歪曲中欧和中国—中东欧合作的新进展新成绩，竭尽抹黑之能，称“中国瞄准意大利、希腊等老欧洲的薄弱环节”、“中国向黑山等国提供大量贷款，导致这些小国陷入债务困境，而中国则将通过这些债务实现对相关国家的政治影响力”，得出“发展对华关系的短期利益蕴于长期威胁中”等结论。

Nevertheless,I have also noticed some negative comments on China-EU relations and "16+1 Cooperation" from Lithuanian internet media. Distortions of the latest achievements in China-EU and 16+1 cooperation are found in articles like "Chinese puzzle: how to understand this rising power" written by editor-in-chief of Alfa and "China sneaking from the South: Beijing's ambition in Europe is part of a long and careful strategy" posted on Delfi.lt. The authors seemed to have been exhausting their efforts in discrediting China by claiming "It primarily targets the fragile spots of the countries in the Old Continent", "The highway built in Montenegro is stalling and Montenegro is at the verge of bankruptcy as a result of building the highway using Chinese credit" to imply "China poses long-term threat and challenge to EU and Lithuania alone amid short-term interest".

　　不得不说，这些言论严重歪曲事实，是不负责的。作者依然带着顽固的冷战思维，质疑中国开展对外合作的政治目的，竭力兜售“中国安全威胁论”，向立陶宛官方制定对华政策“献计献策”，对中欧关系的评价和前景展望与欧盟领导人亦相去甚远，反映出作者狭隘的安全观和全球视野，缺乏与时俱进的战略思维，毒害舆论氛围，误导广大读者。

It has to be said that these articles have represented a grave distortion of facts and a distinct lack of responsibility. Harboring deep-rooted cold war mentality, the authors doubted the political purposes of China's international cooperation, advocated "China security threat" theory and advised Lithuanian government on China policy accordingly. Regrettably, the comment and outlook on China-EU relations, far from that of EU leaders, only reflect their narrow security approach and limited global vision that is lagging behind the times. As misleading as can be, the articles indeed poison the atmosphere of reasonable public discussion.