China reiterated on Friday that it has always welcomed foreigners to visit China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Wang Wenbin, spokesperson for Chinese Foreign Ministry told reporters at a news briefing, adding that China has invited representatives from the EU and its member states.
File photo: CGTN
China's Ambassador to Germany Wu Ken claimed in a recent interview with German media that he had sent invitations for representatives of the EU to visit Xinjiang last week, but received no replies so far.
At Friday's news briefing, Wang confirmed the invitation, saying China has always welcomed foreigners to see the real situation in Xinjiang by themselves.
"The door to Xinjiang is always open," Wang said, noting China has invited more than 1,200 foreign diplomats, international organization officials, journalists, and religious personnel from over 100 countries to visit Xinjiang in the past years.
"They all agreed that what they saw and experienced in the region was entirely different from Western media reports," the spokesperson added, stressing that the Chinese side has shown the utmost goodwill and flexibility to try to meet their requirements on the visit.
Wang attributed the failed visit to the repeated delay and unreasonable demand raised by the EU side.
According to Wang, the EU side even demanded to meet with criminals charged with conducting separatist activities. It leaves an impression that they have no interest of visiting Xinjiang unless all their demands are satisfied, said Wang.
Viewing the move as ignorance of the Chinese law and a provocation to China's legal sovereignty, Wang reiterated China's invitation and noted that its sincerity remains unchanged. However, the spokesperson stressed that what he welcomes is a visit rather than a fact-finding mission with the presumption of guilt.
