Lin Jian (Chinese: 林剑; born May 1977) is a Chinese diplomat who has been serving as the 34th spokesperson and deputy director of the Information Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs since March 2024.[2] Lin has been working for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 1999 to 2020 and was dispatched to serve as party secretary and director of the Foreign Affairs Office of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps from 2020 to 2024.[3][4][5]
Lin Jian | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
林剑 | |||||||
_2.png) Lin in March 2024 | |||||||
| Deputy Director of the Information Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs | |||||||
| Assumed office March 2024 Serving with Mao Ning, Wang Wenbin, Jiang Xiaoyan, Hu Jian | |||||||
| Director | Hua Chunying | ||||||
| Personal details | |||||||
| Born | May 1977 (age 47) Wuhan, Hubei, China[1] | ||||||
| Political party | Chinese Communist Party | ||||||
| Alma mater | Beijing Foreign Studies University (BA) | ||||||
| Chinese name | |||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 林剑 | ||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 林劍 | ||||||
| |||||||
Biography
editLin was born into a military family in Wuhan, Hubei, in May 1977.[6] Lin attended Wuhan Foreign Languages School for high school and graduated in 1995. He went on for undergraduate education and graduated from Beijing Foreign Studies University with a major in English in 1999. After graduation, he joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1999 and was selected to study abroad in Denmark.[7] He was later assigned to the Political Office at the Embassy of China in Denmark.[7] Since then, he had served as political counselor at the Embassy of China in Poland and as counselor at the Department of European Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.[3][7][8]
From 2020 to 2024, he was dispatched to serve as party secretary and director of the Foreign Affairs Office of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps.[7] During his tenure in Xinjiang, in 2022, he took part in talks seeking to boost exchanges in trade and tourism between Xinjiang and Hong Kong.[1]
MFA spokesperson
editOn 18 March 2024, Lin was appointed as the 34th spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and as deputy director of the Information Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. On the same day, he presided his first regular press conference.[1][7][9][10]
Cyber attack accusations
editAs the spokesperson of the foreign ministry, in March 2024, Lin accused the United Kingdom and the United States of "political manipulation" after both of these countries blamed a Chinese state-run cyber unit over an alleged cyber attack on Britain's electoral commission and Members of Parliament (MPs). He further added that both the US and the UK should "stop politicising cyber security issues".[11]
South China Sea
editDuring a visit of US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to Manila in March 2024, Lin told the US of having no rights to interfere between China and the Philippines' issues on the South China Sea.[12] In April 2024, he said on a scheduled news conference that the Philippines should "stop bringing external forces to safeguard its so-called security" on disputed waters. He further stated that such showcasing of external forces shall provoke confrontations and aggravate tensions.[13]
In May 2024, he expressed China's concerns over the deployment of a US-launched missile system as the US transports it to the northern region of the Philippines.[14]
US tariffs
editAfter the Biden administration announced new tariffs and additional import taxes on Chinese electric vehicles and goods, Lin made a statement saying, "Instead of ending those wrong practices, the US continues to politicize trade issues, abuse the so-called review process of Section 301 tariffs and plan tariff hikes".[15]
References
edit- ^ a b c Zhuang, Sylvie (2024-03-15). "China's foreign ministry brings in new press official from Xinjiang". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 2024-03-19.
- ^ Zeng Jia (曾佳) (18 March 2024). 47岁外交部新发言人林剑履新 现任新闻司副司长. caixin.com (in Chinese). Retrieved 18 March 2024.
- ^ a b "林剑任中国外交部新一任发言人 | 联合早报". Lianhe Zaobao (in Chinese). Retrieved 2024-03-18.
- ^ "2024年3月18日外交部发言人林剑主持例行记者会_中华人民共和国驻美利坚合众国大使馆". Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the United States of America. Retrieved 2024-03-18.
- ^ "中国外交部发言人上新 "75后"林剑成为第34任发言人-华龙网". news.cqnews.net. Retrieved 2024-03-18.
- ^ Wang Yuan (王媛) (18 March 2024). 外交部新发言人亮相，是武汉外校校友. qq.com (in Chinese). Retrieved 18 March 2024.
- ^ a b c d e Wang Lu (王露) (18 March 2024). 外交部新闻司新增一名副司长林剑. thepaper (in Chinese). Retrieved 18 March 2024.
- ^ Wang Tao (王涛) (31 May 2017). 波兰福建商会第三届换届庆典大会在华沙举行. cri.cn (in Chinese). Retrieved 18 March 2024.
- ^ "Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Lin Jian's Regular Press Conference on March 18, 2024". Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China. Retrieved 2024-03-19.
- ^ "Chinese Foreign Ministry's new spokesperson Lin Jian makes debut". peoplesdaily.pdnews.cn. 18 March 2024.
- ^ Fraser, Simon (2024-03-26). "China hits out at US and UK over cyber hack claims". BBC News. Retrieved 2024-06-07.
- ^ "Blinken lauds 'extraordinary' expansion of defense ties with the Philippines amid China tensions". NBC News. 2024-03-19. Retrieved 2024-06-07.
- ^ Davidson, Helen (2024-04-18). "China sounds warning after Philippines and US announce most expansive military drills yet". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-06-07.
- ^ "US and Philippine forces stage combat drills near strategic channel off southern Taiwan". AP News. 2024-05-06. Retrieved 2024-06-07.
- ^ Rappeport, Alan; Tankersley, Jim (2024-05-10). "U.S. to Announce New Tariffs on Chinese Electric Vehicles". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-06-07.