Chinese citizens religious rights fully protected

BEIJING: Religious rights of the Chinese citizens are fully protected as per the law of the land, said a spokesperson of the Chinese Foreign Ministry Lu Kang at a regular news briefing here on Thursday.

He vehemently denied the impression of any religious persecution in China. He deplored that the United States invited "Falungong" cultists and other members of the Chinese religious policy to participate in so-called religious meetings and arranged for them to meet with US leaders.

The spokesperson said there is no such thing as religious persecution in China. Chinese citizens enjoy freedom of religious belief in accordance with the law.

Referring to the report about the meeting, he said, this is entirely interference in China's internal affairs. The Chinese side expressed strong dissatisfaction and resolute opposition , he added.

He further said, “We demand that the US should correctly view China's religious policies and freedom of religious belief and stop using religious issues to interfere in other countries' internal affairs. To another question, the spokesperson said, the 4th China-US Friendship City Conference was being held in Houston, Texas, USA.

The theme of the conference is "Looking forward to the next 40 years: stronger friendship, closer cooperation". More than 200 people from government departments and civil society organizations in China and the United States attended the conference.

They discussed how to strengthen cooperation and exchanges between China and the United States, and will focus on smart cities. Sub-forum discussion activities were held on topics such as the Maritime Silk Road, cooperation in the metropolitan area, and educational exchanges.

China has said many times that strengthening the understanding and friendship between the Chinese and American peoples is an important basis for ensuring the long-term development of Sino-US relations. China and the United States have formed a total of 227 pairs of friendly cities.