'Peace, not power, must shape the Middle East'

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) - The Consul General of China in Erbil, Liu Jun, said the ongoing conflict in the Middle East reflects a “deep tragedy” and warned that continued escalation risks destabilizing both the region and the global economy, emphasizing Beijing’s support for de-escalation and political solutions.

In an exclusive interview with Kurdistan 24 on Firday, Liu Jun described the human and economic toll of the war as severe, citing reports of heavy casualties and widespread disruption.

Full Transcription of the Interview:

Host:
Dear viewers, welcome to a new and special episode of our program. This time, our guest is very different; we are conducting an interview with a representative of one of the world’s major powers, which has significant political, economic, and military influence globally. He is the Consul General of the People’s Republic of China, Mr. Liu Jun. Mr. Consul, thank you very much for this meeting—it is a great honor for us. Welcome to Kurdistan 24

Host:
What is your brief assessment of the situation in the region? What is your reading of the current situation in the Middle East between the United States, Israel, and Iran? 

Liu Jun:
"Yes, this is very important and also it's a time, a good time for us to have a review of what has happened. Let’s, let’s have a reflection of what has happened, you know, in the past almost 50 years of the conflict. We see it's a, it's a big tragedy has happened. The human lost has been staggering, you know. So few days ago I saw the news that in Iran alone, the almost 3,500 people have lost life have lost. Another 35,000 people has been injured. So that's a huge casualty. And also in other countries across the region, we see much tragedy as well. So because of the conflict, because of the war, we see the economy has come to a full stop. The, we see the flight has been grounded, the free movement of the people has been paralyzed. So that's a tragedy, you know, everything stopped.

So if we look at the, the past century of the Middle East, we see that this, this region has been trapped in the vicious cycle of the violence. If we look at the root cause, you know, we, we believe that the root cause is the brutal foreign interference of the big powers and the, the way they try to solve the issues is unjust, is one-sided. So we believe that if the Middle East cannot be safe, the rest of the world will not be at peace. So that's very important. So we believe that we should go back to the root cause and we believe that we should not return to the world that the might makes the right. We should not return to the law of the jungle."

Host:
Mr. Consul, there is now talk of a ceasefire. As a major power, what role has China played in efforts to achieve a ceasefire and end the war? 

Liu Jun:
"Yes, since the war started, China have been watching it very closely. And for the, during the conflict, China has been try to cool things down and try to push for peace. And in recent important meetings between Chinese leader Chairman Xi Jinping and with the leader of the other country, especially with the leader of the Gulf nations, and China proposed several very important ideas for the resolution. First, we believe that coexistence is fundamental. You know, we believe that the countries in this region, they can live in peace with each other. They are the neighbors that cannot be moved. So first very important principle is the coexistence.

Second is the national sovereignty. We believe that's the foundation, you know, that's the lifeline for the developing countries. It’s like a bread and butter, you know, for each nations. The, if without national sovereignty, we cannot have security at all. So we believe the national sovereignty, security and territorial integrity should be fully respected. That's the second principle.

Third, we believe the international rule of law is another fundamental principle. So it's, in the world we don't have the unified government but we have United Nation. You know, United Nation Charter should be fully respected. And some basic international law which governing international relations should be fully respected. Otherwise the world will be, the whole world will be in disorder.

The finally, the another important principle is that we should balance the security and development. It's like the two side of the same coin, you know. The development is the foundation for security, while the security is, is a guarantee for the long term development. We cannot separate each other."

Host:
Let’s turn to the situation in the Kurdistan Region. As you know, the region has been targeted multiple times by missile and drone attacks from Iran and Iraqi armed groups. What is your view on these attacks and on the Region’s neutral stance?

Liu Jun:
"Yes, when we look at the status of the KRI, the I will say, we're now, I'm speaking not like a diplomat, you know. For the past 50 days, you know, starting from 28th of the February all the way to April 7th or 8th, you know, almost 50 days of conflict, I can feel the same anxiety as you did, you know. So let me to be frank with you, for the 50 days, I have been living in my office straight. I unable to go home because of the risk. So I really can, can feel the same way as you did.

So I believe the, the KRI’s position is very important. The although KRI is not a party to the conflict, it's not direct party, but unfortunately we see that KRI has been got entangled into it. You know, every day we face the, the risk of the drones, missiles, you know, we, we saw the explosion in the sky, you know, each family, you know, they, it’s hard for family to explain to, to the kids, you know, why, why this happened.

But anyway I believe the position taken by the Kurdistan, especially by the Kurdish leadership, I believe they are very wise. They have the very good position. You know, the Kurdish leadership always says that the Kurdistan region should not be used as a launchpad for any attacks and aggression against a neighboring country. And this is a very important position to take. But my advice, my advice is that the Middle East belongs to the people of the Middle East. So you should have your own destiny in your own hand. And if you rely, if you put your security in the hand of the others and eventually you cannot, you can no longer avoid, you know, involvement in the conflict. So I believe that's very important. So you need a strategic autonomy for the security."

Host:
Some countries accuse China of providing military support to Iran during this war. What is your response?

Liu Jun:
"Right. The well, between China and Iran, certainly we have good relationship and we have the normal state-to-state relationship. But this accusation is not reasonable. I believe this accusation directed at China, it’s a typical example of the double standard. You know, so we see that a certain country they send massive amount of the weaponry into conflict zone, then at same time they, they say the other country, you cannot have any legitimate cooperation with, with one of them. That's, that's not reasonable. It's a typical hypocrisy."

Host:
As a major economic power, what can China offer to reduce the economic impacts of this global crisis?

Liu Jun:
"Right. This is a very important question. And certainly this war, in the first place, should not have happened. But even it happened, you know, we have to deal with it, you know. The challenge is, it's tremendous. But for the country like China, we are a big nation. So we have to face it and deal with it. But I will say that actually this time, the impact on China is not that much. And some, you know, according to some media report, you know, they expected that China will suffer a lot during conflict, but actually we didn't suffer a lot.

The impact on China was minimum. You know why? Because many years ago we have shifted our strategy to green energy transition. So we put lot of efforts try to, to develop the high-tech on the green industries. So reduce our reliance on the fossil fuel like a, like petrol and gas. So that's why this time we could withstood, you know, with the strong power, the any global energy shocks. So we can shield our, protect our economy from the global energy shocks.

And here I would, I would like to emphasize two point. So first is the one I said, you know, we move to the green economy. So we don't have much impact. Second, I want to emphasize that, as I said before, that let me elaborate a little bit on the balance between security and development, you know. We believe this is very important for the region. First, you have to focus on economic growth and social progress. Because only by achieving economic growth then you have the power and you have the resources to maintain the order. So this is very important.

But second, you also have to balance that why, when you have the economic growth, you need security guarantee. Otherwise if you don't have the security, you suffer from the constant conflict, cyber attack or financial risks, you know, the economic progress could be disappear, could be wiped out overnight. So you need the balance of these two important task. It’s like the two wing of the one bird, you know. Without one wing working the bird cannot fly. So this is the very important principles."

Host:
At what level are relations between China and the Kurdistan Region, and what are your future plans? 

Liu Jun:
"Mhm. Okay. Before I touch upon the bilateral relationship between China and Kurdistan region, I want to, to give you a, a big picture, you know. So right now the whole world is well into the 21st century. We are facing some common challenges like climate change, like drug issues, like poverty issues. So the country on the Earth are supposed to, to depend on each other, you know. We need more cooperation rather than the conflict and wars.

So that's why given this task, that's why Chinese leader Chairman Xi Jinping in recent year have proposed some very important concept. First, and we believe that the whole country in the world are should build a common, a global community for the shared future. So that's a very important concept. But how to achieve that? So then our Chairman Xi Jinping proposed some very important global initiative: Global initiative on the security, on the development, on the civilization. And last year he proposed on global governance. Those are very important initiative which are aimed to move towards the global community for the mankind.

So then on economic side, he proposed a very important global economic project, a cooperation project. It’s a Belt and Road project. So those, those are all important concept and also specific measures try to achieve that. So then okay, let's talk about the relationship between us. The I will say that in the past decades, the bilateral relationship between us has been move pretty fast, especially since we established the Chinese Consulate in December 2014. Then after that because we have an institution here, the relationship has been on a very fast track.

So I will say each year we will see something new. We will see our relationship have move a step forward and forward. And right now on the street, you know, you go to the shop, everywhere you will see the Chinese product. You see the Chinese automobile, you see the Chinese mobile phones, and you see lot of the electric household good like air conditioner, you know, refrigerators, you know. So by having Chinese product, good quality product, I believe the people here they benefit a lot. And also on the, on many industries, you know, Chinese company are, they are coming to explore the business opportunities. Actually in certain area like cement industries, like construction materials, Chinese company are doing a great job in helping the local partners to upgrade their capabilities." 

Host:
What is the level of trade relations between China and the Kurdistan Region?

Liu Jun:
"Yes. As I said, this relation is very important for both of us. And I will say right now we have moved from the, we just sell a cheap goods to this market. We move beyond that already. And right now I will say that China has been a very strong driving force for Kurdistan’s non-oil, non-oil industry sectors. So China has become an indispensable for the Kurdistan’s economic growth and investment. I would say that.

Because you know, the, as I said, not only you see lot of the Chinese product, but also in term of the agriculture, manufacturing, you know, green economy, green industries, you know, the climate change, poverty, poverty reduction campaign, you know, on many area I believe we have big potential for the further cooperation and and development. So certainly right now we see the Chinese AI industry is making very fast progress. I believe in the future between us, you know, we can apply more AI to empower the local industries and manufacturing. So that area that we have more potential to grow."

Host:
How many Chinese companies and citizens are operating in the Kurdistan Region, in which sectors, and what are your future plans?

Liu Jun:
"Right. Right now as far as I know that across the Kurdistan region we have about 3,000 Chinese people, Chinese citizens. And in term of the company, I will say more than 50 companies, Chinese companies. They are either state-owned companies and also we have lot of the private companies, you know, like Huawei and lot of the automobile companies, you know, we have the Chery, Geely, Haval and and even now we have the Hongqi, lot of the Chinese brand, they are coming to this market.

So the, as I said before that the Chinese company has been integral part of the local economy. And for example, the last year, you know, there’s a Chinese mobile company, he worked together with the local partner they set up a assembling plant to produce the Chinese brand smartphone, mobile phone. So this, this is a very important upgrade of the local manufacturing.

So I believe in the future we can do more. Maybe in the future we can have another automobile assembly plant right here in Kurdistan region. So, so I believe there are lot of the, our two economy are mutually complementary to each other, you know. Our this relationship is symbiotic. So you need China’s speed and technology to build, you know, and we need Kurdistan region as the strategic gateway, you know, to first to set up a headquarters, then to reach out to the rest of Iraqi. So this relationship build on the mutual need and pragmatism."

Host:
How many Kurdish investors and businessmen operate in China, and in which sectors?

Liu Jun:
"Right. That’s a very good question. I don't have exact number of the Kurdish businessman who are operating in China. But roughly, roughly I will say that quite a few, quite a few. For example in a small city called Yiwu, located in Zhejiang province. Yiwu is famous for international commodity center. So as far as I know that there are at least several hundred Kurdish businessman they have business operation in Yiwu. They open shops, you know, they buying goods, they selling to the Kurdistan market. So several hundred.

So then in, we have a famous Canton Fair, which take place twice a year in the springtime and in autumn. So whenever we have a Canton Fair, so lot of the local business people they come to our office to apply for China’s visa to visit the fair. So, so I can say that every year not only we have quite a several hundred Kurdish businessman they are right station in China doing business, but also there are another several thousand businessman they are traveling to China looking for business."

Host:
Regarding visas and travel, what facilities are provided for citizens of the Kurdistan Region? Is there a possibility of direct flights?

Liu Jun:
"Yes. This is important issue. I know this is very important. And maybe you know as I know that in the past the cost for applying a Chinese visa is sky high. It’s sky high. And so it was in January 2024, the Chinese Consulate opened the passport and visa service for the local people. So that means that Chinese Consulate become a full functioned institution, consulate. And it was exactly because of the previous high cost of the Chinese visa.

So when we start the visa service to the local community, we apply the new approach. So the new approach is try to reduce the cost, try to make it more convenient, more affordable for the local people to apply visa. So in the past we are doing okay, but to be honest with you, recently we find some issue with the Chinese visa application process. Because right now we see some middleman, some agencies, they create some new monopoly, new interest group and try to keep the price high for the applicants. So we have noticed this issue and we are going to do a bottom down overhaul, you know, try to tackle this issue. And eventually we hope that we will reduce the cost, you know, for the local business community and try to encourage more people to go to China for business."

Host:
That’s very good—so there is also hope that direct flights between China and cities in the Kurdistan Region will be established?

Liu Jun:
"Yes, this is very interesting question. And actually in a recent year quite a few local company they come to my office talk about whether we could open direct flight. Because that's also one of our wish. If we have the direct flight it's very much convenient for me and my staff to to go back to China. But right now the issue is not only for the visa. Right now we only issue business visa to local people. We haven't issue any tourist visa yet.

But you know since last year we have got permission from the Beijing that from now on we can issue tourist visa. But it's not easy. It's not easy process, you know. It might take a while. So certainly we encourage local people, Kurdish people to travel to China. And we are going to issue tourist visa. But again, you know, as I said, for the business visa the cost is still high. You know, for the tourist visa we haven't started yet. We are now working with some travel agency, you know, try to have a new approach to issue the tourist visa. But all of the issue haven't solved yet.

But in the near future I hope that people from here who travel to China can get visa easily and also the cost for traveling is reasonable. And eventually we have the more demand for traveling to China then I believe direct flight will follow through."

 Host:
The ninth cabinet of the Kurdistan Regional Government has implemented strategic projects such as Runaki. What is your view on this project and others?

Liu Jun:
"Right. The Runaki project is so important, very critical. It’s I believe it's not only the infrastructure project but also it's a livelihood project. It’s a public interest project. It’s so important. Because when you can enjoy the 24 hours electricity supply then it improve your quality of life. And also it's a big support for the whole community.

So that’s why we see this project has been so welcomed, you know, by the all the people across the region. We really appreciate his effort. Because in the past few years, you know, according to my experience, you know, the outreach of the the blackout, they really headache to everyone. So I really hope that this project will continue to stay and and also it create a very good environment for everybody. Because if you have the stable continuous supply of this electricity then we don't need those private generator, you know. Then we will have a clear sky, more fresh air. That's good for everybody."

Host:
On a personal note, which Kurdish food do you like, and have you learned any Kurdish words?

Liu Jun:
Oh, the since the first day I arrived the I enjoyed the Kurdish food a lot. You know, I've been to lot of the dinners, banquet and the the most delicious food I like most, I like is the Dolma. Hazelnut Dolma, yeah. Yeah, I’m not the meat person but Dolma is so delicious."

Host:
Have you learned any Kurdish words?”

Liu Jun:
Ah, okay let me try. The 'Zmani Kurdi dzaynm belam zmani Kurdi zahmata'." (Translation: I speak a little Kurdish, but the Kurdish language is hard) 

Host:
What is your message to the people of Kurdistan so they can benefit from China’s experience?

Liu Jun:
"Ah, okay. So it's my pleasure and honor to to I want to convey important message to to the people of Kurdistan through Kurdistan 24. My message is pretty simple and important. And in the in the past time, the Kurdish people have suffered lot. So we have tremendous sympathy and also we appreciate your resilience, you know, perseverance.

So in the future we believe, you know, we wish to work together with you try to have more innovation. We encourage entrepreneurship and try to create more jobs for the young generations. And we want to share our experience of the modernization and with the people here. Eventually we hope that by working together the Kurdistan region can achieve prosperity at same time to have the security." 

Host:
Thank you very much, Mr. Consul of China. It was a great honor for us to have you.

Liu Jun:
"Oh it's my pleasure, thank you so much. Zor spas." (Kurdish: Thank you very much).