“There are claims that China knew about the invasion in advance,” he said of the Russian aggression. “Russia is counting on our support. Had we indeed known about the raid, we would have done our best to stop it,” the diplomat allayed doubts about the Chinese position.
“We are for a quick ceasefire,” he repeated the words of Chinese President Xi Jinping. The representative added that China is not in favor of sanctions against Russia.
The ambassador made his statements during the Witheeren lecture. The local Lions Club had invited him to the De Kring theater for this. Tan spoke after Peter Potman, director general at the State Department, who said: “We call on China to use its strong ties with Russia to reach a ceasefire.”
Earlier in the evening, the ambassador said: “We want to play a constructive role.” The answer to the question of what that role looks like was: “It is not yet clear what can be effective.”
“This year we celebrate 50 years of diplomatic relations between our countries,” said the diplomat. At the same time, he pointed out that, in the eyes of the Dutch public, China can do little good. “In the eyes of some, China is a rival.” The allegations of human rights violations in China are not based on facts and the use of forced labor is said to be “not logical”. There would be no evidence of spying by China. Tan said he hopes Europe will leave “prejudice” about his country behind: “We are ready to stimulate economic cooperation between the European Union and China. Collaboration is needed now more than ever.”
Business gifts entrepreneur Hans Poulis, owner of IGC International, had mediated with Hong Kong for the arrival of the ambassador as global chairman of the chambers of commerce. Poulis invited Eddy Cheung, Hong Kong’s representative to the European Union. “China is probably trying to mediate in silence,” Cheung suspected.
On the afternoon prior to the Witheeren lecture, the ambassador in Roosendaal was received by mayor Han van Midden. The diplomat visited with him, among other things, the waste plant PreZero Energy, where director Aletta Roghair showed them around. Afterwards, the council chamber of the Old Town Hall was converted into a dining room for the high guest, where Restaurant 1857 came to provide a feast. Several transport companies were part of the small group, including Wil Versteijnen, CEO of BTT Multimodal Group. “We also want to get the Chinese trains to Roosendaal,” he said. “Now they still come to Tilburg: before the corona time there were ten a week. Now there are 4 to 5 a week. It takes them about 15 to 17 days to get to China.”
“Let that Chinese train come!” said Mayor Van Midden. He says he expects an enormous growth in employment from this so-called New Silk Road. The Rotterdam city council has previously announced that it does not need the train, but the mayor of Moerdijk Aart-Jan Moerkerke, who also sat at the table, also seems fine. “After all, in Moerdijk you are close to Rotterdam”, it sounded. This way the Chinese train ends up close to the North Sea.
“We export goods and not political systems”, the ambassador in The Hague tried to allay the fear of the Chinese trains. His colleague in Russia, however, adopts a different tone. With many companies turning their backs on Russia, the embassy in Moscow called on Chinese entrepreneurs to immediately seize their opportunity and jump into the gap. Tan shook his head sympathetically. “Maybe it’s an inexperienced diplomat who said that,” he said. “Good people are hard to find. Young people more often prefer to work for the business community than for the government.”