BEIING, June 15 (INP): China will continue to take tough position against drug-related crimes, said a spokesperson of the Chinese Foreign Ministry Zhao Lijian here at regular news briefing.

Commenting on the People's Court’s verdict against an Australian drug trafficker Karm Gilespies, he said “ On your first question, drug-related crimes are considered serious crimes worldwide. Chinese law retains death sentence and controls its application strictly.

Death sentence for drug-related crimes that are extremely dangerous will help deter and prevent such crimes. Chinese law stipulates that every criminal is equal in the application of the law.

China's judicial authorities handle cases involving criminals of different nationalities in accordance with law. In this case, the local court in China reached a verdict in an open trial with all the criminal facts well established.

The Chinese side will continue to ensure the legal rights of the person involved and facilitate consular visits by the Australian side in accordance with international conventions and the Agreement on Consular Relations between Australia and China.

China's judicial authorities handle the relevant case independently in strict accordance with Chinese law and legal procedures.”

Replying to a question, accelerating resumption of work and production and socio-economic development OF Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) from China and Central and Eastern European countries (CEECs) has become a shared goal of governments of all countries.

For both China and CEECs, SMEs represent an important source of economic vitality and play a main role in creating jobs, which bears directly on the livelihood of numerous households.

Impacted by the pandemic, SMEs now face many challenges and some are struggling to survive. Since the COVID-19 outbreak, the Chinese government has taken proactive measures to provide strong support to Chinese SMEs by expanding overall demand, increasing financial support to market players and so on.

In the meantime, China is willing to leverage the platform of China-CEEC cooperation to strengthen information-sharing, create more opportunities for the resumption of economic opportunities and cooperation between SMEs on both sides and minimize the pandemic's impact on them as much as possible, he added.

INP/JAVED