[Beijing Diary] Waiting for Minister Wang Yi

"Is this a surprise show?"

A foreign correspondent sitting in the back of the briefing room joked tiredly to a colleague. Waiting for a briefing that could start at any time really made him think so. Was this some kind of deliberate staging with a hidden meaning or intention? Or was something going wrong?

Reporters (right) are waiting in front of the briefing room at the Beijing International Conference Center in China on the 18th for a press conference by Wang Yi, China's Foreign Minister, related to the "3rd Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation." The reporters waited for about an hour in this state. (Photo by Kim Hyunjung)

Reporters (right) are waiting in front of the briefing room at the Beijing International Conference Center in China on the 18th for a press conference by Wang Yi, Minister of Foreign Affairs of China, related to the 3rd Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation. The reporters waited for another 1 hour and 20 minutes in this state. (Photo by Hyunjung Kim)

The press conference of Wang Yi, China's Foreign Minister, related to the "3rd Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation" held on the 17th and 18th at the Beijing International Convention Center, was scheduled for the afternoon of the last day. On the day of coverage, no schedule beyond the assembly time (6:30 PM) was announced. Some reporters asked about the start and end times of the briefing via WeChat group chats, but no official responded.

It was impossible to predict the exact time from the start. After the opening ceremony at 10 AM that day, President Xi Jinping held a series of meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Argentine President Alberto Fern?ndez, Kenyan President William Ruto, Nigerian Vice President Kashim Shettima, and UN Secretary-General Ant?nio Guterres. Minister Wang is a key figure who always accompanies President Xi at these summits.

Therefore, reporters around guessed the press conference would be held around 7 PM. Considering the custom of first-come, first-served entry to the venue, they began lining up in front of the briefing room from 6:10 PM. Sitting close to observe Minister Wang’s expression and voice and taking photos is advantageous for coverage. However, even after the briefing room door opened (7:30 PM), there was no sign of the event starting. When asked about the start time, event staff repeatedly said "soon (快要)" and "don’t rush (別着急)," and even the local press team murmured, "Is Beijing really this congested?" Minister Wang appeared only after another 1 hour and 20 minutes. Complaints doubting a "surprise show" began to erupt. At 8:50 PM, the briefing started with Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying’s statement ("The earlier meetings and talks ran long") and an apology.

Wang Yi, China's Foreign Minister, held a press conference related to the "3rd Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation" on the 18th at the Beijing International Convention Center in China, making related remarks. (Photo by Kim Hyun-jung)

As with any summit, conversations between leaders cannot be cut short due to time. It is common for press conferences at international meetings or forums to be delayed. However, reasonable predictions considering the schedule, explanations of the situation, and flexible responses are both the host country’s duty and a measure of its capability.

Unfortunately, this was not the only issue. Security personnel stationed every 10 meters around the International Convention Center hurried people along even if they just raised their phones to take photos of the autumn leaves. Vehicles were completely restricted, leaving the roads empty, and all event buildings were surrounded by temporary fences, forcing visitors to take long detours to find the entrance. Inside the venue, escalator use, which had been allowed moments before, was suddenly restricted for reporters, and the staff generally did not know the way, including to the media center entrance. This suggests who these personnel were really assigned to serve.

Minister Wang self-assessed in the briefing that 151 countries and 41 international organizations were represented at the forum, with over 10,000 registered participants and 458 achievements. But while waiting for him, I thought that with an event flow and rigid atmosphere focused only on the convenience and achievements of the host country and high-level officials, it would be difficult for the Belt and Road Forum to rise to the level of a meaningful international event.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.