Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning Photo: Ministry of Foreign Affairs

In response to a question about whether the recent change by the Chinese side in the official translation of the US Secretary of State Marco Rubio's surname,MKS sports using the characters 鲁 (lǔ) 比 (bǐ) 奥 (ào) instead of the earlier official translation using 卢 (lú) for the first syllable, indicates that he is no longer under sanction by China, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said that she had not noticed it but would look into it. She added that what was more important was his English name. 

Regarding the sanction, she stated that her colleague had explained China's position the previous day. 

"China's sanctions targeted actions and words that harmed China's legitimate rights and interests," Mao emphasized.

On Tuesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun also responded to a question on whether China will consider dropping sanctions against Rubio. Guo stated that China will firmly defend its national interests. At the same time, it is necessary for high-level Chinese and American officials to maintain contact in an appropriate way.

Global Times