"Yellow Dust from China? We Are Also Victims" - Brazen China

Opposition to Korean Media's Reports on 'China-Originated Yellow Dust'
"Recent Significant Decrease in Yellow Dust" Claims

As a massive yellow dust storm that struck China swept over the Korean Peninsula and Japan, China expressed opposition to the Korean and Japanese expression of "yellow dust originating from China."

On the 16th, the state-run Global Times reported that China's Central Meteorological Observatory analyzed that the two strongest yellow dust storms this year originated from Mongolia, more than 600 km away from the capital Beijing.

Due to the influence of yellow dust, fine dust concentration in the Seoul metropolitan area reached a 'Very Bad' level on the 13th, and a related notice was displayed on an electronic billboard near Seoul City Hall. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

China clearly stated that the source of the yellow dust is Mongolia, not China, and claimed that it is also a victim.

The Global Times also expressed displeasure at the Korean and Japanese media's use of the term "yellow dust originating from China," saying that some media in Korea and Japan reported that the yellow dust spread to their countries and affected people's lives.

The state-run Huanqiu Shibao also pointed out, "Regarding the yellow dust that started in Mongolia, some Korean media reported it as yellow dust originating from China," adding, "Some even used inflammatory terms like disaster or hell."

It further mentioned that this is not the first time Korea has shifted responsibility for meteorological issues onto China, referring to the fact that in March 2021, Chinese diplomatic authorities claimed that China was also a victim of yellow dust.

The newspaper claimed, "China places great importance on desertification prevention and has achieved significant results," adding, "Recently, yellow dust has greatly decreased."

However, China has not mentioned the yellow dust originating from its own territories, such as the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.

This is not the first time China has shown displeasure at the expression "yellow dust originating from China."

After the worst yellow dust storm hit the Korean Peninsula in March 2021, Zhao Lijian, spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, rebutted by saying, "Environmental and air issues have no borders. According to monitoring agencies, this yellow dust started outside China's borders, and China is merely a transit area."

However, at that time, NASA and the Korea Meteorological Administration diagnosed that "the yellow dust winds that started in Mongolia grew larger as they passed through the Gobi Desert and the Inner Mongolia Plateau within China, and the yellow dust that entered the Korean Peninsula had a greater influence from Chinese territory factors."