French writer Maxime Vivas said it was a "great surprise and honor" to be mentioned by Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi and emphasized some Western media indeed smeared China.

Wang on March 7 held a press conference on the sideline of the Two Sessions. When answering how foreign media report China, he mentioned two "foreign friends" – one is Vivas, and another is American journalist Edgar Snow, who visited the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region, the stronghold of the then Red Army, in 1936 and became the first Western journalist to conduct interviews with Red Army leaders.

Speaking of Vivas's book, titled "Ouïghours, pour en finir avec les fake news (Uygurs, to put an end to the fake news)," Wang said the author tells the story of prosperous and stable Xinjiang based on his two trips there.

Vivas has been in recent years reporting the situation of northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in an objective and fair way and exposing the fake news that some foreign media reported on Xinjiang.

He denied the accusations of "genocide" and "forced labor" and recorded the great progress and vitality Xinjiang has achieved.

In response to Wang's mention, Vivas expressed his gratitude in a video interview: "I did not expect that the high-ranking (official) in the Chinese government would know me, so I would also like to thank the Chinese foreign minister for mentioning me and my book at the press conference."

Vivas said he agreed with Wang's words, adding that "In the West, for some journalists, they are not very willing to report on real China."

Vivas also said that he has been following China's Two Sessions and paying close attention to the topics about China's foreign policy and international relations. He said he agreed with China-proposed concept of "the community with a shared future for mankind," and he highly praised China's achievements in the development of various fields.

A renowned French writer, political critic, and journalist, Vivas also serves as a host on a radio station in Toulouse, France. He has published more than 20 books and numerous articles in different newspapers.