Wednesday afternoon in the Great Hall
of the People in Beijing at the invitation of Zeng Jianhui,
spokesman of the Fifth Session of the Ninth National
People's Congress. The press conference lasted 65 minutes
with some 600 reporters attending and he answered questions
concerning Sino-US relations, Taiwan, and other issues.
Chinese
Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan met a press conference
Wednesday afternoon in the Great Hall of the People in
Beijing at the invitation of Zeng Jianhui, spokesman of the
Fifth Session of the Ninth National People's Congress. The
press conference lasted 65 minutes with some 600 reporters
attending and he answered questions concerning Sino-US
relations, Taiwan, and other issues.
Peace, Development Remain Main
Themes Minister Tang said that the "September
11" terrorist attacks on the United States have not
changed the basic pattern and development trends of the
world.
He said that at present and in years to
come, the general world situation will be peaceful but with
local wars and conflicts, global relaxation with local
tensions, and overall stability with regional disturbances.
China's Diplomatic Policy in 2002
Minister Tang said that in 2002 China will continue
to play the role of a peaceful and responsible big country
and make its postive contributions to safeguarding world
peace and promoting common development.
The
Chinese government will continue to pursue unswervingly the
diplomatic policy of independence and peace, as well as
firmly safeguard state sovereignty, territorial integrity
and national dignity, he said at a press conference of the
Fifth Session of the Ninth National People's Congress (NPC).
He said that China made remarkable
achievements in diplomatic affairs in 2001 and China has
more opportunities than challenges.
SCO
Benefits Regional Stability, All SCO Members Firm in
Fighting Terrorism The Foreign Minister said the
Shanghai Cooperation Organization is conducive to the
regional peace, stability and economic cooperation and the
world as a whole.
The regional organization,
which include China, Russia and four Central Asian
countries, is also conducive to the establishment of a just,
fair and new international economic order.
The
organization also serves the interest of world peace and
stability and its further development will play an
increasingly important role in advancing regional economic
cooperation, he said.
Tang Jiaxuan said that
the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) is the first
international organization to put forward the idea of
fighting terrorism.
All the six member
countries of SCO are active participants in the
international endeavor to fight terrorist activities, Tang
said at the press conference.
Since its
establishment in 2001, the SCO has all along been firm in
the fight against international terrorism, separatism and
religious extremism.
Chinese President Jiang
Zemin will attend the second summit of the Shanghai
Cooperation Organization slated for St. Petersburg, Russia,
in June this year.
China, India Share
More Common Grounds Than Differences The Minister said
that China and India share more common grounds than
differences, and he is optimistic about the prospects of
Sino-Indian relations.
Tang made the remark at
the press conference of the current session of the National
People's Congress (NPC) in replying to an Indian
correspondent.
Tang confirmed that Indian
Foreign Minister Jaswant Singh, his "old friend,"
is going to visit China at the end of this month at his
invitation.
Tang described Premier Zhu
Rongji's visit to India in January this year as "very
successful", and said it resulted in remarkable
progress in Sino-Indian relations.
He said he
hoped the upcoming visit to China by his Indian counterpart
will help to bring Sino-Indian ties into a new phase of
development.
China and India share many
"common interests" on quite a number of major
international issues, as well as in bilateral relations of
trade and economic, scientific and technical cooperation.
According to the Chinese foreign minister,
Chinese and Indian experts have made new progress on the
border issue through talks and negotiations.
China Willing to Improve Ties with US,
Taiwan Remains the Core Issue The development of a
constructive and co-operative relationship between China and
the United States is of vital importance to world peace and
security, Chinese Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan said.
He urged the United States to abide by its
commitment to China on the Taiwan issue. Stressing that the
Taiwan issue has always remained the most important and
sensitive core issue in Sino-US relations, Tang said US
president George W. Bush has reiterated during his recent
visit to China that the US will stick to the "One
China" policy and remain committed to the three Sino-US
joint communiques on bilateral relations.
Tang
Jiaxuan said that China has always opposed the "Taiwan
Relations Act" of the United States, ever from the very
beginning. The so-called "Taiwan Relations Act" is
only a unilateral document of the United States.
China is willing to work together with the
United States to further advance the constructive and
cooperative ties between the two countries.
Tang told the press conference of the Fifth
Session of the Ninth National People's Congress that the
planned visits to the United States by Chinese president
Jiang Zemin and vice-president Hu Jintao this year will
offer an opportunity for further improving and developing
Sino-US relations.
China is willing to work
jointly with the United States to reduce differences, expand
common ground, and promote bilateral exchanges and
cooperation on the basis of the three Sino-US joint
communiques, Tang said.
Mechanism to
Close Economic Ties between HK and Mainland Launched
Foreign Minister Tang said China's entry into the
World Trade Organization will lead mainland- Hong Kong
economic cooperation to a higher level.
He
said that discussion aiming to close the economic ties
between the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and the
mainland of China has already been launched.
Such a mechanism will bring mainland-Hong Kong
economic cooperation to a higher level, Tang said this
afternoon at the press conference held by the ongoing Fifth
Session of the Ninth National People's Congress.
He said that China's entry to the World Trade
Organization was a blessing for Hong Kong and Hong Kong will
remain to be an international center for all kinds of
activities.
Although there are some challenges
and difficulties lying ahead for Hong Kong, Tang said that
with the joint efforts of Hong Kong people, the sound
leadership of Chief Executive Tung Chee Hwa and the support
from the mainland, the prosperity of Hong Kong can be
achieved.
China's Interests in
Exclusive Economic Zone Should Be Respected Tang
Jiaxuan said that China's interests in and jurisdiction over
Chinese exclusive economic zone should be fully respected.
In December last year, a Japanese vessel
chased an unidentified boat into the Chinese exclusive
economic zone and sank the boat in the East China Sea. The
Chinese government expressed strong opposition to the issue,
Tang told the press conference in replying to a Japanese
reporter's question on the issue.
Tang
stressed that the Chinese side would fully safeguard
interests in and jurisdiction over the Chinese exclusive
economic zone in accordance with relevant laws.
Chinese FM on Constructive, Cooperative
Relations with US Tang said that China and the United
States should seek common ground and shelve differences in
building up the constructive and cooperative relations
between the two countries.
To develop the
constructive and cooperative relations, Tang said, the two
countries should share common interests and views and
reserve differences.
The two countries should
treat each other sincerely, Tang told the press conference
of the Fifth Session of the Ninth National People's Congress
(NPC).
During the meeting between Chinese
President Jiang Zemin and US President George W. Bush in
February, the two sides reached common understanding after
exchanging views and carrying out consultations on the basis
of mutual benefit and reciprocity, Tang said.
International Forums Improper for
Cross-Strait Matters The World Trade Organization
(WTO) and other international occasions are not appropriate
for the Chinese mainland and Taiwan to talk about what he
described as matters of China's internal affairs, the
Foreign Minister pointed out.
The mainland, as
main body of China, and Taiwan, as a separate tariff zone of
China, are now members of the world trade body, but issues
between the Chinese people on both sides of the Taiwan
Straits, including those on economic cooperation, are
China's internal matters, which should be worked out by the
two sides under the "one China principle", said
the foreign minister.
"There is no need
to resort to any international forums, WTO included,"
he said at the press conference.
Pakistan, India Urged to Resolve
Disputes by Peaceful, Political Means China hopes
Indian and Pakistan will continue their peaceful
negotiations and strive to revolve the disputes between
them, including the Kashmir issue, by peaceful and political
means, Chinese Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan said.
China will continue to play a unique
constructive role in this regard, Tang said at a press
conference of the current session of the National People's
Congress.
What the South Asian Subcontinent
needs most is peace, stability and development, he said.
He stressed that both Pakistan and India are
good neighbors of China, and developing China-India and
China-Pakistan relations can run parallel without conflict.
US Urged to Contribute to Peace,
Development in Asia Tang Jiaxuan urged the United
States to do more to promote peace, stability, development
and prosperity in Asia.
Asked to comment on
increasing U.S. military presence in Asia, Tang said a new
concept of security has recently appeared in Asia, the core
of which is seeking security through promotion of mutual
trust and seeking development through promotion of
cooperation.
Stressing that the new concept of
security represents the direction of international
relations, the Chinese foreign minister said he hopes that
the US's Asian security policy will conform to the needs of
Asian people and adapt to on-going changes in the region.
Chinese FM Expects Progress in Sino-US
Arms Control Discussion The Chinese Foreign Minister
said that he hopes China and the United States would achieve
progress in their discussion on arms control.
Tang told that a senior official with the
Chinese Foreign Ministry is in Washington for a seminar on
arms control and disarmament.
The Chinese
official will also have in-depth consultation with officials
from the US State Department not only on arms control but
also on such issues as strategic stability throughout the
world, Tang said.
The Chinese foreign minister
expressed the hope that China and the United States would
make progress in the discussions.
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