Premier Wen Jiabao's upcoming visit to the United States is
significant because it is his first official visit to a foreign
country as China's premier and his first official visit to the
United States.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao made the remarks
in Beijing Thursday at a regular press conference.
He said the mainstream of China-US relations is sound, and the
two countries have cooperated well on economy and trade and
anti-terrorism issues this year, and the recent trade friction will
not overshadow the achievements on trade cooperation between China
and the United States.
He said Wen's visit coincides with the appearance of some
problems in China-US relations, and he believed that the visit
would help promote mutual understanding and push forward the
settlement of some relevant issues.
Liu said during Wen's stay in the United States, he will visit
New York, Washington and Boston. Wen will meet with the US
President George W. Bush and some parliamentary and government
senior officials. He will deliver a speech at Harvard
University.
According to Liu, Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing, Minister
in charge of State Development and Reform Commission Ma Kai and
Vice Commerce Minister Ma Xiuhong are among the entourage.
Premier Wen will pay an official visit to the United States,
Canada, Mexico and Ethiopia from Dec. 7 to 16. He will also attend
the opening ceremony of the Second Ministerial Conference of the
China-Africa Cooperation Forum in Ethiopia.
When answering a question from the press on the proliferation
risk in exports, the spokesman said China gives full consideration
to the proliferation risks when exporting sensitive items.
If some foreign importers misuse items exported from China,
China will terminate the contracts with them, which will negatively
impact any further cooperation between both sides.
Liu said China consistently adheres to political and diplomatic
measures in solving the proliferation issues according to
international laws.
When talking about the White Paper on China's Non-Proliferation
Policy and Measures published Wednesday, Liu said China is under an
obligation to introduce its policies and measures for proliferation
prevention to the international community.
Talking about the six-party talks on the nuclear stand-off on
the Korean Peninsula, Liu said China is stepping up its mediation
with other countries to prepare for the second round of
negotiations.
Liu said that the priority of the negotiations was to confirm
the common views that the six sides had reached and create
conditions to help the second round of talks yield results.
The Chinese side was negotiating with the six sides on the
direction of the talks, he added.
The six parties now share some stances, all hoping the talks
will be well prepared and yield results, according to Liu.
The Chinese side is accelerating mediation efforts and expecting
understanding, support and coordination from concerned parties and
the international society, he said.
Liu said he has taken notice of many reports which also reflect
concerns from the international society on the six-party talks.
He said all countries concerned are working to meet as soon as
possible for the new round of talks, but the exact date has not yet
been decided.
Turning to Sino-Japanese relations, the spokesman said the new
21st Century Committee for Japan-China Friendship will play an
important role in deepening friendship and enhancing understanding
between the Chinese and Japanese peoples.
According to Liu, the Chinese and Japanese sides will exchange
views on how to push forward the healthy and stable development of
Sino-Japanese relations in the new century at the first session of
the committee that will be held in Dalian, a coastal city in
northeast China's Liaoning Province, from December 5 to 7.
The new 21st Century Committee for Japan-China Friendship,
inaugurated in July this year and consisting of people from the
Chinese and Japanese political, economic, academic and press
circles, will play an active role in the Sino-Japanese relations,
Liu said.
Also at yesterday’s briefing, the spokesman said Internet
management benefits the Chinese people, and the government is
trying to find a way to administer the Internet to promote social
development.
Liu said China has 70 million Internet users, and this number is
increasing. He added that although China attaches importance to the
positive role the Internet has played in national economic
development, there is also some unhealthy information on the
web.
Liu said other countries have also noticed the bad impact of the
unhealthy information, and have tried to find a reasonable way to
manage Internet.
(Sources including Xinhua News Agency and China Daily, December
5, 2003)