Chinese Premier Wen
Jiabao's upcoming visit to the United States will contribute to
further deepening mutual understanding and trust, expanding
bilateral exchanges, and further promoting the constructive
cooperation between the two countries, said Yang Jiechi, the
Chinese ambassador to the US.
Wen's trip is of great significance since it will be the first
official visit to the US by the new generation of Chinese leaders
and an important event in bilateral relations this year, Yang told
Xinhua in an exclusive interview on the eve of the visit scheduled
for December 7-10.
During his stay in the United States, Wen will meet with US
President George W. Bush and other senior government officials and
Congress leaders for in-depth exchange of views on bilateral
relations as well as the current international situation, Yang
said.
"Through joint efforts by both sides, Premier Wen's visit will
contribute to further deepening mutual understanding and trust,
expanding bilateral exchanges and cooperation, and promoting the
further development of the Sino-US constructive relationship of
cooperation," Yang said.
Relations between the two countries have maintained a good
momentum so far this year amid close high-level exchanges and
contacts. During the successful meetings in Evian, France, and in
Bangkok, Thailand, President Hu Jintao
and President Bush reached important consensus on furthering the
constructive relations of cooperation, he said.
Yang was referring to their meetings at an informal gathering
last June in France of leaders from 11 developing countries and the
Group of Eight industrialized nations, and during the Asia-Pacific
Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders' Meeting in Thailand
in October.
The two leaders also exchange views on bilateral ties and
international issues of common concern through the exchange of
letters and phone calls, which help deepen mutual understanding and
trust, and promote relations between the two nations, Yang
said.
All these developments have demonstrated the important and broad
common interests between China and the United States despite
differences on certain issues.
"As two influential countries, they shoulder great
responsibility in maintaining peace and stability in the
Asia-Pacific and world at large, in promoting global economic
growth and prosperity, and in combating terrorism and preventing
the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction," the ambassador
said.
The development of Sino-US constructive relationship of
cooperation not only conforms to the fundamental interests of the
two countries and two peoples, but also has important and positive
impact on the international situation, and contributes to peace,
stability and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific as well as the whole
world, he said.
On the issue of Taiwan, Ambassador Yang said that the issue of
Taiwan is the most important and most sensitive issue in relations
between China and the US.
Properly handling the Taiwan issue is pivotal to ensuring a
stable and smooth development of bilateral ties, Yang
emphasized.
The Taiwan regime is making every possible attempt to carry out
"independence" activities and has gone so far as to clamor for a
so-called "defensive referendum," seeking to separate Taiwan from
the motherland, Yang warned.
These activities represent a grave provocation of the One-China
principle, he said.
The Chinese government will make every effort to solve the
Taiwan issue in accordance with the principle of "one China, two
systems," but it will by no means tolerate "Taiwan independence,"
he said.
China will never allow anybody to separate Taiwan from China by
any means, he reiterated.
"If the separatist activities in Taiwan carry on, they will
inevitably cause serious damage to peace and stability across the
Taiwan Strait and to the common interests of China and the US," the
ambassador said.
China hopes that the United States would stick to the one-China
policy, abide by the three Sino-US joint communiques and honor its
commitments and oppose Taiwan's provocative activities aimed to
split China, he said.
On trade and economic ties between China and the US, Yang noted
that bilateral trade and economic cooperation have maintained a
momentum of rapid development in the past two years since China's
accession to the World Trade Organization.
From January to October this year, Sino-US trade reached
US$102.48 billion, 30.7 percent more than that of the same period
last year, Yang said, citing Chinese official statistics.
During the same period, Chinese imports from the US reached
US$27.56 billion, an increase of 25.7 percent, the ambassador
said.
In the investment front, the number of US-funded projects newly
established in China in January to October reached 3,308, 22.25
percent more than that of the same period last year. Chinese
enterprises' investment in the US has also been growing steadily,
Yang said.
According to statistics from the US Commerce Department, US
exports to China surged 18.5 percent in the first nine months of
this year, far exceeding the growth of its exports to other trading
partners.
China, currently the fourth largest trading partner of the US,
is likely to become the third largest by the end of the year. The
US is China's second largest trading partner, Yang said.
Each year, US exports to China create 500,000 high-paying jobs
in the US, while affordable and quality Chinese products in the US
market save American consumers 20 billions dollars, Yang said.
In addition to the positive growth in bilateral trade, the two
governments have also maintained close discussions and dialogue in
the fields of economy and finance, with constructive coordination
and cooperation within such multilateral frameworks as the WTO and
APEC, he added.
Their fruitful economic and trade cooperation has demonstrated
that the economies of the two countries are highly complementary to
each other and that their cooperation has great potentials.
Developing trade and economic exchanges will be a "win-win"
situation for both sides and will bring substantive benefits to the
peoples of both countries, Yang said.
China and the United States should objectively and properly deal
with the problems that have popped up in bilateral trade and
refrain from politicizing such problems, Yang stressed.
Beijing stands ready to solve the relevant problems through
dialogue and negotiations on the basis of equality, he added.
The increase of unemployment in the US has not been caused by
Chinese exports to the US, and China doesn't seek to maintain an
excessive trade surplus with the US in the long run, he said.
Talking about the Sino-US cooperation in fighting terrorism, he
said that after the Sept. 11 attacks, China and the United States
have worked closely to crack down on terrorism in the fields of
diplomacy, finance, law enforcement as well as in intelligence,
with positive achievements.
China is willing to strengthen such cooperation with the US on
the basis of mutual benefit, he said.
During Wen's visit, China and the United States will sign a
number of cooperation agreements on technology, transport, health
and culture.
The signing of these documents, which reflects the range and
depth of the exchange and cooperation between the two countries,
will inject new vigor into their constructive relationship of
cooperation, he added.
(Xinhua News Agency December 7, 2003)